Swarthmore College undergraduates coached by members of the faculty have been rehearsing and will soon perform three concerts in the fall 2019 Elizabeth Pollard Fetter chamber music series. The first concert in the series will take place on Saturday, November 16, 8 p.m. at Lang Concert Hall. “Critical Mass,” an ensemble of seven students coached by James Blasina will undertake works by de Machaut, Monteverde, des Prez, and Byrd.
Since the 1970s, A Better Chance - Strath Haven has provided educational opportunities for students from across the U.S. to attend Strath Haven High School and reside in Swarthmore during the school year. ABC Scholars are selected among applicants for the program through a highly competitive selection process, which looks at academic and leadership potential as well as need. This year’s incoming class includes two 9th graders, Amayah Wade and Assane Wade (yes, they are twins, and come from Landover, Md.) and 10th grader Teghan Sydnor of Voorhees, N.J., who joined ABC when a student transferred to another school.
The many-worlds interpretation of quantum cosmology requires that there be many, perhaps an infinite number, of worlds, new ones arising from each quantum interaction. Constellations, a play by Nick Payne opening November 8 at the Players Club of Swarthmore, is an artful riff on this notion, using multiple short scenes to portray divergent outcomes of each event. The result is a wittily complex structure used to tell a very simple story: two people meet, take up housekeeping together, break up, get together again, settle down, face the future. At least, in several of the multiple universes that are all equally possible, they do several of those things.
Kevin Robert Evans expected to die in prison. Sentenced at age 17 to life without parole for his role in a botched and fatal robbery, the 61-year-old Chester native spent more than 43 years in Pennsylvania prisons. But in 2016, the United States Supreme Court overturned the automatic life sentences of all juveniles, and Kevin began to realize that his freedom might one day come. In May of this year, he was released, and now, with the help of some Swarthmore residents, Kevin Evans is building a life for himself for the first time.
Under the auspices of APPRISE Senior Community Services of Delaware County, Swarthmore Mayor Marty Spiegel will give an overview this Monday of changes in Medicare Advantage plans & Medicare Part D drug plans for 2020. The session will be held at Swarthmore Public Library at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 11.
Author, entrepreneur and activist, Judy will tell her story from living in an Eskimo village in 1969, moving to Philadelphia in 1970 to cofound the Free People’s Store (which became Urban Outfitters), founding the farm-to-table White Dog Cafe in 1983, to her current projects in supporting our regional economy. Judy’s talk will include the importance of moving from “me to we” as individuals and a society in order to address the historic challenge of climate change and build an inclusive, self-reliant and life-sustaining economy in the Philadelphia region.
Dr. Benedicte Grima, a linguist, ethnographer, and translator, has combined her skills and mined her experiences in decades of work with diverse cultures here and in Asia to produce three books: two scholarly works on Pashtun culture and now, a new novel which explores life in flux and translation between America and northern Pakistan. Dr. Grima will present her new book in free talks this month at the Swarthmore Campus and Community Store, Saturday, November 16, at 3 p.m., and at the Swarthmore Public Library on Wednesday, November 20, at 7 p.m. Both sessions are free.
At Monday’s Swarthmore Borough Council meeting, Mayor Marty Spiegel read a proclamation declaring Saturday, November 9, 2019 as Ed Jones Day in Swarthmore. He presented the proclamation to Donna Kay Jones, Ed’s widow (left), who was in attendance along with six former mayors of the borough and members of the Centennial Foundation, which Ed co-founded. There will be a memorial service on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Swarthmore Friends Meetinghouse for Ed, who served Swarthmore as mayor and in many other leadership posts in the borough, county, and state.
