Three events one community!
Sunday, October 15th was an action-packed day at the garden, Sankofa Farm, 56th Street Plaza, and the Schuylkill River. We were honored to host three events on that day to celebrate the community, our work for the year, and our flowing river.
The day began with a multifaceted harvest festival that was free and open to the community. The day was non-stop action with an estimated 1,200 people in attendance including Tilden Middle School, POP (Philadelphia Orchard Project), and the Vetri Community Kitchen.
There was no shortage of activities ranging from horse rides, seed keeping, hot sauce/applesauce demos, cider making, garlic planting, and farm tours. The event celebrated the work the farm and our neighbors have accomplished over this past year in an effort to continue our commitment to connecting the community through the land.
While we were celebrating at Sankofa Farm, we were simultaneously having a celebration of the river at our Community Boathouse, as part of the Alliance for Watershed Education of the Delaware Valley River Days Festival. Not only did we have free boating all day, we also had a community activity where people could learn about the wildlife and plants of the Turtle River, now known as the Schuylkill. Special thanks go out to the William Penn Foundation for their support to make River Days a reality.
The evening finished off with the John Bartram Jawn, produced in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia. The Jawn is an annual family-friendly outdoor concert featuring musicians and performers with deep connections to Southwest Philadelphia. This year marked our third year in a row bringing food and music to the community. This year we featured special guests Freeway and Recohavoc, with additional performances by Cheris Youth, Lou Anthony, Nyfease Sims, Derek Hawkins, Flex Squad, Janina Simone, King Non, Shyste, illadelsol, Emotae, Ness, and Dawan Williams.
Plus a special shout out to Sophia Poe (Artist and Community Organizer), Host Jr Morris and EncoreEntertainment.org.
Heartfelt thanks to everyone providing food for the event, and also to our vendors. AT&T also lent support to make the Jawn a reality.
This year we partnered with the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum who offer shuttle service to the events to and from various locations in Southwest Philadelphia.
