City Hall has been a lavender hue this month as November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. An effort to educate the public about pancreatic cancer, raise money for research, and inspire communities affected by the Disease. A core circle friend has been valiantly battling this horrible disease this past year.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, Council President Kenyatta Johnson (2nd District) – who both paid tribute to former Mayor Jim Kenny who’s Beverage Tax helped contribute tothe City’s Rebuild program, which renovated rec centers), PA State Senator Anthony H. Williams (8th District), PA State Representative Jordan A. Harris (186th District), City Officials, Make the World Better Foundation, (who also supported the project) and community members celebrated the grand reopening of Vare Recreation Center in South Philadelphia with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
This milestone marks the completion of the $21 million Rebuild project, Rebuild’s largest completed project to date, which modernized and revitalized the facilities for the Grays Ferry and Point Breeze communities.
Great news: World-renowned ticket booth service TKTS officially opened its new booth in Philadelphia in partnership with Visit Philadelphia! “We’re the fourth city in the world to house this go-to destination for last-minute, discount tickets to live theatre and arts performances next to New York City, London and Tokyo.”
Located inside the Independence Visitor Center, TKTS Philadelphia offers 30-50% off tickets for live performances within 72 hours to 20 participating performing arts companies in Greater Philadelphia.
A full list of participating arts organizations throughout Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties is available HERE.
Speaking of Broadway shows, I’ve seen Wicked 8 times on Broadway, and 3 times at Ensemble Arts at the Academy of Music. It’s my favorite show. SO when I was invited to see a sneak preview of the long awaited movie I flew over to the AMC Cherry Hill to take it all in. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star as Glinda and Elphaba. These two were destined to play the iconic roles, and slipped into the crystal and ruby shoes seamlessly. The movie runs a little over 2 hrs and 40 minutes, which is not baffling as the Broadway show runs at 2.30 minutes. The time goes quickly, and you don’t even realize time slipping away until the end of the movie when it says PART 1!! WHAT!! OMG I have to wait a year to see Part 2, which if we were watching the stage show would be Act 2. Nonetheless it is still worthwhile seeing Wicked, Part 1. The last scene is incredible, and Cynthia Erivo should get an Oscar for it. Spoiler alert, all the good songs are in Act 1, so you probably can just wait 18 months and catch Act 2 on streaming.
Traffic Alert: Just avoid driving in Center City this weekend. The Philadelphia Marathon is happening and all the streets are closed, partially closed, or as is the case lately, being worked on.
Socially Yours, HughE
