Immigrant advocates encourage Norristown residents to ‘raise their voices’ amid increased ICE arrests.

Dozens of Norristown residents stood on the corner of West Marshall and George Streets on Saturday, enduring the rain in support of their immigrant neighbors.

Following weeks of intense ICE presence in the Montgomery County seat, organizer Denise Agurto, 47, asked all undocumented neighbors to go home for their safety.

“This is the time for your allies to be here supporting you,” Agurto, executive director of Unides Para Servir Norristown, told the crowd. “No matter where you are from, we are glad you are our neighbor.”

In the last two weeks, more than 20 people have been taken into custody by ICE in Norristown, Agurto said, including a 34-year-old man arrested hours before the rally.

“Today, they broke our heart because they took one of us,” Agurto said. “He is a good guy, a family person who goes from work to home, and is always willing to help the community. He didn’t even have a deportation order.”

Anxious about her immigration status, a bakery owner watched the rally from inside her establishment.

“Norristown used to be a place full of happiness, people used to walk freely,” said the 55-year-old who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal. “Now Norristown is desolate, people are terrified, and the business is not doing well.”

The Mexican national has spent more than half her life living in the borough — where about a third of the people identify as “Hispanic or Latino, according to Census figures — and has never seen people experience this level of panic.

Confused, she struggles to make sense of the fleeing sense of safety. “Me and my business give back to this country,” she said. “I pay taxes; I am not a burden to the state; I came here with nothing and work day and night to provide for my children. It’s incredibly heartbreaking to see Trump destroying all sense of community for so many of us.”

The arrests in Norristown come as President Donald Trump added Montgomery County to a list of sanctuary jurisdictions, from which he has threatened to cut federal funding.

Several Norristown Municipal Council members have also spoken out against ICE actions and criticized the arrests as cruel and destructive.

ICE has not responded to requests for comment.

Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition and other advocacy groups have issued an “ICE Alert,” warning of the agency’s growing presence throughout the state.

The groups have advised undocumented people, “If you can stay home, please stay home. If you are not able to stay home, please limit your travel.” They also encouraged people to review their rights under the law.

Saying they had no power to act, the county commissioners turned down a request this week to adopt a “welcoming-county” policy that would limit cooperation with ICE.

Legally, no local policy or ordinance can prevent ICE from conducting federal immigration enforcement.

Sanctuary jurisdictions simply choose not to help ICE do its work. But Trump has urged uncooperative cities, counties, and states to enforce federal law.

After shaking up the top leadership of ICE for the second time since February, the agency recorded its highest number of arrests in a single day on Tuesday.

Lydia Villalba, 27, who teaches high-schoolers in the Norristown school district, has witnessed firsthand how the current political situation has taken a toll on the classroom.

“They don’t want to make summer plans because they are afraid to leave their house. They are afraid ICE will be raiding at the parks,” Villalba said. “This is not how they should be living, they are children forced to grow up faster when they should be focusing on sports and being with friends, not about their families being separated.“

While Lorna Cassano, 61, doesn’t personally know anyone who has been taken into custody by ICE, as a healthcare worker, she has a feeling that could soon change.

“What this administration is doing is reminiscent of the Nazi Germany,” Cassano said. “These are my neighbors, my coworkers, my patients, these are fellow human beings.”

Milton Hernandez, 75, can’t help but feel a sense of helplessness after seeing fellow Latinos being taken away.

Norristown has changed, he said. “Now all you see is heads peeking out of doors, neighbors asking each other if it’s safe to go outside,” Hernandez said.

As Agurto continued welcoming supporters to the rally, she urged them to use their voices to inspire other allies to lend a helping hand.

“The allies are the people who can help us stop this, who see how their neighbors are being treated,” Agurto said as cars beeped in support. “They can see the empty streets, the struggling businesses, so they need to raise their voice as citizens.”

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

(Michelle Myers and Jeff Gammage also contributed to this story)

World Cafe Live protests continue as staffers are fired and threatened with legal action

The conflict between the new leadership team of West Philadelphia music venue World Cafe Live and employees escalated on Thursday to include firings.

Employees continued to picket on the day after Wednesday night’s walkout when, during a Suzanne Vega concert, they protested “an unacceptable level of hostility and mismanagement” by the new leadership.

