STORIES.... at last!!!

After two rain cancellations, the Patchwork Storytelling Guild arrived for its City-sponsored performance in our park on Sunday, August 26th.  Ingrid Bohn and Denise McCormack (pictured above) took turns telling tales to a small but enthusiastic audience. Thanks to these two performers whose great energy enriched the stories, some new and other old favorites like Little Red Riding Hood. We're pleased you travelled .far to share your Hood with ours.

Art & Millard

Thursday, August 23rd, was perhaps the most glorious evening of the summer season. Lucky were the folks who came to hear Art Miron (right) and Millard Brown (left) serenade them with sweet harmonies and familar melodies.

Next week is the concluding concert of this years first NWP Performing Arts Series.

STORYTELLING: Re-Scheduled!

Next Sunday evening, August 26th, come bring the whole family to Ned Wolf Park for a special event.  The City of Philadelphia's Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Ecomony presents the Patchwork Story Telling Guild. Two members of the guild, Ingrid Bohn and Denise McCormack will perform a specially planned program.

After two prior rain cancellations, lets hope the Show can go on.  Bring chairs or water-resistant blankets for the lawn, and maybe insect repellent so you are prepared for a fun evening of entertainment.

for more info call Denise @ (609) 807-8238

the SATURDAYS on Thursday

On July 5th, a performance by The Saturdays entertained the crowds of appreciative neighbors and visitors.  Although a steamy summer night, it was very cool to have our weekly gatherings in the park continue with eight more concerts still to be performed this summer in the park.

JULY & AUGUST CONCERTS

We are excited to announce that Thursday night concerts are lined up for the rest of the summer season:

JULY

7/5 - The Saturdays

7/12 - Rhonda Lancaster

7/19 - The Hanson Family

7/26 - David Cope

AUGUST

8/2 - G'vanim

8/9 - Raji Malik & Friends

8/16 - 56 Men

8/23 - Art Miron & Millard Brown

8/30 - Almshouse

Music with GINA!

Music with Gina, performing now at Ned Wolf Park, Thursday 6/21.  A family concert that combines infectious melodies, percussive rhythms brought messages of joy to the children of Mt. Airy.  Sing along songs, dancing, and clapping make the little ones the special focus tonight.

COMMUNITY YARD SALE

Visit Ned Wolf Park on Saturday, June 16, and discover dozens of vendors offering their wares both in Ned Wolf Park and all around the perimeter sidewalks. From 8 am to 2 pm, we fully expect to prove the cliched expression: "One mans's trash is another man's treasure!"....minus the archaic male pronoun, of course.

Thumpin' Thursday

Lindsay Gilmour (center) and Jim Fogarty (right) perform for a large and mellow crowd on June 14, 2017 at Ned Wolf Park. Guest vocalist,  Melissa Martin (left)  added great vocal harmonies to complement the husband and wife duo.
Perfect weather with a gentle breeze made our park feel like it was made to host such crowd-pleasing entertainment.
Next week, an especially family friendly concert meant to have the kids up and dancing - Music with Gina.

Raji Malik & Friends

The first Thursday evening of June, we inaugurated our new Performing Arts Series at Ned Wolf Park. Although the crowd was slow to build, there was an excellent turnout with 60 to 70 adults plus dozens of young children enjow the show Special thanks to Larry Freedman for initiating and cordinating the acts each week in June, and hopefully through the entire summer.

Come by next Thursday for music by Gilmour & Fogarty.

Thursday Eves in June

We are thrilled to announce the very first Performing Arts Series at Ned Wolf Park -Thursday evenings from 6 to 8 pm in June.
This unfunded program will be an experiment to see if our Mt. Airy Community will come out to enjoy some music or other programming. By passing a basket for donations, all contributions go directly to the performer(s).
Organizer and neighbor Larry Freedman@comcast.net hopes to extend the performances through the summer if the series builds momentum with some good, supportive audiences attending.
He hopes to provide a diverse mix of music and perhaps other performances (poetry reading? magicians? dance?).

So, come early for a place on a bench, or bring a chair, a cushion for the stone wall, or a blanket for the lawn.  And don't forget a bit of cash to say thank you to our performers!

JUNE 7 - Raji Malik and Friends will perform acoustic pop with an East Asian flair.

JUNE 14 - Lindsay Gilmour & Jim Fogarty
Acoustic Folk, Pop, Swing and Twang ...original and covers... from two accomplished, well-respected veterans of the music scene from Philly to New Zealand.

