Summer 2007

Brian Siano, Editor Jonathan Snyder, Publisher PO Box 31908, , PA 19104 Telephone 215-552-8186 Website: http://www.clarkpark.info Bulletin Board: http://www.clarkpark.blogspot.com Email: [email protected] Calendar of Events See http://www.clarkpark.info for additional events and date or time changes. Wed. July 18: General Member- ship Meeting The Bowl. Sat. July 21: The Philadelphia Orchestra Free Neighborhood Concert 7:00 p.m. July 29-July 31: Shakespeare in the Park Amplified Sound Commission Rehearsal 3-9 pm, July 30 and 31 - 5-9pm Removes Trees in Clark Park Long-standing safety hazards no longer standing or hazardous by Brian Siano During the first week of July, the Fairmount Park Commission removed eight dead and dying trees from Clark Park. Many of these trees were long dead, and considered safety hazards, while others were Norway Maples, deemed an invasive species by the study. Thanks to the good people at Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s office, the tree removals were given a higher priority this year. The specific trees to be removed were se- Aug. 1- 5: Shakespeare in the lected by Fairmount Park Commission, which Park, Romeo and Juliet has authority over all trees in Philadelphia. The Nightly at 7 pm. trees included one Norway Maple in Park A Tues. Aug. 7th: FoCP Board (near the Gettysburg Stone), a bleached and Meeting leafless London Plain by the Bowl, and three Sat. Aug. 18: Pink Elephant dead London Planes and two Red Oaks in Park Health Fair and Bazaar, Grief B. Surprisingly, the Tulip Poplar at the north- Assistance Program east corner of the Bowl-- at the time, the tallest DJ music 11-5. Contact: Sadiyah Ra- tree in the Park-- was deemed hazardous by the sheed 215-685-7408 FPC arborists, and removed. Tues. Sept. 4th: FoCP Board This offers us new opportunities for plant- Meeting ing new trees. The FoCP maintains a Memorial Sat. Sept. 8th: Woodland Ave Tree program where you can donate to the Tree Reunion Endowment and dedicate a tree to a human, Contact: Allen Diggs 215-727-8883 living or dead, of your choice. Sat. Sept 15th: Clark Park Music We also encourage people to take the Penn- and Arts Festival sylvania Horticultural Society/Philadelphia http://www.myspace.com/clarkparkfest Green Tree Tender Training course as a Friend

(continued) Tree Removal photos by Matt Grubel of Clark Park, and join the ranks of the Clark Park Tree Tenders. And we need Historical Marker help with the ongoing work of watering and pruning. If you’re interested, con- Restored It was installed without fanfare in late tact Lewis Mellman at lewismellman66@ April, but a new historical marker com- msn.com. It’s a great way to spend some memorating Satterlee Hospital has been time in the park, meet some fun people installed to replace the one that was tak- and contribute to the park. en. So, the Friends of Clark Park would like to extend a big “thank you” to Mike Hardy and the University City Histori- cal Society (http://www.uchs.org), which paid for the sign, and to the University City District (UCD), who installed it.

Spruce Hill May Fair, May 2007

Uhuru Flea Market, May 2005 Parrots watch skeptically as Jonathan Snyder and Becka Zinn move FoCP merch.