On Thursday evening, the management team headed by new CEO Joseph Callahan responded by firing some employees involved in the protest and announcing plans to file a formal complaint to federal authorities and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.

In a statement titled “World Cafe Live Responds to Employee Walkout and Reaffirms Commitment to Community and Transformation,” the leadership said Wednesday’s action was “not only disruptive to our guests, but also resulted in significant reputational and operational damage to the organization.”

“The individuals involved in this walkout have been terminated with cause, and are permanently banned from the premises,” it said.

On Wednesday, Sophia Mattes, the night box office manager, read a statement in solidarity with her coworkers that demanded “on-time and accurate pay” and said “the work environment has become hostile to the point of staff safety being questioned.”

Mattes confirmed that she and four other staffers had been served with termination papers outside the venue on Thursday evening. In addition, another source said, two other staffers not involved in the walkout were also sent termination letters.

Those firings follow the resignations of WCL’s longtime COO and general manager Kerri Park, as well as programming director Helen Smith and ticketing and guest services manager Hayley Simmons, all of whom had their last days this week.

On Thursday night, shows went on with Philly’s interstellar musical travelers Sun Ra Arkestra and its 101-year-old leader Marshall Allen downstairs in the Music Hall, and for Sudanese American musician Sinkane upstairs in the Lounge.

When Sinkane and his band members, who blend African pop with electronica and funk, were told of the labor strife, he said he planned to speak out in support of the workers from the stage.

With reduced staff, the box office was closed, and there was no food service available.

“The management is more concerned with the protesters than solving the issues,” one protesting employee said.

The WCL statement said the organization has “retained counsel to file a formal complaint to federal authorities and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office,” citing:

• Conspiracy to interfere with commerce under the Hobbs Act

• Theft and destruction of proprietary and contractual records

• Intentional infliction of financial harm on a 501(c)(3) entity

• Trespassing and unlawful disruption of business operations

Callahan took over as CEO and head of the World Cafe board this spring, succeeding Hal Real, who founded the venue in 2004 and converted it to a nonprofit in 2019.

According to the WCL statement, as of January 2025, the venue “was carrying over $6 million in accumulated debt” and suffered from “a culture of complacency and entitlement” that created “a dynamic that stifled innovation and smothered the growth potential of an organization with such extraordinary purpose and potential.”

The statement concluded: “World Cafe Live is not just a venue. It’s a home for music, community, education, and equity. … And to those who have sought to undermine this vital cultural institution: you will be held accountable.”

“We are rebuilding stronger, more transparent, and more community-driven than ever before.”

Outside the venue on Thursday afternoon, the protesting bartenders, guest service workers, and box office staff who gathered on Walnut Street shared a sharply contrasting perspective from that offered by WCL management.

Roughly 15 protesters assembled with signs that read, “Callahan Has Got No Plan,” “Keep Philly Independent,” and “No AI. NoMetaverse.” The staffers also launched a SaveWorldCafeLive page on Instagram.

Mattes said the past month has made her physically sick. “My anxiety and my mental health were not well,” she said. “I was scared, and a lot of us were scared, to walk out on [Wednesday], but I do feel relieved. I feel like something good will come of this, one way or another.”

Novalee Wilcher, who works in guest services, said Callahan’s presence has been a “crushing” blow to the venue’s operation, and she’s unsure how the place will survive going forward.

“Those who have been fired,” she said, “have been texted by coworkers, not management. So, there’s no communication about how to deal with these demands that we brought up to them, which shows a total disregard for the artists that are supposed to be playing, or how it affects the guests that are coming in, who have paid for their nights.”

Following Wednesday’s walkout, Wilcher said Callahan has threatened to call the police on her and other staffers as a form of intimidation. He even suggested their strike was “unlawful.”

She said she was locked in a room on Wednesday over a piece of personal mail that one of Callahan’s representatives “confiscated” and “withheld” from her.

Refuting Callahan’s claim of a $6 million debt, Mattes said former staff have verified that debt to be around $2.7 million.

“The fact is, we do need funding,” Mattes said. “But a big part of the problem with this new team is that we don’t believe that VR and hologram concert experiences, and taking the people out of this building, will be what draws people in more.”

