Several exciting events are taking place in our area this weekend. Check out our weekend events guide.
Playtime at the Beach - Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
Blueberry Festival - Bethlehem, Pa.
Pancakes for Charity - Northeast Philadelphia
Lucy the Elephant's 133rd Birthday Party - Margate, NJ
Lancaster Avenue Jazz Festival, West Philadelphia
Bill Cosby LIVE at Lincoln University
Get the full weekend events guide, including times, locations and tickets, here.
ALSO ON NBC10.COM
A South Jersey woman lost temporary custody of her pet bobcat after the animal escaped from her home multiple times.
On Friday a judge ordered that Ginny Fine's bobcat Rocky be seized and returned to Popcorn Park Zoo until the two pending charges against Fine are resolved.
Last June, Rocky escaped from Fine's Stafford Township home. The escape came less than three weeks after Fine told NBC10 she could guarantee Rocky would never get loose in the future. The animal was loose for about an hour before Fine retrieved her pet, police said.
A complaint from a neighbor prompted a response from the township’s Animal Control, which issued a summons to Fine for the animal “running at large.”
The 38 pound partially-declawed feline has been in the spotlight since late March after he got loose from Fine’s house, prompting concerns from neighbors and police. He was missing for days before turning up.
As a result of a previous court order stemming from a prior escape last fall, authorities seized Rocky and took him to the Associated Humane Societies’ Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey Township.
A DNA test to determine if Rocky is a purebred Bobcat, illegal to own as a pet in New Jersey, or a hybrid proved to be inconclusive. As a result, Rocky was returned to Fine on May 19, three days after Stafford Township Municipal Court Judge Damian Murray ruled she could have him back as long as an enclosure outside her home passed an inspection by township officials.
Murray also ordered Fine to pay a $1,000 fine and more than $200 in restitution. She now faces an additional fine.
Following the May 16 hearing, NBC10 News asked Fine if Rocky would be getting loose again, to which she adamantly replied, “Never, ever…I don’t ever want to do this again.”
The township’s Animal Control was alerted of the roaming bobcat by a neighbor who filed a complaint about the pet. Animal Control issued a summons to Fine for the animal “running at large.”
For those of us not jetting off to Europe or fighting vacation traffic this summer, have we got a treat for you! Mt. Airy is offering free alfresco movie screenings on Friday and Saturday nights through August 16th! The line-up isn't shabby either ... From children’s films to summer blockbusters, classic flicks and more, you're sure to find something to tickle your fancy. Check out the full line-up right here.
Did we mention, all of the movies are free? All you have to do is pack a picnic dinner, bring a blanket or lawn chair(s) and load up the family and friends. Mt. Airy's got the rest covered! Friday night screenings are scheduled for Lovett Library Park and Saturday night screenings are scheduled to take place at the Trolley Car Diner. In the case of rain, film screenings move indoors to the Mt. Airy Presbyterian Church.
All movies begin promptly at 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit Go Mt. Airy.com.
Join the city of Bethlehem at the pictoresque, historic Burnside Plantation for a weekend of good, old-fashioned fun at their annual Blueberry Festival. The popular festival features scrumptious blueberries and blueberry-filled treats, live music by local artists, Colonial-era games and crafts, summer kitchen demonstrations and more. If you think you’ve got the chops, you can even compete in a traditional pie eating contest!
While you're there, embark on a tour of James Burnside's colonial home and barns, catch the hoop in a rousing game of graces, enjoy colonial brewing demonstrations, kids' crafts and dress-up, horse-powered rides and more.
Don’t miss the dessert tent, where you’ll find homemade blueberry pies, delicious strudel, coffee cake and creamy vanilla ice cream swirled with homemade blueberry variegate. Yum!
To wash everything down, visit the “Pints from the Past” tent, (extra cost) where you’ll get to sample mead, wine and locally crafted beers.
