The 11th Walk Around Philadelphia is complete!
On the joyous side, this year’s walk included secret sidewalks and a perimeter parade, but we also encountered heavier things like unmarked graves and sites of environmental degradation.
We’d love to share some stories and discoveries with you via this Thursday’s virtual reportback.
There’s also an in-person event at The Schuylkill Center tomorrow, and the Walking the Edge exhibit remains on view through April 1st.Â
Virtual Reportback:
Thursday March 2 via Zoom
Gather online to learn about Walk Around Philadelphia & hear stories from this February’s exploration of the city’s border.
This free virtual event will provide opportunities to connect with the growing community of perimeter-walkers and share your own stories from the city’s edge.Â
Ways of Walking:
Book discussion – Wed March 1
Join Ways of Walking editor (and original perimeter-walking pal) Ann de Forest in conversation with yours truly and contributors of the book.
Ways of Walking brings together 26 writers who reflect on walks they have taken and what they discovered along the way. Some walk across forbidden lines, violating laws to seek freedom. Some walk to bear witness to social injustice. Still others walk so they can notice what faster travelers in cars or trains might miss.
The event will include an optional movement exercise led by Megan Quinn.
Copies of the book will be for sale courtesy of New Door Books.Â
Light refreshments will also be served.
Post-walk wellness…
We had a marvelous end to our Friday segment at The Schuylkill Center, where my massage therapist colleagues Nell Highleyman and Kimberly Vice offered hand and chair massages along side herbal foot soaks provided by my pal Kate Farquhar.
As this iteration of the walk winds down, I’m turning some focus back to building my bodywork practice. Find out more about it…Â
What Walk Around Philadelphia participants are saying:
“Thank you for giving me a wealth of information, that I will continue to share and use in and around Philadelphia!”
– Leonie W
“I really appreciated and respected the frequent, gentle but firm reminders about paying attention to everyone’s needs, making decisions as a group, and elevating each person’s comfort and safety. I also loved walking through the wooded area along the Cobbs Creek. I had never done that before, despite living in West Philly and having visited and foraged at Cobbs Creek Park in the past.”
– Gina R
“Let’s try and find a way of making this project sustainable for the longterm. . . and to grow it without losing the intimacy that allows for meaningful conversations along the way and that fosters such a valuable sense of community.”
– Graham B
What the press is saying:
“Circumnavigating the city on foot: A tutorial on boundaries”
Catch the exhibit:
Walking the Edge: through April 1!
The exhibit at The Schuylkill Center brings together work from over 100 artists responding to walking our borders and boundaries with sculpture, video, quilting, photography, poetry and more.
It’s a rich exhibition with a lot to take in, and there’s only one month remaining to see it.
I hope you’ll be able to get there and/or send your friends in the Philly area to check it out…
So many more stories to share…
As expected, the walk was full of unexpected surprises…
While it was my 11th time around the city’s edge, we still found our way to places that I’d never been before, new sights and new experiences.
This truly is a wild and complex city, and walking its border is an amazing experience that I’m delighted invite others into. It’ll take a minute for me to regroup and process it all, and then I’ll share some more detailed blog posts about the adventures as I’m able.
Stay tuned for next steps, and please join us as you’re able… starting with Thursday’s virtual event!
