Philadelphia has got it going on! Tremendous support for the arts- is what you can see in Philadelphia.



Just got back last night (late!) from the Society for the Arts in Healthcare http://www.thesah.org conference in Philadelphia. My first time there- it was so great! I met many people with art programs in hospitals (w/different populations) or long term care facilities. Learned about their programs and many inspirational outcomes of art and healing- and enjoyed being in Philadelphia. Re-connected w/members of my artist in hospitals class and enjoyed fine food at my favorite restaurant, and its vegan- Horizons. http://www.horizonsphiladelphia.com/



Beware- you need a reservation- especially on a FRI or SAT night.

Some of the highlights-

About Lily Yeh and Barefoot Artists, Inc.- formed "... to carry out her work internationally. It aims to bring the transformative power of art to the most impoverished communities in the world through participatory and multifaceted projects that heal the wounded, reconnect the broken and make the invisible visible. Her current work includes the construction of the 1994 Genocide Memorial and the transformation of a survivors village in the Rugerero district in West Rwanda.



Lily Yeh, Founder and Executive Director, Barefoot Artists, Inc. http://www.barefootartists.org/barefootartists_about.html



Jane Golden, Founding Director, Philadelphia Mural Arts Program http://www.muralarts.org/about/ Read about it- its incredible- plus, if you visit Philadelphia you can see some of the more than 2700 murals. (more murals than any other city in the world.)

"There is no program anywhere that better realizes the potential and value of art to our culture. As much as these murals have contributed to the beautification and revitalization of the City, the Mural Arts Program must be congratulated even more for engaging the youth of Philadelphia."Edward G. Rendell , Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

And, it got even more incredible to hear from this young man, Jourdan Urbach, Concert Violinist, Founder, Children Helping Children. Scroll down to read his bio- he is way more than amazing, and his heart and value for others less able are vast--- what he has done about this, is unbelieveable. http://www.thesah.org/template/page.cfm?page_id=99

Here is one article about Jourdan http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0850/is_3_25/ai_n19311819 plus the website for his foundation- which he started at age 7: http://www.childrenhelpingchildren.net/

Glad to be home- especially after a train mishap- our train went dead, just after Aberdeen- somewhere in Edgewood MD. We waited for hours for a 3rd train to 'rescue' us. (yes, thats what Amtrak said, they were bringing the train to rescue us- and they described it as an evolution.) People on the train were very nice- and it was even fun at times...getting to know fellow passengers and share food w/them.



Missed the sedar that I was looking forward to at my friend's house, but tired as she was, she gave me a taste of her sedar at 11pm. Thank you Marilyn!