DECEMBER, 2016

Get Ready for Philadelphia Marathon Weekend!

The countdown is finally over—Philadelphia Marathon race weekend is here! The Half Marathon, 8K, and Kids Fun Run will take place this Saturday, November 19 and the Marathon this Sunday, November 20. On this top-rated marathon course, runners will travel through the city’s historic district, then pass through University City before winding along the Schuylkill River to Manayunk and back down to the finish line in front of the Art Museum. Join thousands of other fans along the half and full marathon courses to cheer on family and friends who are participating and to show your support to all of the runners! Several cheer zones will be located along the half and full marathon courses.

Learn more about the cheer zones or view race course maps

Update: Commission on Parks and Recreation Public Meeting Date Changed to November 21

Want to know what’s going on with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (PPR) and get the chance to speak directly to PPR staff? The next Commission on Parks and Recreation public meeting will be held on Monday, November 21 at 6pm at Venice Island Performing Arts and Recreation Center. The Parks and Recreation Commission holds meetings throughout the year, traveling to parks, recreation centers, and facilities throughout the city. The Commission invites and encourages anyone interested in learning about what’s going on with the Commission and PPR to attend.

Learn more about the Commission on Parks and Recreation

PPR’s Guide to Holiday Events in Philly

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – the holiday season in Philadelphia! Our staff, volunteer Friends Groups, and partners planned lots of holiday celebrations, tours, musical and theater performances, seasonal markets, greens sales, and more! Shop for handmade gifts and ornaments at Christmas Village, warm up with hot cocoa while admiring the festive decorations at a tree lighting ceremony in the park, and learn some history about holiday traditions in your favorite places. 

View our guide to holiday events in Philly

PPR Ice Rinks Now Open

Get ready for the winter fun — PPR’s ice rink facilities are now open! In partnership with Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, PPR owns and operates five ice rinks throughout the city. Programs offered at these facilities include ice hockey, ice skating, skating lessons, and open skating time. Public skating is free at all PPR rinks, and skate rental and skate sharpening are available (at certain facilities) for a fee.

Learn more about PPR ice rinks and view the public skating schedule

15 Reasons You Need to Visit the Historic Houses of Fairmount Park for “A Very Philly Christmas”

Looking for a unique way to celebrate the holidays this winter season? Look no further than “A Very Philly Christmas” at the historic houses of Fairmount Park! This is the 45th year of “Christmas in Fairmount Park,” a longtime Philadelphia tradition of decorating the historic houses of Fairmount Park for the holidays. This year’s new theme is “A Very Philly Christmas,” a special celebration showcasing what makes Philadelphia stand out: great music, delicious food, and friendly neighbors. Six of the park’s treasured historic houses will be decked out in the season’s finest for four special events on December 3, 4, 9 and 10.

Parks on Tap will also return for one night! This special holiday version of the popular traveling beer garden will be held outside of Historic Strawberry Mansion during Sounds of the Season on Saturday, December 3 from 12-5pm.

Purchase tickets for “A Very Philly Christmas” events and use PPRHOLIDAY2016 for $5 off any special event day pass or event day/PHLASH combo pass!

Continue reading about “A Very Philly Christmas”

A2O Community Art Parties

This fall, PPR is offering public art events through the Arts & Artists Outdoors (A2O) program, presented in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia. Please join us for one of our upcoming art parties!

Saturday, November 19 from 2-5pm at Vare Recreation Center (2600 Morris St.)

Artist-in-residence Marilyn Rodriguez will help you transform everyday discarded objects into works of art to take home!

Wednesday, November 30 from 4-7pm at Lee Cultural Center (4310 Haverford Ave.)

The A2O class at Lee is learning about food – from the farm, to the city, to you. Come experiment with new art techniques and get a taste of what artist-in-residence Lucy Pistilli has been cooking up with her students!

Learn more about the A2O Community Art Parties

Fairmount Park Turkey Trot 5-Mile Thanksgiving Run

Want to offset some of Thanksgiving dinner’s damage? Register for the Fairmount Park Turkey Trot, a 5-mile Thanksgiving morning run with a flat, double-loop course around Memorial Hall. Pre-registered runners receive long sleeve t-shirts, which will also be available to race day registered participants while supplies last. On-site registration opens at 7:15am, and the race starts at 8:30am.

