“We are disgusted by the assault that took place early Friday morning outside our establishment. The man who punched our member does not work for CODA. That individual did not act, nor had permission to act, on behalf of our venue. It was our staff that called 911 to report the incident and CODA management has and will continue to cooperate fully with the Philadelphia Police Department. CODA has no tolerance for violence such as this and we pride ourselves on maintaining a safe and positive space where people can enjoy live entertainment.”

http://www.codaphilly.com/

I’ve been to Coda many times, and it’s always a fun place to go and the staff is very caring and professional. – HughE

You’ll recall last year The Slide in the City was on scheduled for a stop in Philly, but was cancelled after it was announce (it did go on as scheduled in Lancaster, Pa, where it’s scheduled again Aug 21, or as I like to call it the day after Ms Streisand sings for us at Wells Fargo). Call this Ground Hogs Day cause there seems to be trouble in river city again… (that’s a Music Man quote) for the 1,000 ft slip N slide with music, food and vendors  festival. Hopefully it’s not the naysayers that complain you can’t “close” a city park even for a fun couple of days on a slip and slide. Anyway here’s the press release I just got from the organizers.  It seems Slide in the City didn’t receive a permit before they announced the event. Below is Slide’s a few highlights from their press release.

Plans for Slide the City Philadelphia were announced last week. The announcement was made based on written communication from Councilman Henon’s office indicating that permits were 99% complete. Unfortunately, the permit may be delayed which could affect the proposed date.   In a recent conference call, Slide the City requested information as to why the permit is being held up.  They were informed that someone had already reserved the same location on the same date.

“It’s unfortunate we are running into issues bringing this one-of-a-kind event to Philly for the first time,” said Slide the City event director Chris Conran. “If the date and venue were already spoken for, we would have liked to have known on February 12^th when we submitted the permit application.”

Slide the City was working closely with Playworks to bring the event to Philadelphia. Slide the City will be offering a free day of slides for underprivileged youth on the Friday before the event.  The charity was set up to be the title sponsor for the event and helped get Slide the City in contact with Councilman Henon’s office, who was working to provide the permit for the event.

Slide the City has not received an official permit denial or a reason for not receiving a permit. After repeated phone calls and emails, Slide the City received their first response from the Special Events and Parks and Rec Department this morning without any more information regarding the delayed permit.

Until this morning, all communication to this point had been through the councilman’s office. The only information given to Slide the City about the delayed permit was, “After much discussion about Slide the City’s event, the City and its partners have determined that we can not move forward with it.”  “If the only reason the event does not take place is because we sent a press release announcing that the event was coming to Philadelphia, I hope we can resolve that issue,” said Slide the City PR Manager Amy Gessel.  With over 25,000 people on the waiting list, Slide the City hopes these issues can be resolved in a timely manner so that Slide the City Philadelphia can be a cornerstone event for the city this year and years to come.

• How about the back of the Art Museum, there’s a really nice hill there. Or better yet Belmont Plateau, what an amazing view of the City.

Wheel of Fortune is doing a week of shows featuring Philadelphia, May 16-20, as part of their great American Cities series.

The series airs at 730PM Monday through Friday

 Pat Sajak and Vanna White spent an action-packed few days in Philadelphia last October doing promo spots at several locations including the Philadelphia Zoo where I caught up with them. 

Thanks to 6ABC I was able to ask America’s Sweetheart Couple, together for 33 years, a few questions during their visit last year.
Here is what I found out.

• The entire year is filmed in 35 days, over a 9 month period. Ever since they went from manual letters to electronic letters, they’ve been able to film an entire week in one day.
•  “I have never worn the same dress twice, and I’ve worn over 6,000 gowns, ” all loaners from designers! Once or twice she’s bought a gown from the designer to wear to a function.
• When she’s not on TV or making a public appearance “I am a blue jeans and no make up kind of girl off camera. I also go to bed early and wake up early.”
  

  photo provided

• Vanna loves to crochet, and has her own line of yarn, “Vanna’s Choice,” she’s donated over $1 million dollars to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
• Pat Sajak is a big fan of hockey and his favorite team is the Washington Capitals, as he lives in Maryland close to DC. When the Caps play the Flyers you’ll find him in the stands cheering them.
• He’s never really gotten mad at a contestant for missing an easily guessed word, even though the internet disagrees with him.
• The one question they are asked the most is have they ever dated each other – NO; Pat’s been married to his wife Lesly for 39 years.
• They’re kinda tired of hearing people call out to them “Can I Buy A Vowel”, which is consistently done from fans even before a hello!
• They loved their time in Philly, the food is delicious. They said eating at Townsend is a must stop for anyone who visits Philadelphia. In fact they both told me it was a reason to visit Philadelphia.

All 15 contestants are from the Philadelphia area and include a middle school and history teacher, a graduate student, a firefighter, and a local business owner. Prizing will be sourced from local businesses and the audience will include Philadelphia-based sweepstakes winners flown in for the festivities.

A little Wednesday gossip:

It’s finally here, Mac Mart is opening this weekend

See you at 104 s. 18th

Pandora is now opened on 1613 Walnut Street

Move, Groove & Swing at Weston Fitness 1835 Market St.
May 25 – 530 – 730 PM
Open to the public

The Rittenhouse Square Target is coming along.

As is the Museum of the American Revolution

Ruth Chris Steak House is looking dandy at the Sonesta Hotel. Look for it to open the first week in June.

Still waiting on Saige Cafe the Coffee and wine bar offers tapas on first floor of 2116 Chestnut Street.

I saw Bobby Hill at Opera Philadelphia’s The Elixir of Love on Friday night. He told me he just got back from recording a CD with the Czech Republic Orchestra

I just came across this nugget. Does that mean the cafe is not in Creed 2?

Let’s Go!! I’ll be there right after the Radnor Hunt.

Preakness at the Piazza