The festival runs throughout the weekend beginning on Friday evening: July 18, 5:30 to 8 p.m., July 19, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and July 20, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
General Admission is $8 for adults, and $4 for children ages 4 to 12). Free admission is offered for children ages 3 and younger. Admission to the "Pints from the Past" Tasting Tent is $7. Parking will be available at the Martin Tower Lot.
For more information, call 610-882-0450 or visit Historic Bethlehem and Sites.
Insider Tips
All musical performances are included with your admission to the Festival. Review the festival line-up, after the jump!
If you plan to bring home a blueberry pie,you might want to pre-order it. With more than 6,000 visitors anticipated, they’re expected to sell out quickly!
Burnside Plantation
1461 Schoenersville Road
Bethlehem, PA 18018
(484) 934-1156
A young boy is fighting for his life after falling from a window in the Kingsessing section of the city.
The 4-year-old boy was inside a home on the 5400 block of Malcolm Street Saturday around 8:45 a.m. when he fell out of a second floor bedroom window.
"His head was on his shoulder," said Lena Duncan, neighbor. "I seen blood -- it looked like blood coming down from his head on his shoulder. His whole body was slumped over."
The boy suffered head and facial injuries, including fractures to his skull.
He was taken to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where he is currently in critical, but stable condition.
Tenai Benjamin is a single mom from Newark, Del. She works, goes to school and raises her 6-year-old daughter.
She makes a little more than minimum wage and has trouble making ends meet. One night in July of last year, she decided to vent her frustration in a letter to the President.
“It was just supposed to be like a journal entry,” she said. “I didn’t think it would be read.”
But this single mom’s letter catapulted her into the spotlight when President Obama responded to it Thursday by joining her on her lunch break.
President Obama was in Delaware to visit the tilting I-495 bridge and deliver remarks on the economy. President Obama read Benjamin’s letter, and according to White House staff, wrote “This is the person we are working for” on the bottom and sent the letter to his senior staff.
When Benjamin received a call from a White House Staff member, she did not believe it was real.
“I thought it was a prank until she said that they were calling in regards to the letter that I wrote,” Benjamin said.
She was told she would be meeting with someone, but it wasn’t until a few days before her lunch date she learned she would be dining with the President.
“…to actually be able to sit down and have lunch with the president…” she said, “It tells me my letter mattered.”
Benjamin and the President ate at the Charcoal Pit in Wilmington -- a favorite of Vice President Joe Biden.
“[President Obama] was so cool,” she said. “He went around the room shaking everyone’s hand and when he got to the table he told them how hungry he was and that his date was waiting on him.”
She and the President talked about her daughter, his experiences growing up, his mother and even his in-laws.
“It’s nice to see that they were able to make it…dealing with the same struggles and difficulties that I deal with,” Benjamin said.
Lunch ended and Tanei went back to work, but she said it was one lunch she would never forget.
“My letter may have been a lot about me and what I was dealing with as a person but for him to make the statement that this is the person that we’re working for, it means to me that you know he’s listening,” she said.
“I’m not the only person going through this situation,” Benjamin said. “People who are going through this situation…these are the people that he’s working for, not just me. I was just the one to write the letter.”
A 13-year-old girl shot by a stray bullet is recovering from surgery and pushing through her pain.
Tiya Hudson was shot in her sleep earlier this month when a bullet pierced through the siding of her house and hit her in the back.
“I didn’t have to survive this, but I guess God made me survive it for a reason,” she said.
She was shot only once, but doctors say the damage to her organs is consistent with a wound from an AK-47. Neighbors overheard an apparent argument, which may have motivated the gun fight, according to authorities.
Police have yet to onfirm if one of the two shooters involved was carrying an assault rifle.
Hudson, who has returned home from the hospital, is recovering from surgery to correct her organs.
“It’s been hard because I’ve been in a lot of pain trying to get up and do what I normally do,” she said, “but at the end of the day I still push though it even though I’m not gonna be the same.”
