Uwishunu.com

The following is an excerpt from a blog post by local restaurateur and caterer Steve Poses. This is one in a series of features he’s running on area farmers’ markets. To read the full text on his blog, click here.

Clark Park is located in the Spruce Hill Neighborhood of West Philadelphia’s University City District. The area was originally colonial farmland. Perhaps our Founding Fathers enjoyed just-picked corn from here? As Philadelphia grew and modernized, this area evolved into an early street-car suburb. The Park itself was established in 1895 and sits on land once occupied by Satterlee Hospital which during the Civil War was our country’s second largest. Sixty thousand Union soldiers were treated at the hospital.

Today, the nine acre park, located between Baltimore and Woodland Avenues and 43rd and 45th Street, provides both green space and a community focal point. Clark Park sits at the southwestern edge of the University of Pennsylvania campus and the medical complex that runs along Civic Center Boulevard back toward University Avenue. Adding to the academic underpinning of the area is the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia which sits adjacent to Clark Park.

The Clark Park Farmers’ Market is located along 43rd Street between Baltimore and Woodland. It’s easily accessible by bus or subway surface trolley. There is also plenty of convenient and free street parking. This market is an essential component of the neighborhood. It is where neighbors find moments of bonhomie. Plus it also has amazing local food.

Farmers’ Markets are generally not the random collection of farmers and food artisans that they may appear to be. They are put together by a “sponsor/organizer” to include a thoughtful cross-section of stands. Clark Park is organized by The Food Trust and includes a wonderful mix of about 25 stands. Smaller markets will, of necessity, have a more abbreviated mix.

The mix of farm stands will include an “organic farm stand.” Typically, an Amish farmer or two is included.

This Amish farm stand offered a hot summer’s day refreshment of iced cold Blackberry Juice, Peppermint Tea and Root Beer by the cup, pint or quart.

A bakery stand is de rigueur — gluten free offerings a plus. Some farmers’ markets including Rittenhouse Square have gluten-free only stands.

A fruit specialist is a little like the Macy’s — the anchor store in the mall.

Ideally a stand will provide grass-fed beef and other meat and poultry. Landisdale Farm provided all of the grass-fed beef used in today’s Homegrown Philly Cheesesteak give-away at the LOVE Park Farmers’ Market.

Click here to continue reading this post at Just in at Homegrown.

Steve Poses is founder of Frog Commissary. A local restaurateur, caterer and author, it’s his goal to increase home entertaining. Steve’s latest book, At Home by Steve Poses: A Caters Guide to Cooking and Entertaining, was released in 2009. It’s the inspiration for At Home Online, a website and blog designed to make home entertaining as easy as possible with tips, guides and recipes. Click here to subscribe to his e-newsletter. Steve can also be found on Twitter as @SPoses. Click here to follow him.

Start your Hispanic Heritage Month celebration a few days early!

According to the calendar, the official summer season is over. However, we’ve still got a few weeks of lovely, summer-like weather around these parts. What better way to soak up those last few rays of sun than by attending the Mexican Independence Fiesta at Penn’s Landing Great Plaza!

This Sunday, September 12th, 2010 celebrate Mexico’s bicenntenial. There’ll be music, food, dancing and more, so everyone is sure to have a good time. Whether you’re into arts and crafts, Mexican rock or traditional dances, your Sunday afternoon is bound to enjoyable. Be sure to bring the kids along because they’ll be able to participate in face painting, balloons, and giveaways.

Did we mention the festival is free?

The Mexican Independence Festival is the second-to-last of the eleven PECO Multicultural Series festivals. Stay tuned next weekend for the Russian Mosaic Heritage Festival. Until then, remember to continue celebrating your heritage in Philly.

Mexican Independence Day Festival
When: Sunday, September 12th, 1 pm to 7 pm
Where: Penn’s Landing’s Great Plaza (Columbus Blvd. and Chestnut Street)
Cost: FREE admission

We’re giving away a pair of tickets to Feastival and we want to give you a chance to win them! The giveaway closes tomorrow, September 10 promptly at 12 noon, so many sure to click over to the entry form today and sign up for an opportunity to win. Feastival is a fundraiser for the Live Arts and Philly Fringe Festival that’s going on now.

