East Falls: Glassblowing Studio Is All Access To The Public
With the help of over-sized tweezers, a wooden paddle and a 2,000 degree furnace, Nikolaj Christensen and his coworkers at East Falls Glassworks are able to turn molten glass into a masterpiece. Nikolaj Christensen is the director and head glassblower at the East Falls Glassworks. Christensen’s passion for glassblowing began in 2001 when taking an […]
Local Music: Marley McNamara Builds Community Behind The Scenes
Marley McNamara turned her passion for music into a career. McNamara became involved with the Philadelphia music scene through a job tending bar at World Cafe Live. From there, McNamara began booking small shows at the venue. She built friendships with people and started booking shows full-time. McNamara took her music career further and began […]
West Philadelphia: Local organizations tackle food insecurity
Every Tuesday and Saturday, Kinji Ridley parks his car and unloads boxes of groceries from the trunk, handing them over to volunteers who set them up on benches and picnic tables. A line of dozens of West Philadelphia residents forms and they each pick out bags of food, assembly-line style, before dispersing and going their separate […]
Kingsessing: Developing Adult Literacy Provides Opportunities
Eight years ago, Darrow Lyons’ wife encouraged him to join Never 2 Late, an adult literacy program offered through the Center for Literacy, an organization that provides programs to adult learners. The 63-year-old South Philly resident has been attending classes ever since. The program is held at the Kingsessing Branch of the Free Library every […]
Belmont: Entrepreneur Jennell Moody Hopes To Inspire City’s Youth
When she was 14 years old, Jennell Moody (above) started braiding her neighbors’ hair on the front steps of her mother’s North Philadelphia home. Word of her skills spread through word of mouth, and Moody eventually turned her hairstyling into a small business, charging $10 for the neighborhood girls to come get their hair done. […]
Northeast: Brain Waste Drags Down Immigrants And Economy
All along Bustleton Avenue are businesses built by foreign-born people who came to the U.S. in pursuit of a better life. Yet many highly educated and skilled immigrants are underemployed in Northeast Philadelphia and the U.S. “Over 40 percent of immigrants in Philadelphia hold at least a bachelor’s degree,” said Nikki Pumphrey, director of strategic […]
Fox Chase: Survivor Of Danube Swabian Ethnic Cleansing Shares Her Story
Since the Danube Swabian Association moved to Fox Chase in 1972 it has been dedicated to passing on its Germanic culture and history, as well as honoring the memory of those lost to the ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia in the 1940s. One Danube Swabian member, 89-year-old Katharina Marx, is a survivor of ethnic cleansing. Marx […]
Fishtown: Tapping Into The Life Of An Irish Evil Genius
Trevor Hayward left his home in Ireland and came to the United States in 2007 to continue his education. He is now the co-owner of Evil Genius Beer Company, which opened March 8, 2017 on Front Street in Fishtown. Hayward, 33, lived in Portmarnock, which is near Dublin, for the first 23 years of his life. […]
Bustleton: Amateur Boxing Champion Punches for the Gold
While 15-year-old Natalie Dove awaits to defend her No. 1 junior women’s boxing ranking in the amateurs, she is focusing on her bigger dream: Winning the 2020 Olympic gold medal for her gym and country. “It’s almost here and I am ready,” said Dove, who has been training for the gold since she was […]
Brewerytown: Brewerytown Garden Brings Neighbors Together Through Food and Fun
The Brewerytown Garden, located at 27th and Master streets, has become a staple in the community, bringing people together by welcoming them into the space, whether or not they have gardening experience. Nissa Eisenburg is a regular gardener at the garden. She explained what the garden means to the surrounding area. When was the garden […]