Thursday, October 31, 2013

More "Autumn Afternoon" photos


Our first Fall Festival, entitled "An Autumn Afternoon in Ned Wolf Park" took place on October 19th, 2013.  And there were some fun activities for all who arrived.  The day was seasonably cool, with a mix of sun and clouds, and many friends and neighbors streamed through the park from 1pm to 4 pm.  We sampled lots of seasonal treats like apples and cider from Weavers Way Co-op, donuts from Trolley Car diner and some homemade goodies from neighbors including popcorn and a variety of cookies.
Besides celebrating the fall season, the Friends of Ned Wolf Park wanted to celebrate having received two honors from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society:  1st Prize Small Community Park in the City Gardens Contest as well as a Community Greening award, given to places which "raise the horticultural bar" across the state of Pennsylvania.


Clockwise from upper left:

  • As some folks browse through the small collages made by Eric Sternfels, alongside his tabletop lighting sculptures, the park was entertained by the Quarter to Four Trio:   Dave Graves on accordion, Daniel Boemcke on guitar, and Stephen Kadlecek on violin. 
  • Syd Carpenter and Kate Hochner flank the whimsical sculpture that landed in Ned Wolf Park on the morning of the event.  This piece by artist Curtis Coyote is part of a series entitled "Things I Wish Would Happen in My Backyard", and having it happen in Ned Wolf Park may be the next best thing for kids of all ages in Mt. Airy.
  • Another musical performance clearly enjoyed by the crowd was singer/guitarist Richard Drueding who serenaded the assembled visitors to kick off the day's activities.
  • The sidewalk along W. Ellet Street now has some subtly painted outlines of letters spelling out "NED WOLF PARK", an irresistible opportunity to do some coloring in with sidewalk chalk.   Although the rain has washed some of that exuberance away, we hope our neighborhood's children continue to bring chalk to draw in or out of these lines.
  • Here's the Ned Wolf Park Design Committee setting up the baskets of spring flowering bulbs that were for sale at the event:  Eric Sternfels, Janet Novak, Yvonne Haskins, and Syd Carpenter.   Our committee helps steer the aesthetic character of the park, especially focused on plantings in the gardens beds.   Three of the eight types of bulbs for sale were added into the park to add some pops of color next spring.....look for a future blogpost featuring them.  Let us know if you'd like to join this committee and we'll send you an email when next we meet.



  The Autumn Afternoon event drew not only our Mt. Airy neighbors but some visitors from outside our zip code.  Here are Jay Flaherty, Diane Newbury, and Lucretia Robbins - all great gardeners - who were impressed with the recently improved sunny garden beds with perennials still producing abundant flowers and grasses displaying showy seed heads.

The events were not all spectator sports.  Between live music performances, a bit of recorded folk dancing music and one helpful and welcoming instructor brought folks onto the Terrace for a bit a fun.  It's nice to see neighbors leaning on one another, isn't it?

Special thanks to Mark Klempner who took all these photos and captured the fun-filled day!!!


Sidewalk Chalk





The sidewalk along West Ellet Street has been painted with block letter outlines spelling out NED WOLF PARK so children & playful adults can chalk up some creativity.  Here's the inaugural coloring that was part of the Autumn Afternoon proceedings on Saturday, October 19th.  Alas, a bit of rain later that night washed away the colors but left behind those latex paint outlines painted in a subtle warm gray.  So, anyone who wants to come by and liven up the sidewalk with a new chalk display, we welcome your energies!


           


Sunday, October 27, 2013

Sightings at Ned Wolf Park

Last Saturday, October 19th was Ned Wolf Park's Autumn Afternoon event.  Here are a few photos taken just after the festivities:
"Things you wish would happen in your backyard" is a sculpture series by local artist Curtis Coyote.  And this rocket is the first in that series......who knows where the next in the series will land? 











While the "Purple Dome" Asters start to lose color, the orange "Rhumba" chrysanthemums are coming into their own.  And in the island planting bed behind, you can see the pink haze of "Pink Muhly Grass", botanically known as Muhlenbergia capillaris.