Inquirer Editorial Cartoonist to Address Center City Seniors Group
(PRWEB) September 25, 2013 -- Friends in the City, an organization of active senior citizens who use Center City and its rich cultural resources as their campus, will hold its annual meeting this Sunday, September 29, 2013. Award-winning Philadelphia Inquirer political cartoonist Signe Wilkinson, the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, will be keynote speaker. Originated by the city's Quaker community, Friends in the City, or FitC (pronounced fit-see), provides a year-long array of programs for its members and also is responsible for Riverfront, a unique residential building at Front & Market Streets. Wilkinson will provide a cartoon look at the Quaker City.
Wilkinson cartooned for the Philadelphia Daily News for many years and in 1994-95 was president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. In 2005 she published a collection of her work entitled One Nation, Under Surveillance. Her syndicated daily comic strip ended in 2011, the same year she received a Visionary Woman Award from Moore College of Art & Design. She currently produces Penn's Village, a Sunday strip, and occasional political cartoons for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The FitC annual meeting is held to bring the membership together with the new president and the board, and an important historic building was selected as its location. The program begins at 4:00 p.m. with Greg Barnes, author of the recent book about the FitC meeting venue, Philadelphia's Arch Street Meeting House: A Biography. Current president Ted Reed will address the past and future of FitC and Riverfront and will introduce incoming president Joan Countryman, long-time educator at Germantown Friends School and interim head of Oprah Winfrey's school for poor South African girls.
FitC is a young organization that has quickly grown to more than 200 members through its robust program of events for seniors. These range from cultural and social programs and volunteer opportunities to walking groups and eating adventures. Members prefer to live in their own homes rather than to enter a seniors' residential community, and FitC works to satisfy many of their needs for activities and fellowship.
As its mission statement states, “Friends in the City was created...to enable people who live in and around central Philadelphia to develop community, to enhance their urban experiences and to contribute their time and talents to their community.” FitC often provides programs in partnership with other city organizations+, such as the Free Library and Penn's Village.
The meeting is open to both members and non-members. For registration information and costs of attending contact: Pamela Freyd, 215-732-8226, pamfreyd(at)earthlink(dot)net.
Ted Reed, FitC (Friends in the City), http://www.friendscentercity.org, +1 610-909-6554, [email protected]
Share this article