Learn more about the Fairmount Park Turkey Trot and register to participate

Free Upcoming Programs at Roosevelt Playground

Don’t miss out on all of the free upcoming programs at Roosevelt Playground in Northeast Philadelphia (6455 Walker Street)! In December and January, Roosevelt will offer a variety of programs, including Financial Literacy Classes, a Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions Workshop, and Tot Time for children ages 3-4.

Financial Literacy Classes: Tuesdays in December from 7-8pm

Tot Time: Thursdays in December from 1-2pm

Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions Workshop: January 10 at 7pm

Read more about upcoming programs at Roosevelt Playground

LOVE Your Park Fall Service Day

On Saturday, November 12, 2,129 volunteers gathered in parks across Philadelphia to help clean, green, and celebrate the City’s public green spaces during the annual LOVE Your Park Fall Service Day. A partnership between PPR, Fairmount Park Conservancy, and our citywide network of Park Friends groups, LOVE Your Park is one of the largest grassroots volunteer efforts in Philadelphia. Over 85 Park Friends Groups – small groups of committed neighbors who help to maintain their neighborhood parks – participated in the event, where volunteers planted trees, collected leaves for compost, cleaned up trash and litter, prepared the City’s public green spaces for winter, and more.

This year, 874 new volunteers registered through the LOVE Your Park website, and they were placed at 66 different parks throughout Philadelphia. Thank you to all of the Park Friends and volunteers who planned, organized, and participated in this year’s LOVE Your Park event — we are incredibly grateful for your efforts to help maintain and beautify the City’s public green spaces!

View a photo album from LOVE Your Park Fall Service Day

Ivory Coast Wins the Unity Cup

Congratulations to team Ivory Coast, winners of the inaugural Philadelphia International Unity Cup! Ivory Coast clinched the tournament with a 1-0 win against Liberia in the championship match at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday, November 5.

In addition to the soccer final, Championship Game Day offered a full day of festivities, including the Gateway of Nations Festival, YSC Youth Soccer Game, Parade of Nations, and a naturalization ceremony. After the game, team Ivory Coast celebrated with their fans after a well-fought win. Congratulations to all of the players and coaching staff for both Ivory Coast and Liberia, and to all those who participated in and were involved with the tournament. The championship match was an exciting and competitive end to the inaugural Philadelphia International Unity Cup tournament!

Read a recap of the championship game  

View photos from the 2016 Philadelphia International Unity Cup Championship Game Day

First Parks on Tap Season Sees Huge Success

The numbers are in, and Parks on Tap, a program that brought a mobile beer garden from park to park across Philadelphia this summer, was a great success, with more than 30,000 people visiting Parks on Tap locations during its 14 weeks of operation. The program’s first weekend at Schuylkill Banks alone saw more than 5,000 attendees! The beer garden spent several days in each park location, highlighting and enhancing the offerings that Philadelphia City parks provide, before moving to the next location.

Parks on Tap, which was run through a partnership between PPR, Fairmount Park Conservancy, and FCM Hospitality, generated more than $75,000 for the City of Philadelphia in concession fees. FCM donated more than $15,000, which will be divided among the host parks. Due to the success of the 2016 season, the City of Philadelphia is pursuing a long-term partnership with FCM in order to expand the program next year by increasing the number of locations as well as the duration at each stop. The partners also plan to launch the season earlier next year and do multiple, simultaneous locations. 

Stay up to date on upcoming details about Parks on Tap by visiting its website

Former Carousel House Athlete Wins Big at 2016 Paralympics

PPR has produced many world-class athletes over the years, and Amanda McGrory is one them. McGrory got her start as a wheelchair athlete 20 years ago at Carousel House, a recreation center in West Philadelphia exclusively for people with disabilities, where she competed in wheelchair basketball and wheelchair racing. Since her first marathon ten years ago, Amanda has run nearly 100 marathons, and she has won approximately 30 of them.

In 2008 in Beijing, China, Amanda competed in her first Paralympic Games —something she had dreamed about since childhood. She won four medals, including a gold in the 5000 Meters. This year, Amanda competed in her third Paralympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, where she won three medals: one silver in the 1500 meters and two bronze in the marathon and 5000 meters, bringing her total to seven Paralympic medals so far.