Referring to Callahan’s plans to introduce automated servers, bartender Emilia Reynolds said, “I’m nervous about losing my job to a machine that can’t safely serve somebody, have them enjoy their night, and get them home safely. That’s my job.”

“Not even to mention, people woke up yesterday without a paycheck. That was the last straw,” they said.

Mattes and her coworkers, they said, are prioritizing funding efforts to “save” WCL but added that the leadership refuses “to listen to anyone who disagrees with them.”

Despite their indifference, Wilcher said she and others were willing to negotiate with Callahan. The crucial step, she said, was getting management on the “right path,” but, the staffers claim, it appears the tech entrepreneur isn’t looking to change course.

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

(Dan DeLuca also contributed to this story)

Swimwear worn by a Muslim teen lifeguard leads to a heated dispute at Philly’s Kelly Pool

The family of a 16-year-old lifeguard says she was dismissed from her job at the city’s John Kelly Pool this week for wearing modest swimwear, in keeping with her religious beliefs.

In a statement, the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called for the city to reinstate the teen, who is Muslim.

Susan Slawson, commissioner of Parks and Recreation, on Saturday disputed the family’s account of the Thursday incident. “She was not discriminated against. She was accommodated,” Slawson said.

Slawson said her modest swimsuit wasn’t the issue: The concern was her outer garment, which Slawson said presented safety concerns if worn in the pool.

Slawson added that during a confrontation at the Fairmount Park pool, family members had directed expletives and racial epithets at a Black male staff member.

She said the department would be willing to meet with family members and CAIR officials.

In a news release, CAIR officials said the incident occurred on the girl’s first day on the job.

In an email, legal director Adam Alaa Attia said the lifeguard, whose family did not want her to be identified, wore a long-sleeve rash guard swim shirt and long-leggings rash guard bathing bottoms. A loose-fitting outer garment was then placed over her swimwear “for the times they are sitting on watch and not engaged in the water,” Attia said in an email.

For swift removal, the garment was connected to the swimsuit with a small piece of Velcro.

Despite the lifeguard attire fulfilling safety requirements, the organization stated, she was instructed not to return to her position the following day because of the loose outer garment.

“The young woman’s attire … provided full coverage in accordance with her religious beliefs, and posed no risk to her or others,” the release stated.

As an alternative, the city allegedly offered a 3XL men’s cotton T-shirt, far too big for the young lifeguard, whose own garment was deemed “too flowy,” CAIR said.

It said that the offer disregarded the teen’s religious practices, bodily autonomy, and “undermined any claim that the issue was about fabric or safety.”

Lifeguards are permitted to wear loose hoodies and sweatpants over their swimsuits.

The organization requested a full investigation into the incident and a formal apology to the lifeguard and her family. It also asked that she be reinstated to her job if she wishes to return, and called for citywide training on religious accommodations and antidiscrimination policies.

“This young woman was prepared, professional, and fully qualified,” Attia said in an email. “She was forced to choose between her faith and her employment, a choice no worker should ever have to make, especially in Philadelphia, where the Muslim community is foundational to the city’s identity.”

Slawson said that after speaking with Kelly Pool staffers, the teen’s family, and Quaiser Abdullah, the city’s inaugural director of Muslim engagement, she rejected CAIR’s discrimination contentions.

“She was never asked to remove her rash guard. Her faith was never put into question,” Slawson said. “What she did have on was a safety concern.”

Slawson said Kelly Pool staff asked if the teen could remove a “cape” that was attached to her guard, which would potentially impair her ability to swim through the water.

She said the teen’s mom clarified that it would take only “10 seconds” to remove the outer garment, but Slawson said, “Ten seconds could be someone’s life.”

“You can’t get in the pool with that on because you have to worry about someone getting caught in that guard and possibly drowning because they’re caught in this long cape,” Slawson said. “We weren’t asking her to take off her Muslim attire at all. What we’re asking for is for her to not put the cape on.”

Slawson said the incident escalated when the teen’s family arrived at the community pool and began shouting at a Black male staff member.

