An Invitation to Gather and Celebrate
Philadelphia’s civic commons 2022 in pictures
Kick off your new year with inspiration from a dozen cities transforming civic assets to deliver more engaged, equitable and economically and environmentally resilient communities. Today, the last in our series of photo essays reflecting on the past year of progress features the civic commons work in Philadelphia.
Celebrating Indigenous’ Peoples Day on the Bartram’s Mile Trail
On October 9th, Indigenous People’s Day, Bartram’s Garden hosted a free, outdoor and family-friendly event to honor Indigenous heritage — past, present, and future. The event featured a vendor marketplace, presentations from community organizers, activities and storytime for kids, and dance performances from Aztec troupe Tonantzin Yaotecas, Native Nation Theater and more. Artist and event organizer, Brujo de la Mancha of Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac led a participatory circle dance on the Bartram’s Mile Trail — one of the five projects that comprised the original Civic Commons pilot project in Philadelphia.
Gathering for Harvest Fest in West Fairmount Park
The first-ever Harvest Fest in West Fairmount Park on October 23rd was a celebration of well-being and community led by Fairmount Park Conservancy with Centennial Parkside CDC. The event was also an occasion to cut the ribbon on the long-awaited Parkside Pedestrian Improvement Project that brought new walkways and bike paths, ADA access, a pedestrian-activated signal crosswalk, a new plaza, landscaping, and traffic roundabouts to the neighborhood-facing edge of the park. The free, seasonal festival brought pumpkin decorating and carving demonstrations, mural painting, wellness activities, music, food, and vendors into the park on a brisk fall day.
Leadership, mentorship, and wellness in focus at the Black Man’s Conference
Centennial Parkside CDC hosted the second annual Black Man’s Conference on September 24th at the Belmont Mansion in West Fairmount Park. The day was full of peace, spirit, deep emotion, soulful sharing and the debut of documentary short film, Deeply Rooted. Under the leadership of the men of the Parkside community, with support from greater Philadelphia organizations, three missions have begun to take shape and are being developed by focus groups following the conference: identifying experiential local travel opportunities for neighborhood youth, mentorship and rites of passage programming, and workshops for mental health and wellness.
Strawberry Mansion Day returns to East Fairmount Park
A long-running neighborhood tradition that provides residents, stakeholder organizations, and elected officials and candidates with an opportunity to gather and celebrate is Strawberry Mansion Day — held annually at Mander Recreation Center in East Fairmount Park. On a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Strawberry Mansion CDC pivoted to pandemic response, including hosting testing and vaccination events for the community at Mander Recreation Center. This fall, Strawberry Mansion Day returned on Saturday, September 10th. Organized by Strawberry Mansion CDC and co-sponsored by the Neighborhood Action Center and City Council President Darrell Clarke, the celebration drew over 2,000 people for a day of fellowship, food, and music, with local partners tabling and sharing resources.
Strawberry Mansion launches its Clean Pathways Initiative
In 2022, Strawberry Mansion CDC launched the Strawberry Mansion Clean Pathways Initiative to bring basic improvements to the historic, but underserved neighborhood that has 10 main pathways to more than 600 acres of East Fairmount Park. Fairmount Park has long been considered the neighborhood’s backyard, but these heavily used pathways are frequently littered with trash piles that are exacerbated by limited maintenance efforts at the city level and negatively impact residents’ health, safety, and quality of life. The SMCDC’s Clean Pathways Initiative aims to keep these corridors clean through locally employed cleaning crews, resident engagement and collaboration with city agencies. As part of the program, SMCDC is offering litter kits (gloves, bags, and trash grabbers) to residents along these corridors who pledge to keep these areas clean.
Reimagining the Civic Commons is a collaboration of The JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and local partners.
