ArtsWatch

The Fairmount Park Conservancy, a private, nonprofit fundraising affiliate of the park, raised about $675,000 Tuesday night at its annual benefit dinner. Conservancy president John Binswanger, who is also a member of the Fairmount Park Commission, said that over 300 attended the dinner, this year honoring Mayor Nutter at the Rittenhouse Hotel on Rittenhouse Square, a venerable part of the 9,000-acre park system.
The conservancy raises funds to benefit the park - many private donors, such as foundations, have rules prohibiting them from giving directly to a public agency - and has initiated a number of restoration and educational programs, such as the refurbishing of Boxer's Trail near the east bank of the Schuylkill River, a meandering route once used for training by Joe Frazier and others. The conservancy has also spearheaded renovation of the the South Garden of the Fairmount Water Works and several neighborhood parks and has a number of educational park programs in the pipeline.
- Stephan Salisbury