Slawson said the teen was paid fully for Thursday’s shift and was invited back to work on Friday. But after the teen said she planned to bring her family back to the pool on Friday, Slawson dismissed the teenager for her scheduled weekend shifts.

“We’re not going to invite trouble,” she said.

Before CAIR Philadelphia released Friday’s statement, Slawson said, she already had planned a meeting on Monday with the teen’s family. Slawson said she also invited members from CAIR Philadelphia to attend.

Slawson said she and others are still willing to have the meeting, and to invite the teen back to her lifeguard role, as well as offer additional shifts to make up for the weekend-long dismissal.

The incident comes as Philadelphia is experiencing a shortage of lifeguards at its pools.

Along with clearing any discriminatory claims or miscommunication regarding safety requirements, Slawson said Parks and Rec wants to ensure another lifeguard isn’t lost in the process.

“We can’t afford to lose any, so it’s important we keep her as a part of our team,” she said.

Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

50 years after a deadly refinery fire, Philly firefighters honor those who were lost

Fifty years after dark black smoke from unrelenting flames clouded the sky over South Philadelphia, more than 100 people gathered Sunday in solemn remembrance of the city’s deadly Gulf Oil refinery fire.

The 11-alarm blaze on Aug. 17, 1975, forced the deployment of 600 firefighters to the Gulf Oil complex at Penrose and Lanier Avenues.

The intense flames and smoke, caused by the ignition of hydrocarbon vapors, resulted in the deaths of eight Philadelphia firefighters and serious injuries to 14 others.

To commemorate the devastation and honor the sacrifice of the men who bravely gave their lives, the Philadelphia Fire Department Historical Corp. held a tribute at Fireman’s Hall Museum on Sunday.

“It‘s rewarding that we’re doing this,“ museum curator Brian Anderson said. “We let the families know that even though they lost their family members, their sacrifice wasn’t in vain. It was with purpose.”

In the audience Sunday were firefighters and the families of those killed and injured in the refinery blaze.

Attendees placed roses on the engraved plaques of the late firemen: John Andrews, Ralph Campana, Robert J. Fisher, Hugh McIntyre, Roger Parker, Joseph Wiley, James Pouliot, and Carroll Brenek.

Many bowed their heads, closed their eyes, and stood in stillness as Anderson and PFD Historical Corp. president Eugene Janda took to the podium to illuminate their sacrifices.

Others shed tears hearing testimonies by friends and family about lost loved ones.

Nearby, vehicles from Philadelphia Second Alarmers, Engine 20, and other emergency responders lined the block of Second Street in Old City.

Over the years, Robert Fisher, the son and namesake of one of the firefighters who died from battling the refinery fire, said he had wanted nothing more from Philadelphia Fire Department and Fireman’s Hall than to memorialize the 50-year milestone of the tragic event that took his father.

“Everything was special,” Fisher said of Sunday’s ceremony. “Standing back and seeing people observe, honor, respect, and reflect on everything was very important. Hopefully, the legacy lives on.”

Along with honoring his father’s legacy, Fisher said reconnecting with the families and now-retired firefighters linked to the tragedy brought much-needed community.

“When you see each other, you know what each other’s going through,” he said. “You don’t have to talk about it. You’re just happy that you’re seeing someone. We don’t reflect backwards, we reflect forward.”

Given the support that poured forth from all in attendance, Anderson has no doubt that the sacrifices made by the firemen that day 50 years ago will live on.

“You can tell by the attendance of today’s event, these members will never be forgotten,” he said. “They’ll be forever memorialized here at the museum, too.”

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

Bryn Mawr College’s first Black graduate had to walk a mile to get to class. A new monument honors her journey.

D.C. artist Nekisha Durrett first took the “Black at Bryn Mawr” walking tour at Bryn Mawr College in February 2023. It was there that she learned about Enid Cook who, like her, graduated from Dunbar High School in D.C., considered one of the first academically elite public high schools for Black students in the country.

Cook went on to become the college‘s first Black graduate in 1931. She studied chemistry and biology.

Despite the wishes of former college president M. Carey Thomas and other faculty who rejected the idea of admitting Black students, Cook was permitted to enroll in the women’s college in 1927.