 Friends of Clark Park UCD will have 21 high school juniors Philadelphia Orchestra Returns to Clark Park and seniors in our Summer Jobs Pro- th UCD Brings Concert to Bowl to Celebrate 10 Anniversary gram this year and they will be available By Lewis Wendell to help in the Park with watering trees The Philadelphia Orchestra will hood Concert Series. and flowers during their eight weeks on return to Clark Park on July 21, 2007 The event will be held in the Clark the job around University City. at 7:00 PM. The UCD Board and Staff Park “bowl” at 43rd Street and Chester Making their first appearance in began discussions late last year of how Avenue. To get ready for the event and Clark Park since 2001, the Philadelphia best to celebrate our 10th Anniversary to prepare for our guests, Moon Land- Orchestra has distinguished itself as one and the idea of having the Philadelphia scaping has aerated the soil in the bowl of the leading orchestras in the world Orchestra back in Clark Park got rave and seeded it with grass to try to provide through a century of acclaimed perfor- reviews. The idea became a reality a more hospitable ground cover for the mances, historic international tours and when UCD staff members began dis- thousands of neighbors and visitors that best-selling recordings. For this event, cussions with The Orchestra and UCD are expected for the concert. Members conductor Rossen Milanov will lead the Board Member Susan Phillips of the of the Friends of Clark Park, including Orchestra in a concert featuring Chab- Penn Health System quickly committed Chris Leswing and Michael Nairn, have rier’s Espana, Bizet’s Suite No.2 from the first cash sponsorship. Other cash been helping out with the first water- Carmen, Rimsky-Korskov’s Capriccio and in-kind sponsors besides the Hos- ing and oversight assistance to help the Espanol, Marque’s Danzon, Barber’s pital of the University of grass growing process along and helping suite from Souvenirs and Ravel’s Bo- are: Campenella Construction, Campus with other work that needs to be done lero. Apartments, Coca Cola, City Paper, the including taking down some dead trees We look forward to seeing all of you Friends of Clark Park, HMS School, that are creating hazardous conditions on July 21 at 7:00 PM for this spectacu- Department of Recreation, UCnet, The in the Park. The Park’s Seasonal Main- lar and work class celebration of com- University of Pennsylvania and the Uni- tenance worker Thomas Williams and munity, music, culture and 10 years of versity of the Sciences in Philadelphia. our Department of Recreation represen- UCD’s work to improve the quality of Wachovia is the official presenter of The tative Barbara McCabe will also pitch in life in University City. Philadelphia Orchestra’s Free Neighbor- to help with the longer term watering.

