The following is a seasonal poem submitted by Fox Chase resident G. E. Reutter. continue reading »

Zachary Blaisdell, right, and Colin Field, perform “Play with your Food” during Act 1 of “Honk.” Photo/Steven Mitchell

With Easter Sunday less than a week away, Father Judge High School picked the right time to host its annual spring musical.

Honk!, which was first developed in 1993 by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, tells the story of a baby duck called Ugly who is different from the rest of the other ducks.

The show was fun, exciting and catchy. However, it was hard to miss the many underlying messages throughout the show. The primary one being bullying and its negative impact on society, mainly the individual being bullied.

The story of Ugly

Made fun of by his siblings, his father and the rest of the other ducks, Ugly wishes he was like the rest of them. However, his mother Ida reassures him there’s nothing wrong with being different.

As his family is away eating without him, Ugly is lured away by a Cat who is intent on eating him. Luckily Ugly, played by senior Zachary Blaisdell, escapes after a musical number, Play with your Food, performed quite nicely by Colin Field, who played the sly and conniving cat. The show continues with Ugly trying to find his mother.

Along the way he runs into a beautiful swan, Penny, whom he refers to as pretty Penny, saving her from a tangled fishing line. Eventually, Ugly is found by his mother frozen during the winter months, but her tears bring him back to life as a swan, and he is reunited with Penny, to whom he bid adieu when she and her flock migrated south for the winter.

More than a play

“As much as we don’t like to admit it, bullying happens and I don’t think it’s ever going to go away,” Field said.

Lorry VanBuskirk, a mother of two in the show, said she believes this was the right time for the show with everything going on in today’s world. “Maybe the show taught the kids a little bit that everyone does have a bit of swan inside of them.”

Dominic Mallon, a graduate of Father Judge and former performer in the school’s musicals, said the show was much different from when he was a student there. “There was a different director and the shows she picked were a lot more mainstream shows that people had heard of,” Mallon said.“But after seeing it, I thought it was an interesting show and the kids did a great job with it.”

Mainstream or not, the students of Father Judge and their sister schools did an excellent job in their performances and tackling the issue of bullying.

Ryan McDonald is a student reporting for Philadelphia Neighborhoods, the publication of Temple University’s Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab.

Mike “Scoats” Scotese, owner of the Grey Lodge Pub and Hop Angel Brauhaus, kicks off 2011 Philly Beer Week with the Hammer of Glory. Photo/Gina Benigno

Grey Lodge Pub is at it again.

The Frankford Avenue bar has regulars from nearby Mayfair, Wissinoming and Tacony, but it’s also got a special place in the hearts of beer lovers all over Philly. Just ask Zagat. continue reading »

Harlem Globetrotters Fatima Maddox and Brawley Chisholm teach Planet Abacus students some skills along the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. NewsWorks Photo/Kimberly Paynter

Two members of the Harlem Globetrotter’s basketball team walked across the Tacony Palmyra Bridge this afternoon to speak to students at Planet Abacus Charter School.

Teammates Fatima “TNT” Maddox and Brawley “Cheese” Chisholm  dribbled and spun pink basketballs from N.J. to Philly to kick off the team’s season-long campaign against breast cancer.  continue reading »

Patrick O’Donnell helps run and emcee the Comedy Cabaret’s open mic nights. Photo/ Steven Mitchell

The Comedy Cabaret has been serving up laughs in the Northeast since the ’80s and helping aspiring comics get their feet wet.

The club, inside the Ramada Inn at 11580 Roosevelt Blvd., features shows every Friday and Saturday night, but what makes this place so special is its Wednesday open mic night.

Veteran comedian Patrick O’Donnell of Wilmington, Del.,  has been helping newcomers by running the open mic nights, along with fellow Kensington comedian John Kensil. O’Donnell has written for Jay Leno, was a winner on “America’s Funniest People,” and has been seen on Comedy Central. He makes stops in Atlantic City Las Vegas to do stand-up.

“People come in and new comedians come in each week and try out five minutes of material and try to build an act,” O’Donnell said. “They can then use that to audition in front of a full crowd or for somebody who might hire them to do a show.” continue reading »

“Click that ‘hood!” challenges Philly residents to identify city neighborhoods as quickly as possible.

It might be easy to pick out Somerton or Holmesburg, but could you find Elmwood? What about McGuire?

Code for America and Philly-based Azavea compiled their data and app-making skills to create “Click that ‘hood!” The entertaining game challenges users to identify neighborhoods in their cities, and Philly’s map is one of them. continue reading »

The holiday season is upon us, which means it’s time for a NEast Philly tradition: our 12 Days of NEastmas holiday song.

This song, which first ran on Nov. 27, 2009, after we felt the Northeast really needed its own carol, has become a tradition.

You can click below for an instrumental version of the song, with our original NEast-y lyrics. Have a happy and safe end of 2012. We’ll be posting stories on a limited basis until the New Year. continue reading »

Christmas Land in Frankford. Image/Frankford Gazette

Below is a video from the Frankford Gazette of Christmas Land, and all-out holiday light display at Frankford Civic Association board member Pete Specos’ house. continue reading »

Morrell Park resident Nick Mancuso with some of his neon work to be displayed in an exhibit at Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch St. NewsWorks Photo/Emma Lee

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Mancuso’s rowhome in Morrell Park is filled with a lifetime of neon. A signmaker since the 1940s and now retired, he spent decades bending glass tubes for beer signage. In his spare time, he would occassionally make neon gifts for his grandchildren. continue reading »

Philly Pretzel Factory CEO Dan Dizio will be on "Undercover Boss" tonight. Press photo/CBS

Dan Dizio has been selling pretzels since he was 11 years old, but it’s been a long time since he’s been behind the counter.

The co-founder and CEO of the Philly Pretzel Factory will be twisting dough again tonight when he appears on “Undercover Boss,” the CBS reality show that secretly puts executives to work with their unsuspecting employees. continue reading »