Itching to get started on holiday shopping? Next Sunday, November 17, you can support local artists and craftsmanship at the 8th Annual Green Sunday Holiday Fair, held at Media-Providence Friends School, 125 W. Third Street in Media. It’s a festive, relaxed and friendly space, an eco-friendly alternative to the frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Delaware County is governed by a five-member County Council, which is responsible for all legislative and administrative functions of the County government. On November 5th, an unprecedented three Council seats are up for grabs. Democrats seek their first Council majority in history. We asked both Democratic and Republican candidates several questions of interest to Delaware County voters.
Louise Coffin submitted a photograph of a dreadful infestation of spotted lanternflies which she reported was “One swarm of many noted on a maple tree on Dartmouth Avenue.” If you see the flies (actually tree hoppers that can fly short distances) and/or their egg masses, try to bring yourself to smash them. Info on these invasive pests and the damage they do.
Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board Report
Students and families in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District are heartbroken with the recent passing of Strath Haven High School junior Hallie Jackson. On Monday, during SHHS’s fourth block, around 1 p.m., all teachers received an email to read to their classes. The email stated that a student, Hallie Jackson, had passed away and that guidance counselors would be available to anyone who needed to talk.
In a message to the community which she read at Monday’s WSSD school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Lisa Palmer said, “Our thoughts and sympathies are with [Hallie’s] family and her friends.” She said that the school district has established support centers in the middle and high school. These centers have been staffed with guidance counselors, school psychologists, and members of the crisis intervention team and will be made available to all students. Dr. Palmer encourages those whose students need additional support to contact the school office, principal, or guidance counselors. A resource guide for those that need help will be made available to the community through the district website. Dr. Palmer encouraged the community to keep Hallie and her family in their prayers.
The Fall 2019 Swarthmore Makers Market unfurls on Park Avenue and S. Chester Road in front of the Inn at Swarthmore on Sunday, November 3, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Twice per year since 2015, the Makers Market gathers together local artisans and their handmade creations in an effort to promote shopping locally and supporting local artists, many of whom live right here in Swarthmore.
Born 90 years ago this fall, George Crumb has long been recognized as one of America’s greatest composers. This fall, Crumb is being celebrated at several venues in the Philadelphia area, where he has spent much of his career as a composer and a teacher. Two local Crumb-centered concerts, this weekend and next, invite music lovers to explore and celebrate the long career and compositions of this towering figure.
Paul Downie, executive director of the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, is also a professional musician who has played drums and sung in the Philadelphia area for 20 years. Coincident with that anniversary is the release of Paul’s new album, In the Moment.
Opening next Thursday at the List Gallery of Swarthmore College will be two exhibitions running concurrently through December 15: “Jan Baltzell: Drawings” and “Sue Hettmansperger: Iterations: Painting and Collage.” Both artists will lecture about their work and engage in discussion on Thursday, November 7, at 4:30 p.m. in the Lang Performing Arts Center Cinema. A List Gallery reception will follow: 5:30–7:00 p.m. These events are free and open to the public.
Senior Community Services’ Chester Senior Center, in partnership with Merakey, will host a hoarding education presentation on Thursday, November 7, at 11:15 a.m., at 721 Hayes Street in Chester. The session will be facilitated by mental health professional Sharon White, MSS, LCSW, Program Director of Merakey.
Dozens of medical conditions are known to be remedied by medical marijuana, now legal in the state of Pennsylvania. On Thursday, November 14, at 12:30 p.m., Dr. Kimberlee Park will discuss the benefits of medical marijuana and identify the 23 illnesses and conditions which can be legally treated by prescriptions for medical marijuana in Pennsylvania.
“Soul-error” is the essayist Montaigne’s memorable term for the mind’s altering relation to objects and others in time and space. The concept will be at the heart of an extensive talk by Philip Weinstein, Swarthmore College Professor Emeritus of English Literature on Thursday, November 7, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
Media resident Dr. Joni Carley recently published The Alchemy of Power, a book which combines foundational research and universal wisdom to develop strategies for leaders. Carley‘s work explores the metaphysical principles used by visionary and “alchemical” leaders to produce results that exceed norms and expectations and organizations and groups.
