West Philadelphia : Featured Stories

Turns out Philadelphia is a pretty good place to be if you're a sculptor. Here's why, including a look at the careers of those who have molded success out of the city's many inspirations.

Projects totaling $2 billion and a healthy dose of collaboration have helped the pride of West Philly come a long way. All that's left is leveraging and messaging, says one of its leaders.

The Penn senior from Abington founded a nonprofit that connects homeless youth with homeless animals, addressing two major city problems in one fell, loving swoop.

The future starts now for Philadelphia's startup community, which attempts to redefine itself and grow by nurturing its successes and new faces.

Hot? Take a dip at Doma in University City. For free tunes, see the Peace Creeps at World Cafe Live. For stories and song, taste Pretzel Park in Manayunk.

Help The Village impact North Philly on Thursday and rock with future stars or head to a pesto and salsa showdown on Saturday.

Walk, eat, and enjoy summer nights this week on Thursday in Mt. Airy and University City and on Friday at Penn's Landing.

Home to large cultural assets and smaller long-neglected neighborhoods, the West Park District is among the first to move forward with planning and development as part of the citywide Philadelphia 2035 initiative.

Celebrate art at Philly's Magic Gardens. Get polished up for awesome rides on East Passyunk Ave. Soak in some rootsy sounds at The Blockley.

If you're into making things happen, start it up with Philly Startup leaders on Thursday. If you're in it for the ride, hit the urban farm tour on Saturday. If you're into the web, spin anew with WebStart Women on Sunday.

If you're blue for jazz, head to Lancaster Ave. If you're up for ABBA, hit the Ritz. If it's local food and change you're after, visit Bartram's Garden.

Democratizing radio stations is the goal, and along with the Hacktory, this West Philly-based group of radio revolutionaries empowered others to join them in a class on how to build an FM tuner.

It's a Philly tradition and includes the Mann Center debut of young virtuoso and Curtis Institute student Nadir Khashimov on violin.

Drink lots of water, play until your fingers bleed, and pray like hell. It really is that simple to make it in Philly as a musician, but only if you're willing to endure the whole ride.