On her admission to the college, Thomas and her successor Marion Park barred the future microbiologist from living on campus, forcing Cook to walk roughly one mile to and from class.

“I do not myself feel it would be wise to admit a colored student into residence at Bryn Mawr at the present moment … I should perhaps add that Miss Cook’s passing the entire series of examinations at one time so successfully as to put her ahead of a long waiting list would seem to me in the case of any applicant very unlikely,” Park wrote in a letter to the Quaker activist Paul H. Douglas, who was advocating for Cook’s admission to Bryn Mawr.

On April 24, on that same campus, Durrett’s Don’t Forget to Remember (Me), was unveiled to a crowd of students, faculty, and residents, who marveled at both the size and detail of the public art work.

The monument, a “woven” pathway of custom clay bricks, forms a “square knot,” symbolizing an unbreakable connection and commitment to honor all of Bryn Mawr’s history.

Don’t Forget honors Cook and the Black servants and groundskeepers who maintained the campus during the early 1900s. It spans a 5,800-square-foot area, roughly the same length as Cook’s commute to Bryn Mawr.

“This campus was literally built on the backs of Black men and women, and that labor has been unrecognized as it always is,” Durrett said. “It was unrecognized and uncelebrated until Black students wanted to take on the responsibility of bringing their contributions to light.”

Rather than a single, elevated monument “frozen in time,” Durrett, a Cooper Union alumna, said she wanted something more dynamic and timely.

Among the pathway’s roughly 10,000 pavers are those engraved with the names of 248 Black workers and staff members whose contributions were hidden or “erased” by the college.

Each brick is glazed with soil from Perry House, a Black cultural center that was established after student protests in 1972, demanding a more inclusive curriculum and staff, and a culture house.

“The times that we‘re going through right now, we‘re witnessing the blatant attempt to erase and twist history,” Durrett said. “This has always been happening, which is job security for me because these stories are going to be uncovered.”

The monument is situated in the Cloisters of the Old Library, an enclosed space where the ashes of Thomas were scattered after her death. The library was once named after Thomas.

Bryn Mawr Africana Studies and Museum Anthropology professor Monique Scott said the space is a “haunting” location for many Black students.

“Students let us know that the Cloisters was a space where they didn’t feel welcome, and felt kind of heavy for them,” Scott said. “And with [Durrett’s] artwork, we‘re hoping that will shift that energy. It‘s about making Black and brown students feel very welcome here and in this space.”

Thomas, who died in 1935, rejected Black students and potential workers from entering the college, fearing their presence would tarnish its reputation. And for those who made it to campus, she attempted to limit their visibility.

Below the Cloisters are service tunnels, where live-in domestic servants and other personal staff worked.

Given the college‘s complicated history, Scott said students, faculty, and staff have conjured ways to uncover Bryn Mawr’s “untold stories” through the Art Remediating Campus Histories (ARCH) Project.

Following a student-led strike in 2020, Scott said, students, faculty, and staff established oral history projects, walking tours, and accessibility initiatives to unravel the hidden or misrepresented elements of Bryn Mawr’s history.

Among students’ demands was the installation of a public artwork that represented inclusivity. Durrett’s proposal was picked out of 110 applications.

Her previous works include “And The Ancestors Say…," located in D.C.’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts; “We See You” at New York’s Times Square; and “Magnolia,” which memorializes Black women who were murdered by law enforcement.

“From the beginning, it was so profound, amazing, emotional, and powerful. It was so many things,” Scott said.

Don’t Forget was built in partnership with Philly’s Monument Lab, a nonprofit public art, history, and design studio. Durrett was assisted by a group of student researchers, who dug into the school’s archives to find the names and origins of the school’s Black students and laborers.

From the dust-covered documents to charred-edged time cards from the 1900s to the ’30s, they discovered former porters, waitresses, and groundskeepers who had worked on campus. Some were from the Philly region, and others had ventured from as far as Virginia to study and work at the university.

Given Durrett’s “profound brilliance” and willingness to work so closely with Bryn Mawr students and department leaders, Monument Lab director Paul Farber said the monument came out just as he envisioned.

“A monument doesn’t just have to tell us about our past. But it can be done in a way that’s expansive and inviting,” Farber said. “Leave it to an artist like [Durrett] to respond in the most thoughtful and critical ways, and open up history anew in expansive terms.”