The Philadelphia Orchestra in Clark Park, Summer 2001. Photo copyright Eric Sellen/The Philadelphia Orchestra Association. Used with permission. Friends of Clark Park  diately that Clark Park was the perfect Shakespeare in the Park Returns place to produce this kind of outdoor theatre,” says Maria Möller. “Besides for a Second Year being a beautiful setting, we knew the Romeo and Juliet to run for first week of August diversity and community spirit of the park would bring something unique to the productions.” That community spirit has certainly been in evidence. With help from the University City District, the Spruce Hill Community Association, the University of the Sciences of Philadelphia and the Friends of Clark Park, the company has been able to grow from last year, im- proving its sound equipment, expanding the set and costume designs, and hiring Equity actors. The number of perfor- mances have also been increased from four to five --- so mark your calendars with at least one of those dates! (And don’t forget a picnic and a blanket.) Bradley Wrenn in Twelfth Night, August 2006. Romeo and Juliet will be performed Last August, people from all over Shakespeare in Clark Park was over- at 7pm on Wednesday, August 1 – Sun- Philadelphia enjoyed free theatre dur- whelmed by the positive response that day, August 5 at the Chester Avenue ing Shakespeare in Clark Park’s pro- Twelfth Night received. The show end of “the bowl”. For more informa- duction of Twelfth Night. This year, drew record crowds to Clark Park and tion, visit http://www.shakespeareinclark- Shakespeare in Clark Park returns for Toby Zinman of The Philadelphia In- park.org or call 215-462-2115. a second year with a vibrant interpreta- quirer said, “Bring a blanket and picnic And are you interested in partici- tion of Romeo and Juliet, contrasting dinner, bring the kids, the dogs, the bicy- pating in Shakespeare in Clark Park? the green of the park with a very urban cle, bug spray, a beach chair, whatever Would you like to help build the set, dis- city of Verona. Twelfth Night director --- but don’t miss this one.” The group tribute publicity or usher the evening of Tom Reing returns for this production, was formed in the fall of 2005 when lo- the show? We need volunteers! Please which features Marla Burkholder (last cal theatre artists Marla Burkholder and email Whitney Estrin at whitney@shake- year’s Viola) as Juliet, Conrad Ricamora Maria Möller invited colleagues Whitney speareinclarkpark.org or call 215-462- as Romeo, and Bradley K. Wrenn (last Estrin and Tom Reing to join them in 2115 for more information. year’s Malvolio) as Mercutio. creating free, out- In keeping with the company’s mis- door, professional sion, director Tom Reing has created a summer Shake- world that resonates both with the phys- speare in Philadel- icality of the park and the city surround- phia. ing it. Verona is a city on edge, stripped “Marla and of nature amidst the lush greenness of I realized that Clark Park. “Romeo and Juliet is not Shakespeare in the just a play about a pair of star-cross’d park was a missing lovers,” says Reing. “It is also about the piece in Philadel- senseless conflict that almost destroys a phia’s summer arts city --- until conflict is transformed by puzzle. Marla lives love. That divided community is very in Spruce Hill and much at the heart of our production.” we realized imme- Conrad Ricamora and Marla Burkholder in Romeo and Juliet.  Friends of Clark Park The Good Water Story Outreach Committee New drinking fountain alleviates dehydration, parched dogs, and dirty hands. by Tony West Expands Reach In mid-June, we saw something in Clark Park that nobody has ever seen be- Frank L. Chance, fore: a public drinking water fountain! Outreach Committee Chair This improvement has been sought for four years, and in the works for two Though there have been no formal years. The fountain comes to the community courtesy of grants from Pennsylvania meetings of the Outreach Committee Horticultural Society and University City District. since April, we continue to work on our It is attached to the outside north wall of the shed in the Middle Park, close primary goal of establishing relation- to 45th St., because there was already a plumbing line to that facility. Recreation ships with the users of the park in order Dept. maintenance staff did the installation work -- thanks to Barb McCabe, our to better respond to their needs. When Parks Coordinator, for arranging that. And we’re proud to note that in an era when the formally organized groups such as free facilities of all sorts are in retreat from public spaces in our society, they are the Farmers Market and Spruce Hill making a small comeback in Clark Park. Community Association hold their ac- tivities in the park, we make it a practice for FOCP Outreach Committee repre- sentatives to attend and listen to ways we can make Clark Park work more ef- fectively for our users. Recently, we have been successful in talking to some other groups who use the park regularly. Informal meetings with dog walkers, volleyball players, and chess competitors are an ongoing part of this effort, but in May the drum circle began to perform again in the plaza near the Dickens statue. Claude Cantave has come forward as a repre- Tony West stands proudly next to the water fountain. Inset: Steve the Disembodied Hand demonstrates proper use of the fountain. sentative of this group, and has shown a willingness to meet with the Outreach The Bad Water Story Committee on a regular basis. On April 15, a date which usually lives in infamy anyway, a heavy rainstorm We know many players enjoy the and a faulty drain combined to resurrect the Mill Pond. The Bowl has been flooded basketball court in Park B, but it has so several times this spring. And while it was certainly picturesque the first time-- far been hard to find a representative prompting dreams of paddle boats, water polo leagues, and serenading Venetian who can speak for them at meetings. If gondoliers-- it’s become a pattern of stagnant puddles and gummy muck. you are a participant in this activity and The FoCP is in contact with the Departments of Recreation and Water, and we are willing to come to a meeting once hope to get the drains repaired. But the dogs seem to enjoy it. every few months, it would be very helpful if you can contact the Outreach Committee. The Outreach Committee will meet again in September to prepare for the fall General Meeting of FOCP. If you are interested in joining the Outreach Committee, or if you represent a group we have not yet contacted, please get in touch with me by email at chancefl@ sas.upenn.edu or by telephone at 215- Left: The Bowl, April 15th. Right: A dog, enjoying it. 573-4203. Friends of Clark Park  Contents Life in Clark Park Fairmount Park Commission Removes Trees in Clark Park 1 Historical Marker Restored 2 Philadelphia Orchestra Returns to Clark Park 3 Shakespeare in the Park Returns for a Second Year 4 The Good Water Story 5 The Bad Water Story 5 Outreach Committee Expands Reach 5 Life in Clark Park 6

We thought it’d be nice to run a picture of a nice, cool day in the Park. This was just four months ago. Nice and cool, wasn’t it? Yeah. Well, it’ll be back. And that’s when we run pictures of sweaty Frisbee players.

Friends of Clark Park PO Box 31908 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19104

In This Issue: Trees, Water, Volleyball, Orchestras, Warring Families, and Civil War Memorials Magically Restored.