Looking for some autumnal, harvest-y activities to do with friends or family over the next few weeks? Consider paying a visit to the Peter Wentz Farmstead in Worcester, PA. Each fall, they host a series of weekend festivals. First up is an event that’s part of their Laerenswaert series, this Saturday, September 11th. A German phrase that means “worth learning,” they’ll be focusing in on the Farmstead’s Colonial gardens from 1-3 p.m.

On Saturday, September 25th, they’ll be showcasing the Fall Harvest, 18th century-style. Demonstrations will include preserving fruits and vegetables, apple cider pressing and the breaking, scutching and combing of flax, to eventually being spun into linen thread. This event runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Peter Wentz Farmstead was built in 1758 and served as George Washington’s headquarters during his attempt to keep the British out of Philadelphia in the fall of 1777. Currently, it is run by Montgomery County as a fully restored historical site and admission is free.

Don’t miss the 2010 Philadelphia Hero Thrill Show! Scheduled for Saturday, September 18, this show features daredevil demonstrations, performances by the Highway Patrol Motorcycle Drill Team, the Strike Force Bicycle Stunt Team, an appearance by the K-9 Unit and the Philadelphia Police & Fire Pipes and Drums.

This fall fundraiser has something for the entire family. Older kids will enjoy the mixed martial arts demonstrations by Matrix Fights while the younger ones will be charmed by the traditional carnival midway. Philadelphia Phillies players Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino are both scheduled to make appearances.

The show begins at 11:30 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. outside the Wells Fargo Center (formerly the Wachovia Center). Tickets are $10 per person or $25 for families. They are available at local police, fire stations or online here.

Hero Thrill Show
Saturday, September 18
Wells Fargo Center
herothrillshow.org

Head on down to Green Fest Philly, this Sunday, September 12th from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. Green Fest is a free, one-day street fair that takes place at 2nd and South Streets and is dedicated to raising awareness of all things sustainable.

Last year, more than 200 exhibitors and 20,000 people attended. The festival includes tasty vegetarian food, live music, activities for the kids, valet bike parking, free yoga and composting and recycling demonstrations. This year, the theme is fashion and so you’ll also see an Eco Exchange Fashion Show and Clothing Swap. Everything from sewing buttons to donating old clothes and shoes will be discussed.

Don’t forget that GreenFest takes place right next to the Headhouse Square Farmers’ Market, so bring a few extra buck and a reusable bag and do your grocery shopping the green way!

GreenFest Philly
greenfestphilly.org

The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. This Friday, September 17, the National Constitution Center will be celebrating the anniversary of Constitution Day with free admission (thanks to Beneficial Bank) and full day of programming.

Highlights of the Center’s Constitution Day celebration include a special broadcast of the Center’s distance learning program, Constitution Hall Pass, with an introduction by Sandra Day O’ Connor, to one million students across the country through Channel One News, as well as the dramatic conclusion of the Center’s Twitter Convention, as the identity of the mystery tweeter from the Constitutional Convention is finally revealed.

Events begin at 8:30 a.m. with a close-up viewing of the artist rendering of the Constitution’s Preamble, which is etched into the front of the building and wrap up at 12:45 p.m. with the awards presentation for the “We the People 9*17” contest, hosted by Constituting America. A full schedule of events is included after the jump.

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We made mention of the Festival de Flores in this post, but it’s such a neat event that we wanted to make sure that no one missed out on this opportunity to see some of the most beautiful community gardens in the city.

The event is on Sunday, September 12. Festivities begin at 3 p.m. with a Philly Fringe Performance by COSACOSA. The September 12th celebration will gather friends, community members, partner organizations, and gardening enthusiasts at NSNP’s Las Parcelas Garden. The real party begins at 4 p.m. and will include music, traditional Puerto Rican food and people from all over the city of Philadelphia.