While Durrett understands one monument won’t rid the world of racism or discrimination, she‘s hopeful the path inspires future students, faculty, staff, and alums to continue honoring the Bryn Mawr’s full history and remember the names embossed on the clay bricks.

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

Nine BYOBs to try on the Main Line

BYOBs are as essential to Philadelphia-area food culture as cheesesteaks, hoagies, water ice, and soft pretzels.

With Pennsylvania’s notoriously strict liquor laws and expensive licensing fees, many restaurants in the Philadelphia region opt to go the BYOB route — helping fuel a vibrant dining scene where diners bring their own bottles to some of the area’s top spots.

Here are some Main Line BYOBs worth uncorking something special for.

Fraschetta BYOB

This intimate Bryn Mawr BYOB serves refined Italian fare in a cozy, elegant setting. Now owned by restaurateur Phuong Nguyen, Fraschetta continues to deliver satisfying housemade pastas and rich entrées, including creamy mushroom pappardelle and slow-braised wild boar in tomato sauce, finished with cocoa powder and Pecorino Romano.

📍816 W Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010, 📞 610-525-1007, 🌐 fraschetta.net

Dua Restaurant

In a sea of Italian spots, Bryn Mawr’s Dua Restaurant stands out for its traditional Mediterranean fare and cozy elegance. Chef Bledar Istrefi offers savory appetizers like burek and mussels pepata, and finely crafted bites like the pistachio crusted branzino and the mouthwatering pomegranate braised short rib over Israeli couscous.

📍 1000 W Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010 📞 484-380-2053, 🌐 duarest.com

Burrata Havertown

A sibling to its popular South Philly location, owners Dejvi Furxhi and Albi Furxhiu brought the charm of their Italian BYOB to the suburbs. Positioned on the bustling street of Eagle Road, Havertown’s Burrata location is adorned with Italian landscape portraits and cozy decor. The welcoming environment is complemented by delicious appetizers, pastas, and entrées, with items like truffle cream gnocchi and barramundi in garlic white wine sauce.

📍 26 E Eagle Rd., Havertown, Pa. 19083 📞 610-808-9933, 🌐 burratahavertown.com

The Choice Restaurant

Looking for a romantic night out? This 50-seat BYOB serves up Euro-fusion dishes with Ukrainian, French, and Asian touches. The restaurant, owned by Iryna Hyvel and her husband Volodymyr “Vlad” Hyvel, offers entrées like branzino with crispy potato balls, mushroom ragout, and striped bass ceviche.

📍 845 Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010 📞 484-383-3230, 🌐 thechoice-restaurant.com

Villa Artigiano Ristorante BYOB

This family-owned Ardmore restaurant boasts a menu of multiregional Italian favorites. Patrons can start with a small charcuterie board or other small plates before digging into signature dishes like gnocchi artigiano in fresh tomato basil sauce or pollo limone topped with crabmeat and a white wine sauce.

📍53 W Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, Pa. 19003, 📞 484-414-4997, 🌐 villaartigiano.com

Bam Bam Kitchen

From fried rib-eye and pork kimchi mandoo combos, to Korean fried chicken wings, and seafood pancakes, this Ardmore BYOB is booming with rich Asian flavor. Diners can enjoy Korean drink options like banana milk and the sac sac grape and orange flavors, or enjoy their own bottle while relishing over Bam Bam Kitchen’s succulent dishes.

📍 31 E. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, Pa. 19003, 📞 484-844-7827, 🌐order.bambamkitchen.com

Tiramisu Cucina Romana

This Chester County gem blends the BYOB model with a full cocktail bar, offering the best of both worlds. Tiramisu specializes in Roman-Jewish cuisine with refined flavors. Menu highlights include red snapper with pine nuts, raisins and balsamic vinegar, or lobster ravioli with lump crab and cognac sauce.

📍 720 Lancaster Ave., Berwyn, Pa. 19312 📞 610-906-3299, 🌐 tiramisuberwyn.com

Ryan Christopher’s

This family-friendly Narberth favorite is helmed by chef Michael Klaumenzer, who cooks and oversees a menu packed with crowd-pleasers. Crafted from locally sourced ingredients, the Narberth eatery’s dishes include an award-winning French onion soup and entrées like grilled New Zealand lamb chops, sesame-seared salmon, and a chicken and shrimp cacciatore.

