By Tina Plokarz, Director of Environmental Art
For 5,000 years, Iraqis in the marshes of Mesopotamia have been building mudhifs, large guest houses constructed entirely out of reed grass and used for town gatherings and ceremonies like weddings. This summer, for the first time ever, a mudhif will be built in Roxborough. And you can help create it.
You can meet the artists building the mudhif virtually on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. as part of the Schuylkill Centerâs ongoing Thursday Night Live series of events. Seattle environmental artist Sarah Kavage and Iraqi designer (and current Roxborough resident!) Yaroub Al-Obaidi will share their cutting-edge environmental art project Al-Mudhif: A Confluence.
By Mike Weilbacher
Last weekâs snow was thankfully kind to us. Though 6.3 official inches fell at the airport, it was not the foot that might have been and was long predicted, nor the ice storm that was also possible, nor the gale force winds that were expected. My staff at the Schuylkill Center breathed easier on Thursday morning when they arrived to shovel us out, as snow, ice, and wind can conspire to cripple our work, toppling trees and branches while causing power outages. So frankly, weâll take an easier storm.
But temperatures returned to New Abnormal levels this week, as predictions call for a balmy 54 degrees on Christmas Eve. No White Christmas this year. In fact, the last recorded white Christmas occurred in 2009, and even then it didn t actually snow on the day, but earlier in the week. The last time we recorded an inch or more of snowfall on the holiday was 2002, with only an inch and a half. The record for snowfall on Christmas is a foot, which fell way back