The Norris Square Gardens truly feel like a piece of Puerto Rico, set down in North Philadelphia. Explore the gardens for yourself and you’ll see. During the festival, you can can take yourself on tours of Las Parcelas Garden, Villa Africana Colobó Garden and Raices Garden.

There is a $10 suggested donation for this event. NSNP will be accepting checks and cash donations at the Festival de Flores. You may make also make donation online. If September 12 happens to be a rainy day, the festival will be bumped to October 2, 2010. Las Parcelas is located along N. Palethorp St. (just below N. 2nd St.), between W. Susquehanna Ave. and W. Dauphin St.

Eating local is all the rage these days (we should know, we built an entire website dedicated to helping people do it). For those of us in the Delaware Valley, there’s one component of our diet that is almost always local, whether it’s something we’re trying for our not. Nearly all the cultivated mushrooms sold in this country are grown in and around Kennett Square, PA. They produce more than one million pounds of mushrooms a year and are the self-proclaimed Mushroom Capital of the World.

Next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, all of Kennett Square will be decked out for their annual celebration of the noble fungi (it’s the 25th annual shindig). Festivities start on Friday night with a 7 p.m. community parade at South and Broad. Visitors will have the opportunity to check out the Mushroom Growing Exhibit, the Painted Mushrooms Silent Auction, a Mushroom Soup Cook-off and an Antique and Classic Car Show. A number of local chefs will also be on hand to demonstrate a variety of mushroom recipes in the Culinary Hall.

Admission to the Mushroom Festival is just $2 for everyone ages 12 and up (kids 11 and under get in for free). All proceeds go to benefit regional non-profit organizations through the Mushroom Festival Grant program. Parking is $5 and includes a free shuttle bus ride to the main Street Fair. For more information about hours and festival policies, click here.

Kennett Square Mushroom Festival
September 10-12, 2010
Kennett Square, PA 19348
mushroomfestival.org

This Sunday, grab the family and head down to Supper. They’ve brought back their much-heralded Sunday Supper program and are kicking off the season with a traditional Maryland-style crab boil. The menu includes steamed blue crabs, Maryland stuffed ham, slaws, succotash, roasted potatoes and handmade biscuits. For dessert, generous slices of Lady Baltimore Cake.

The dinner costs $38* per person and the proceeds benefit The Food Trust.

*Price does not include drinks, tax or tip.

This Friday, September 3rd head down to Old City for First Friday and the new exhibit at the Art in the Age store. Entitled Nix Besser (which means none better), the show features the history and traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch. It’s all brought to life through the creations and illustrations of Rev. Michael Alan. Included are illustrations of the many heirloom cookie recipes that Rev. Alan collected from friends and family. Physical samples of those recipes will be available in the store for tasting.

The exhibit runs through the end of September.

Art in the Age
116 N. 3rd Street
Philadelphia, PA
artintheage.com

Last Friday, I took a break from the glow of my computer screen to walk over to Love Park and check out the Philly Bike Share demonstrations that were taking place (you know, the ones we told you about). Upon arrival, I was greeted by a faux-kiosk, set up to look like it will when the bikes are in place around the city, as well as a number Philadelphians, just as curious about the possibility of bike sharing as I am.

What I learned has me quite excited. The way it will work is that those kiosks will be erected all over the city. You can either pre-register online or simply pay with a credit card when you decide you want to rent a bike. The first portion of the rental is free (they haven’t determined what the length of that free period will be) and then you’re charged small increments of money for any time beyond that initial period. You can return the bike to any kiosk with space when you’re done with it and the whole goal is to have people choosing to hop on a bike when they need to run a short, urban errand, instead of choosing a car.

The bike kiosks are operated by a company called Bcycle that has the technology of bike sharing down to a science. They have built-in sensors that tell them where the bikes are and if they’re in need of service. They’ve also constructed the bikes out of parts that are non-standard, so anyone who has ideas about stealing parts from them must have a very creatively constructed set of tools.

I’m looking forward to seeing them come to the city!