In honor of her return, her family decided to throw her a block party that doubled as a peace rally.
“It’s just about peace today,” her mother said. “This should not have happened. This is a senseless crime.”
Detectives are still looking for the suspects and urge anyone with information to share it with police.
Authorities say a dispute between two Newark residents ended with one fatally shooting the other.
Essex County prosecutors tell The Star-Ledger that 45-year-old James Tindal was charged with aggravated manslaughter and weapons charges in the death of 32-year-old city resident Joey Reyes.
But they did not say what the men were arguing about or provide further details about the shooting, including what type of weapon was used.
Police officers responding to reports of shots fired found Reyes around 12:30 a.m. Saturday in the 200 block of Mount Prospect Avenue. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and Tindal was taken in to custody a short time later.
No other injuries were reported.
Tindal was being held on $75,000 bail. It was not known if he's retained an attorney.
A pedestrian is hurt Saturday after being struck by a vehicle, which then took off from the scene.
The victim was struck around 9:30 p.m. while walking near High and North 27th streets in Camden.
Authorities transported the pedestrian to Cooper Medical Center.
The victim's condition is not known at this time.
Stay with NBC10 for more on this developing story.
A tour bus caught fire on a busy stretch of New Jersey highway, but no passengers were injured.
State Police Sgt. Brian Polite says the fire was reported at about 8:40 p.m. Saturday in Bridgewater, N.J. Initial reports say passengers were seen running along the southbound lanes of Interstate 287, away from the blaze.
Polite says no one was injured and fire companies are on the scene. There's no word yet on what caused the fire.
He says one southbound lane is open near the blaze, and two others remain closed.
No other details were available.
A bullet struck a man in the neck in South Jersey Saturday night.
The male victim was hit on the 700 block of Central Avenue in Camden, according to officials.
No word yet on his condition.
Stay with NBC10 for more on this developing story.
A mother and her three children are honored a year after the four lost their lives crossing a busy stretch of Roosevelt Boulevard.
The City of Philadelphia renamed a crosswalk that passes over the Boulevard at 2nd Street in the Feltonville neighborhood after 28-year-old Samara Banks, who died last July when a speeding driver struck her and her 4 sons as they walked home.
Banks, along with 7-month-old Saamir Williams, 23-month-old Saa-sean Williams and 4-year-old Saa-deem Griffin, were killed. Her oldest son, Saa-yon Griffin, survived the accident.
The crosswalk, which was added sometime after the fatal crash, will be known as Banks Way.
The name came about after Philadelphia City Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez introduced legislation in May calling for the new moniker.
Banks Way will “memorialize her spirit and character and serve as a reminder to cars and pedestrians to always travel safely,” the resolution said.
The busy thoroughfare is known as one of the most dangerous stretches of roadway throughout the country.
Khusen Akhmedov of Lancaster and Ahmen Holloman of Philadelphia are both facing murder charges for the deaths of Banks and three sons.
Philadelphia Police say the two men were street racing when the 2012 Audi allegedly driven by Akhmedov plowed into the family.
Akhmedov is already behind bars. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison after pleading guilty in December in an unrelated Medicare fraud case.
One person is hurt after a truck and a motorcycle collide in West Philadelphia Saturday night.
The crash happened near 47th Street and Cedar Avenue around 10 p.m., according to police.
The motorcyclist was transported to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and is in critical condition.
No word yet on what caused the crash.
A driver is recovering and four people were displaced after a utility van crashed into a building in Bellmawr, New Jersey.
A Paradigm Mechanical vehicle slammed into a building on the 100 block of East Browning Road around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. The unidentified driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Both a nail salon and an apartment unit inside the building were damaged in the crash. Two men and two women were displaced in the accident. The American Red Cross is currently providing them food and shelter.
Officials have not yet revealed what caused the crash. They continue to investigate.
Paradigm Mechanical is a maintenance and plumbing business based in Lansdale, Pa.