📍 245 Woodbine Ave., Narberth, Pa. 19072 📞 610-664-9282, 🌐 ryanchristophersbyob.com

Veekoo

Tony and Shelly Li’s stylish BYOBs, which expanded to the Main Line after opening in Royersford in 2003, continue to deliver savory Chinese, Japanese, and Thai favorites. Offerings include sushi rolls and signature plates like the Hong Kong-style soft shell crab and General Tso’s Chilean sea bass served with steamed jasmine rice or brown rice.

📍 761 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010, and 564 Lancaster Ave., Berwyn, Pa., 📞 610-615-5118 and 484-318-7655, 🌐 veekoorestaurants.com

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

Freezing temps have brought back the backyard ice rink

Philly winters have been streaky in recent years, but homeowners and hockey enthusiasts are making the most of the recent deep freeze to build backyard ice skating rinks.

While many families favor the dependable conditions of an indoor rink, Fox Chase resident David Bara prefers the slow, chilling burn of a homemade skating consortium.

Since 2016, Bara has rolled up his coat sleeves to build a 22-by-48-foot rink for his family and golden retriever Ellie to enjoy. “I’m an absolute fanatic,” Bara said. “There aren’t many people in Philly who are crazy enough to do what I do. It’s definitely something more reserved for Canadians and other people up north.”

For nine straight winters, Bara has built a miniature hockey rink using plywood and a white plastic liner (a black one draws too much sunlight), while navigating the unpredictable forces of Mother Nature. “Half of the passion I have is the challenge of being able to do one where we live,” Bara said. “It’s not easy. It’s me and Mother Nature. If Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, then there is no rink.”

After building the wooden exterior, he puts down the plastic liner and gradually fills it with water over three days. The shapeless plane slowly transforms into a sleek, 10-inch-high surface, which he wraps with beam-supported banners covered in local business ads.

Bara said his outdoor rink (ODR) wasn’t always as well-executed. His first one was made from a torn blow-up pool, with a thin surface just wide enough to fit his son and one other hockey player. But the haphazard experiment inspired him to take the art of ODR-making to the next level.

What started as a one-off project for Bara has turned into an obsession. “I’m out there building ice four or five times a night. I set my alarm for midnight, 2 o’clock, and 4 o’clock in the morning because it’s better to do it when there’s no sun.

I call it passion; some people call it insanity.”

It’s even become a part of family tradition. Bara hosts a broomball tournament every year for his daughter’s birthday, and his shed-turned-warming room is a late-night hang for Philadelphia Flyers fans. It’s equipped with a TV, a fully stocked bar, cozy insulation, and LED-lit walls covered in Flyers memorabilia.

Flourtown content creator Logan Randazzo said her DIY rink, too, has become a winter tradition. The Canada native and amateur figure skater grew up practicing two-foot turns and forward swizzles on her family’s rink. And for the past three Christmases, Randazzo and her husband have joyfully shared those “core memories” with their five children on the back patio of their historic mansion.

“It’s been fun as a parent to see that through my children’s eyes,” Randazzo said. “I used to spend all day out there with my brothers, so it’s really fun to see them [out there]. I hope it’s the kind of stories they can talk about when they grow up.”

While indoor rinks are great for skating year-round, Randazzo said nothing compares to the feeling of outdoor skating, especially when it’s accessible a few feet from a backdoor. “It’s nothing against indoor rinks, but the convenience of a mother of five to just step outside the door is absolutely priceless.”

Since posting an Instagram video of her 20-by-40-foot rink, Randazzo, who’s amassed more than 250,000 followers on the platform, said other Philly-area residents have contacted her to ask how they can make one of their own.

While ODRs are more common among Canadian and Midwestern households, Long Valley, N.J., resident John Greco said it’s become a growing trend on the East Coast since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The former hockey player runs a backyard ice rink Facebook group with Bara. He said people have been seeking new ways to explore the outdoors, and with more DIY tips and resources readily available, Greco said it’s easier than ever to get started.

