Thank you to the friends and neighbors of Mifflin Square who came out to the monthly park and neighborhood cleanup on Wednesday, August 12th! The park and South 7th Street are much cleaner for everyone’s effort. The next cleanup will be September 3rd from 9:30am-Noon. Spots are limited to ensure social distancing so please email jarnold@seamaac.org or call 267-536-9846 in advance to sign up!
This past week the South Philly East (SoPhiE) food truck chef Nia Minard was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer! SoPhiE is at Mifflin Square every Wednesday and Friday from 3pm-7pm, with Chef Nia on the truck every Wednesday. Come out and enjoy some amazing Mississippi hot tamales!
Article Link: https://www.inquirer.com/news/mississippi-hot-tamales-philadelphia-nia-minard-20200811.html
Starting on August 6th, 2020, SEAMAAC is re-launching monthly park and neighborhood cleanups. Check out the flyer below and come join!
The City of Philadelphia has released a new update on the reopening of parks. You can see details of this reopening here. See below for some specific updates from our friends at Parks and Rec.
With the sprayground allowed to reopen, Parks and Rec staff along with the Friends of Mifflin Square and SEAMAAC will work to turn on the sprayground as often as is possible.
As the park becomes more lively and active, it’s important that we all wear a mask and keep working to stop the spread of COVID-19. When visiting Mifflin Square, keep in mind this advice!
Last week, Mifflin Square welcomed two groups of student volunteers for a two-day cleanup to kick off Spring in the park! Seven students from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee visited Philadelphia for an alternative spring break trip focused on community service. The group spent two days raking leaves, sweeping walkways, and picking up trash in and around Mifflin Square Park, leaving it in tip-top shape and ready for upcoming events and activities. The group was able to stop by the South 7th Street corridor for lunch at El Sabor Catracho, a local Honduran-Mexican restaurant. Ten students from local colleges and universities involved in Interfaith’s Alternative Break program helped in the park as well as cleaning up on South 7th Street.
On Thursday, both groups convened at SEAMAAC’s Outreach offices on 8th street to enjoy food from local restaurants and have a conversation with SEAMAAC Executive Director Thoai Nguyen. After lunch they visited the nearby Growing Home Gardens before wrapping up at Mifflin Square Park (and joining in with some kids for a few games of soccer and basketball!). A huge thanks to the group leaders and all of the students for their hard work!
Monthly cleanups in Mifflin Square Park will continue every first Thursday through October – come and help keep it beautiful at the next cleanup on April 2nd!
Walking by a new playground somewhere else in the city always makes Erme Maula, a 45-year-old Filipino American living in South Philadelphia, a little jealous.
“Especially if it’s really cool and has that squishy bottom,” she said.
Maula mostly uses the playground near her house, the one at Mifflin Square Park that has remained unchanged since the 1990s. The city park, one of the few open green spaces in South Philadelphia, is located between Fifth and Sixth streets from Wolf to Ritner, at the heart of a neighborhood that hosts many ethnicities.
On January 23rd, members of the Friends of Mifflin Square Park and former Community Design Leaders joined with other neighbors for a Schematic Design Focus Group led by SEAMAAC and Hector at SEAMAAC’s 8th Street Outreach Office. Neighbors discussed how to prioritize designs in the concept plan focusing mainly on play equipment, seating, and sports fields. A robust discussion helped to identify which pieces of playground equipment were most popular, where seating was most needed, and how to make sure the vision of the concept plan is carried through in a maintainable and implementable manner. Schematic designs are being revised with this prioritization in mind, and more neighborhood events are to come. Stay tuned!
Join SEAMAAC in the park from 9:00AM-12:00PM on Wednesday, October 2 for our monthly park and 7th street clean-up event! Gloves, bags, snacks, and water will be provided. This is the last clean-up of the year, so let’s make it count!
