Also this issue: The Thorns -Sam Adams Sistahs! Expo -Ainé Ardron-Doley Dancin’ in the Streets -Ainé Ardron-Doley

June 26-July 2, 2003

mixpicks

Neighborhood Gardens Association Open Gardens, Liberty Lands

by Juliet Fletcher

There are plenty of good reasons to get out into your community this week, and for once there's no reason to choose just one. This week sees the close of the first annual Green Month, established by the Neighborhood Gardens Association, which throughout June has tried to raise interest in and funds for citywide gardens, parks and tended plots. Still, the point is to continue this momentum -- so the NGA will continue to offer the chance to enjoy these gardens throughout the summer. Liberty Lands -- which is also hosting the free Northern Liberties Music Festival this Saturday afternoon -- will be open to visitors every Friday afternoon until dusk; elsewhere, the Spring Gardens, at 18th and Wallace, will be open to hard-working volunteers every first and third Saturday.

Neatly taking up the community baton is Chestnut Hill where, every Thursday in July, Germantown Avenue will be taken over with dancing, al fresco dining and live music. The first party takes place on July 3, where anyone who just can't wait one more day for an outdoor party can relax to the sounds of Six Pack and soak up the G-town vibe.

So last -- and most certainly not least -- no mention of community-oriented get-downs can fail to include Puppet Uprising, which hits its third birthday this week. Over a weekend of kooky, varied celebration, puppeteers such as Ben T. Matchstik, Tom Sarver Puppet Express and the Flying Rutabaga Cycle Circus will join performers like Anthony Heard (with his hip-hop mockumentary Storm und Drain) and musicians such as Jim Meneses and Toshi Makahara to salute the PU mission.

Neighborhood Gardens Association Open Gardens, Liberty Lands, 913 N. Third St., every Fri. until dusk; Spring Gardens, 18th and Wallace sts., every first and third Sat., 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 215-988-8797, www.ngalandtrust.org; Chestnut Hill Block Party, every Thu. in July, 6-10 p.m., Germantown Avenue, 215-247-6696, www.chestnuthillpa.com; Puppet Uprising Shows, June 28, 8 p.m., and June 29, 2 p.m., free, The Rotunda, 4012 Walnut St., 267-235-5968, www.puppetuprising.org.