JUNE 21 - Gina will offer world music percussion and guitar for the whole family to enjoy. Dancing will be encouraged. Bring the little ones!  www.musicwithgina.com

JUNE 28 - Dragoni & Son will offer jazz, blues and original interpretation of pop favorites by this local duo playing guitar and keyboard. www.dragoni.com

POSTPONED!!!!

THE PLANT SALE IS POSTPONED UNTIL SUNDAY, 5/20, 10 am to 1 pm

SAT or SUN?

The PLANT SALE:

"Will it be held on Saturday or Sunday?"

you may be wondering.

WE ARE TOO!

Because weather forecasts tend to catastrophize precipitation, we will wait until early morning on May 19th to make our final decision.  Check back to this website on Sat. after 8 am so you can know for sure if we need to postpone until Sunday.

   

Gardeners typically are happy to select plants in a drizzle or light rain sprinkle. And it we will proceed on Saturday unless it seems sure that umbrellas needed.

Thanks for bearing with us!

DIVIDING PERENNIALS - A Workshop

Earth Day, April 22, 2018, was a perfect time to do some digging to help educate gardening beginners by unearthing some plants and rinsing off the soil.  Eric Sternfels led a Weavers Way sponsored Workshop - free to members - to shed some light on the practice of dividing perennial plants.

Eric contends that it's less unnerving to slice through a seemingly healthy plant when you understand the underground structures which deliver water and nutrients.  In early Spring,  most divisions not only survive, but they thrive.

MARCH MULCH MADNESS

On the very last day of March, a chilly morning brought nine intrepid volunteers to NWP to spread 12 cubic yards of mulch onto the garden beds. Besides offering a warm blanket to cover the soil, this layer will hopefully inhibit some weeds, hold some moisture, and ultimately break down into nutrient rich compost for the plants.

 Delivered and dumped into two mulch mountains, the team - armed with wheel barrows, rakes, and an indominable spirit -  got to work!  They toiled under the sun, listening to alternately soothing and invigorating music, until the mountains were moved and the sidewalks reappeared. 

Several of the crew celebrated their accomplishment with eggs and milkshakes at the Trolley Car Diner.

KUDOS to Candido, to Susie, to Angus, to Syd, to Steve, to Mark, to Kate, to Eric & to Janet.

Plant Sale Planning

Although the calendar says "Spring," the thermometer still feels like Winter. Meanwhile, the Friends of Ned Wolf Park are excitedly planning our annual Plant Sale for Saturday, May 19th, 2018 from 10 am to 1 pm. We are looking to sell more plants, a wider selection, at prices well below retail to fund our ongoing efforts to maintain and enhance the park. In addition to donated and locally raised perennial plants for sun and shade, we're hunting to source some herbs and annuals to sell as well.  And we are thrilled to again be able to offer a small quantity of glazed pots donated by Campania, International. Look forward to our raffle planters that will feature artfully composed containers that will thrill you all season if you are the lucky winner.  If you visit, you can count on enthusiastic, knowledgeable neighbors to offer gardening advice and to share design tips for those who need it.
It is sure to be a fun day!

Late Winter Blooming

Just ready to burst into yellow flowers this is a shrub called Mahonia.  This rangy shrub has evergreen foliage that is reminiscent of Holly. It is around 6 feet tall and nearly as wide, located to the left of our tool shed. Each spoke of its radial flower clusters has dozens of buds that will soon turn lemon yellow. Most surprising is their sublime spicy-sweet fragrance.  Because it's such an early bloomer, it draws the attention of any pollinator that has emerged from winter hibernation.  And that will lead its pollinated flowers to become small ovoid fruits, colored like blueberries, which will form by late spring.  This season, there looks to be an enormous number of clusters so on a breezy day this March don't be surprised at the heady aroma wafting through the park.

Snowdrops are already in bloom, but until the gray skies turn sunny they won't open their trio of petals to appear more like flowers than buds. The tiny bulbs in these clumps are multiplying fast. Perhaps we should divide a few clumps to creat a broader carpet of SNOWdrops?

Here come our fancy Hellebore blooms. As buds emerge from the soil, they appear blush-colored, but they will open to a blend of pink, cream, and ivory. Then in a few weeks, they will turn pale celery green.  The marbled foliage and dusky pink stems are last year's leaves which will soon be trimmed away to make room for a fresh new set.
Look for these behind the wall of our central paved terrace.  This exceptional cultivar of Helleborus x ericsmithii 'Sun Marble' is no longer available in the trade nor from our mail order source 10 years ago.

Lastly, ephemeral Winter Aconite is finally starting to spread from seed dispersed as this plant disappears - both foliage and flowers by mid Spring.