Continue reading about Amanda and her career as a Paralympic athlete

TreePhilly Fall Yard Tree Giveaways

TreePhilly has officially wrapped up its fall City-wide and Community Yard Tree Giveaways.  A total of 1,210 trees were given away to over 500 Philadelphia property owners this season at eight giveaway events, which took place in neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia. Each participant was able to select two trees from a variety of fruit, shade, and flowering tree species, and received free mulch and planting and care instructions. The leftover trees from the giveaways will be planted in parks and distributed to partners throughout Philadelphia.

Learn more about the TreePhilly Yard Tree Giveaways

2016 Outdoor Soccer League All-Star Games

On October 18 and 19, PPR held its annual Outdoor Soccer League All-Star Games at Jacobs Playground in Northeast Philadelphia. The facility was packed with enthusiastic fans, friends, and family cheering on their all-stars. On the first day of the tournament, the boys took to the field, with the girls’ games to follow on the second day. All of the games ended in a tie. A fall tradition, the all-star games are starting to gain notoriety all around the city.  With volunteer help from the Torresdale Boys Club and its board members, the PPR Soccer Committee helped make this night memorable for all the players, who each received complimentary beverages, chips, and hotdogs.

Learn more about PPR soccer leagues

The Squirrels of Philadelphia

If you walk through the forests of Philadelphia during the fall, you will hear incessant chipping and chirping. Most people think these sounds are coming from birds vocalizing, but it is actually squirrels and chipmunks making the racket. Philadelphia has five species of squirrel: eastern gray squirrel, red squirrel, eastern chipmunk, southern flying squirrel, and groundhog. Wissahickon Environmental Center Environmental Educator Tony Croasdale shares his insights on the different squirrel species found in Philadelphia and where you might be able to spot them.

Continue reading about the squirrels of Philadelphia

PPR’s 2016 Sustainability Accomplishments

Over the course of 2016, PPR has made progress on improving the sustainability of the department’s operations and implementing sustainable practices at parks and recreational facilities across Philadelphia. Some of the department’s sustainability highlights from 2016 include bringing outdoor recycling to 22 recreation centers and playgrounds in Northwest Philadelphia, propagating over 2,000 native plants for use in 15 PPR gardens through the Plants Make Positive Places (P3) program, educating over 1,500 youth in organic gardening at 36 recreation sites, resourcing 18 community gardens on PPR land to increase community food security, and launching a food recovery pilot at 23 recreation centers and playgrounds in the Riverwards section of the city to recover leftover materials from the Summer Meals Program.

Continue reading about PPR’s 2016 sustainability accomplishments

2016 Summer Meals Program Recap

This summer, PPR served 1.75 million meals to youth 18 years of age or younger. The Summer Meals Programs are held at 842 sites throughout the city; PPR facilities; independent sites such as community centers, camps or churches; as well as Playstreets, neighborhood-based programs on designated blocks where children are provided a healthy meal and snack as well as fun, free programming.

PPR works in partnership with the Mayor’s Office, Philadelphia Housing Authority, Archdiocese of Philadelphia Nutritional Development Service, and the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger to bring this excellent program to Philadelphia’s youth.

Continue reading about the Summer Meals Program

Operations Staff Profile: Joshua Bell

Joshua Bell has been working with PPR for the past two years. He began working for the department as a Park Manager Trainee before being promoted to Park Manager 1 in 2015 and then to Park Manager 2 this fall. In his role, Joshua oversees and manages Operations projects throughout the PPR system, including maintenance contract work, plantings, and e-waste recycling. A large portion of Joshua’s work responsibilities is dedicated to data management. Joshua was primarily responsible for guiding the buildout of Performo, PPR’s new work order and asset management system. His work ethic and team-player attitude make him a valuable member of the PPR team.

Read Joshua’s full profile

History of Kingsessing Recreation Center

To celebrate the rich history of Philadelphia’s parks and recreational facilities, PPR is highlighting historic structures located at parks and recreation sites throughout the city. The second structure to be highlighted in this new monthly series is Kingsessing Recreation Center, a facility built on a nine-acre property in Southwest Philadelphia. One of the oldest recreation centers in the city, Kingsessing was built in 1916. Today, the recreation center and the surrounding grounds provide local community members with a diversity of spaces in which they are able to play, convene, and learn, including basketball courts, an auditorium, several activity rooms, a playground, swimming pool, two ball fields, a football field, four basketball courts, two tennis courts, and a handball wall.