The biggest challenges for new rink builders are finding backyard space without a slope, or building rink boards without a gap. Differing levels could lead to uneven ice, and cracks in the exterior can lead to “blowouts,” a balloon-like pop that ends in a flooded yard.

“I’ve heard all the horror stories. I try to collect information for people because that was my battle at the beginning. And now there are resources for people to start,” said Greco.

Barring an occasional snow blitz, or a momentary string of ice-capped days, snow in Philadelphia has been alarmingly scarce the past 10 years.

Last winter, Philly registered the lowest snow cover in a decade since the National Weather Service began tracking it in the winter of 1940-41. And the meteorological winter of 2023-24 was ranked the 10th warmest in records dating back to 1872.

Bara said it takes roughly three straight days of freezing temperatures for ODRs to hold. But despite last year’s record-low snowfall, he was able to build his ice rink in less than 24 hours. “I was making new layers every hour,” he said.

While winters have been more difficult to predict, Bara said the past 10 years have been fairly consistent. Some months (and years) are cooler than others, but the lifelong Philadelphian said the recent weather has been close to what it was when he first started making his backyard rink.

After a decade building “natural backyard rinks,” Greco said this year was his first making it with a chiller system, easing some of the pressure that comes with the weather-dependent pass-time.

YardRink CEO Brian Packard, whose company specializes in National Hockey League-licensed ODR kits, said the ease of technology is also encouraging people to build their own iced arenas.

It’s a trend he hopes will reduce children’s phone screen time and spark added interest in street hockey. Its growth, Packard said, could be similar to the popularity of flag football, which makes its Olympic debut in 2028. “It’s about sticks in hands and smiles on faces,” Packard said. “We’re excited about the resurgence of backyard ice hockey. People are going bananas with it.”

Whether it’s an NHL-licensed rink or a frozen retention basin, Maple Glen resident Kristen Warner said the best thing about ODRs are the moments shared with neighbors, friends, and family.

Warner has had rinks flood, and some have required emergency resurfacing. But no matter the conditions, one element always remains the same – the joy.

“[It doesn’t] matter if you get one weekend of solid ice, or an entire winter,” she said, “it’s worth the time and effort for the memories that are made.”

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

Keke Palmer and Tierra Whack bonded over a secret pregnancy

Keke Palmer met Tierra Whack over a game of spades at Jackie Chan’s house in South Philly.

Trust me, the story gets even better.

They started arguing with Rihanna when Eddie Murphy showed up to diffuse the situation.

And if all this sounds too good to be true, that’s because, well, it is.

“All right, we play too much,” Palmer joked to the Fitler Club crowd. The newly published author stopped by on Thursday for an event presented by Harriett’s Bookshop and sponsored by the Fitler Club and The Inquirer. Whack interviewed Palmer about her book, Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative.

The real story? The actress, singer, and KeyTV founder met Whack at Alicia Keys’ house in 2023, bundled up in a puffer coat, which she took off to reveal a baby bump. She was months away from giving birth to her son, Leodis “Leo” Jackson.

Whack kept her lips sealed on the secret pregnancy, and the two multi-hyphenates have built a special bond over the past two years. “I love you girl,” Palmer said as she walked over to hug the North Philly native. “I love you, too,” Whack said.

“I’m here, no payment or nothing,” Whack said to the crowd in the Fitler Club ballroom. “This is my girl.”

Palmer’s memoir delves into her days as a child actor, and the lessons she’s learned on her journey to becoming an Emmy-winning entertainer, entrepreneur, and mom of one.

“Kids bring perspective,” she said. “I have to make sure this baby is good, and then I have the rest of the day. It’s helping me understand what’s really important.”

Palmer and Whack spoke of their love-hate relationship with musicals and their fondness for ’90s and early 2000s sitcoms like The Jamie Foxx Show and The Parkers. And like the rest of us, Palmer can’t get enough of the Apple TV+ thriller Severance. “It’s so good, I had to go back and re-watch season one,” she said.

By the end of the evening, Whack had seemingly found a name for her next project.Whack of All Trades.

“If that’s the next album, I need a feature,” Palmer said.

– The Philadelphia Inquirer