Philadelphia is a city of parks, big parks, little parks, old, new, nice, in need of some TLC parks… but with the dawn of the age of green space in urban areas, Philadelphians are taking strides to beautify their parks, and now there is a contest to help them out! Staples is sponsoring a citywide contest called the Staples Dream Park Challenge where 15 Parks are competing for $25,000 to help them look their best! What an awesome idea – wouldn’t it be cool if all sorts of large companies did this for their cities?

Residents can vote for their favorite local park online at www.StaplesDreamPark.com. Each time a participant votes they are entered to win a chance to meet Eagles Free Safety Brian Dawkins. Whoa – watch out for the stampede of Dawkins lovers! Let me tell you dear readers, you can vote everyday. Sign me up! Residents can vote between September 23rd and November 17th.  The winning park will be announced in November, and then all of you lovely Philadelphians will have one more fantastic green space to be all excited about.

For the local story visit:
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=6405739

$10 bottomless beer, a music festival and a Rib Cook-off all on one afternoon!? It is almost too much for my local brew and grill lovin’ self! Northern Liberties is bound to be a great time this coming Saturday, September 13th!

Start your day off right with the 2nd Annual Northern Liberties Rib Cook-off at the corner of Bodine and George Sts. How often do you get to go to a Rib Cook-off? I can’t even fathom the things that might happen there? Rib cookin’, rib eatin’, rib throwin’, rib buyin’, rib sellin’… you name it! And with a mere $25 at the door… that is a meat eatin’ dream! 4 pm on Saturday – for more info contact Shannon Dougherty at shannon@afullplate.net.

And then… after you have eaten up all those finger lickin’ tasty ribby snacks, head on over to dance with your bottomless cup at the Northern Liberties Music Festival happening at Liberty Lands (on 3rd Street between Poplar and Wildey) from 4 to 10 pm. Proceeds benefit the new Northern Liberties Community Center and the NLNA office! Good job Philadelphia Brewing Company for the beer donation! For more info on this great event contact Larry Freeman at larryfreedman@comcast.net.

Oh lovely boutique, how we love thee! Your fabulous fashion and delightful design would be enough for us to be smitten, but then you go on and throw in your enviro-conscious green offerings to boot! Swoon my eco-friendly heart! Everyone out there should come on over to the party for Arcadia’s One Year Anniversary! Join the Northern Liberties crowd on September 12th from 6-10 pm to celebrate with a great sale, “green” snacks, music by DJ John Redden, and the opening reception for the new Art@Acadia show featuring local artist Sienna Freeman. The window display by The Other Woman Collective screams flashy oh-so-arty tea party, but without the attitude. This is one not to miss!

check it! http://www.arcadiaboutique.com

How can you pass up an event that requests you “step out in your snappy dress?” You must go to this great party The Friends of Penn Treaty Park are putting on, complete with bubbly and The Butch Ballard Jazz Trio on Friday, September 5th from 6-8:30 pm. For those of you unfamiliar with Penn Treaty park, what a great overlooked spot in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood! Besides being right on the river with a large lawn, and a full view of the Ben Franklin Bridge, this is the spot where William Penn made his famous Treaty of Friendship with the chief of the Lenape Turtle Clan, Chief Tamenend. The Treaty has been celebrated through the ages as a universal symbol of religious and civil liberties. What’s not to support about that? Plus as the summer winds down and the weather gets cooler, it is making for some gorgeous nights in Philadelphia.  Bubbly, jazz, people, lawn… snappy dress? Go!

When the summer heat is shining down upon you, the best thing to do is jump over to Higher Grounds, a great little coffee shop in Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia, for one of their amazing iced coffees! I don’t know what they’re doing to make it so much better than everyone elses, but it truly is some of the best iced coffee in the city!

Higher Grounds is a light dappled, comfortable, tucked away spot, with local art hanging on the walls and free wi-fi. It feels like a place somewhere between your contemporary urban loft and your laid back Village coffee house in 1972. The combo makes for a decidedly relaxing and hip place to have your joe, do some work or meet a friend.

Check it out!

HigherGroundsCafe.Com

631 North 3rd St.
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 922-3745