Time to go. Our three months in Germantown flew by -- we shivered as we assembled tables in January and now, as we pack up, the trees are in full bloom.

Germantown, our third On the Ground neighborhood following Mantua and Frankford, was special. The community embraced our publication and our mission, packing our opening meeting and turning out again to offer feedback last week.

No one spent more time On the Ground in Germantown than Flying Kite publisher Michelle Freeman. She opened the space to local groups, organized parties, took phone calls and made connections. 

"We have been learning as we go with the On the Ground Program, but it has become apparent that our work is only as strong as the people we meet and engage with in each neighborhood," says Freeman in a (long impassioned) email reflection on our time in Germantown.

"In the weeks before we moved into 322 W. Chelten Avenue, we received close to 50 emails from neighborhood residents and organizations reaching out to welcome us and offering must see/do/meet tips," she continues. "Word got around -- quickly -- and before we knew it, we had met Germantown Artists Roundtable, Germantown United CDC, Friends of Vernon Park and G-Town Radio, and connected with more individual residents than I know in my own neighborhood."

If On the Ground is an on-going experiment, then Germantown felt like our first big breakthrough -- we experienced involvement, engagement and cooperation on a level we hadn't see before. We covered fine arts professionals, innovative art-business alliances, renovations of historic buildings and a couple of brothers doing their best to save the bees.We even hosted our first design charette.

"On the Ground is about shining a spotlight on people and initiatives working to move their communities forward," says Freeman. "We give attention to deserving work in areas that the general public may be less familiar with or may have misperceptions about. We do this to fill the media gap, offer a different narrative and perspective, inspire other media to pay attention, make connections within each neighborhood and across the city, and breathe life into a vacant space, transforming it into a community media hub."

We did all that in Germantown, while also engaging on a more mundane level -- eating lunch, walking to meetings, taking the train, buying coffee and starting conversations. 

"Germantown is a special place," says Freeman. "Geographically, it’s big. It has beautiful housing stock. Historic Germantown operates fifteen historic sites in this neighborhood alone. It’s extremely accessible by SEPTA. It has a good slate of vegan and vegetarian cuisine (The Flower Café at Linda’s is our favorite). It has beautiful parks. It has creative and artistic roots that run deep. It has Maplewood Mall, iMPeRFeCT Gallery, Wired Beans Café, Nile Café and LaRose Jazz Club (amongst many other wonderful establishments). It has passion and energy that I think a lot of neighborhoods and communities would be envious of."

Going forward, we are going to keep our connection to Germantown. In fact, we're counting on emails continuing to flow from passionate residents. They are part of the On the Ground family now -- a family that keeps growing.

Special thanks to Philly Office Retail for being excellent landlords and community boosters during our time on West Chelten Avenue. A restaurant -- Rose Petals Cafe and Lounge -- just signed a lease on the space, so stay tuned for updates.

Stay tune: Next week, we'll announce where Flying Kite will be headed next!

LEE STABERT is managing editor of Flying Kite.