Continue reading about the history of Kingsessing Recreation Center

Canoemobile 2016

On October 19, over 60 PPR program participants arrived at Penn’s Landing eager to get into a canoe, many for the first time ever.  Ferko Playground, Northern Liberties Recreation Center, Pelbano Recreation Center, and Lee Cultural Center all took part in this year’s Canoemobile, made possible by the National Park Service and Wilderness Inquiry.  Between the two days of the event, approximately 200 young people were provided with unique learning experiences on land as well as the opportunity to canoe on the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers.

A special thank you goes out to the PPR Environmental Education unit for providing two days of land-based activities at Canoemobile this year. 

Continue reading about and view photos from Canoemobile

3rd Annual PPR Talent Show

Venice Island Performing Arts and Recreation Center welcomed Philly’s Kids Are Stars Talent Show on November 11. The theme for this year’s talent show was “Celebrity Edition,” and contestants went all out portraying their favorite superstars – spectators were entertained by a young Beyoncé, SIA, Sam Smith, and many more special guests.

Philly’s Kids Are Stars Talent Show is an annual event sponsored by PPR, founded and directed by PPR Artistic Director Shinelle Graves and Performing Arts Coordinator William Powell. For three years, PPR has been talent scouting children ages 6-12 years old, with an aim to discover the talent that lies within the inner city communities and give those children an opportunity to shine.

Continue reading about the PPR Talent Show

Greenland Nursery Seed Collecting and Fall Restoration Plantings

Nestled within a quiet, forested section of West Fairmount Park north of Belmont Plateau is Greenland Nursery — a 12.5-acre working nursery operated by PPR.  About 10,000 plants are grown at the nursery each year, which are used mainly for natural area restoration and management projects at parks and recreational sites throughout the city. Fall is a busy season at Greenland, as both plantings that the nursery provides plants for, and the process of collecting and storing seeds for the future, take place primarily during the autumn months.

Continue reading about Greenland Nursery

FarmPhilly and PowerCorpsPHL Team Up to Support Youth and Community Gardens Across Philadelphia

On October 29, PowerCorpPHL members attended a garden build at Fisher Park in North Philadelphia. The community garden at Fisher Park has been around for over 15 years and is part of FarmPhilly’s Community Gardens Network. At this work day, FarmPhilly, PowerCorpsPHL, and garden members built 16 new raised beds to replace beds made from old, rotting wood. PowerCorpsPHL also helps to maintain youth gardens at 36 recreation centers across the city by assisting with sheet-mulching, fence building, repairing, and painting.

Continue reading about FarmPhilly and PowerCorpsPHL

Fall 2016 Charity and Cultural Events

This fall, thousands of Philadelphians participated in runs, festivals, and other events to benefit charity groups and celebrate international cultures, including the AIDS 5K Run/Walk, Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation Running for Answers 5K Run/Walk, Kidney 5K Run and 1-Mile Walk, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Light the Night Walk, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Out of the Darkness Walk, Pumpkins in the Park 5K Run/Walk, and Walter E. Brandon Sickle Cell 5K Run/Walk. Thanks to all those who organized and participated in these events for making them a great success!

Read about and view photos from these events

DRCC’s “Bikes, Beans, and Beer” Ride through Port Richmond

On November 5, the Delaware River City Corporation (DRCC) held its first ever "Bikes, Beans, and Beer” bike ride, an 8.8-mile trek from Fishtown’s Palmer Park to Port Richmond. From Penn Treaty Park, the group biked along the Delaware Avenue Trail from Allegheny Avenue to Orthodox Street and on to Bridesburg Recreation Center for a coffee tasting break, and then to Byrnes Tavern in Port Richmond for a post-ride Pilsner party. The event’s goal was to bring awareness to the North Delaware Riverfront Greenway, an extensive network of parks and trails being created that runs for 11 miles along the Delaware River, all the way up to the Bucks County line. Ellis Coffee and La Colombe Coffee were joint coffee sponsors, and PPR’s John McBride provided music and announcements at Bridesburg Recreation Center. Organizer Jamie Buck was ecstatic at the success of the event and is looking forward to its growth.

Read more about the North Delaware Riverfront Greenway project