The year 2025 was eventful for many local community groups and institutions -- some good news, some losses, some battles that were waged and won.

Things started on an up note in February, when Northwest Philadelphia’s finest horticultural talents triumphed at the 2025 Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Flower Show, winning awards for floral artistry, innovation and skillful interpretation of a theme that touted the virtues of sustainability.

Among the big news of the year was the transition to new leadership at some institutions, and major fights with Washington by others.

In the spring, Woodmere Director and CEO William Valerio was startled to learn that the Institutes for Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS), the independent federal agency charged with overseeing funding for libraries and museums nationwide, was canceling the $750,000 grant awarded to Woodmere in September 2024. The news left him, Valerio said, “caught in midair.”

It soon became clear that other local arts organizations also were losing federal funding. Multiple Northwest Philadelphia arts organizations, among hundreds of other groups nationwide, lost promised grants from the National Endowment for the Arts on what was dubbed the “Friday night massacre,” on the heels of President Donald Trump’s proposal calling for the elimination of the NEA. Among the numerous groups affected in Philadelphia, the Quintessence Theatre Group in Mt. Airy and the Circadium School of Contemporary Circus in Mt. Airy were hit by the cuts.

Meanwhile, the Lantern Theater Company in Center City — which also holds events in Northwest Philadelphia and plans to open a Mt. Airy location in 2026 — managed to get its funding before the mass cuts. Local institutions rushed to secure alternate funding.

Woodmere, for its part, filed suit to reclaim its $750,000 and the federal government reinstated the grant in September. About a month later, Woodmere celebrated the grand opening of its Frances M. Maguire Hall for Art and Education, a Victorian mansion and former convent that underwent extensive renovations to display a vast array of remarkable works.

Other local institutions underwent management changes. Early in the year, the Chestnut Hill Conservancy announced two new people for its top leadership positions: An executive director, David Gest, and a board president, Bill Webster. Gest arrived with a wide variety of skills and set to work on challenges involved with preservation, noting that it exists on a spectrum, from those who wish to preserve everything in its original state to those who prioritize new development. And Webster succeeded Eileen Javers, who led the organization for eight years and remained on the board and executive committee.

At Friends of the Wissahickon, Ruffian Tittmann departed after a transformative tenure as executive director and Sara Stevenson was named as her replacement to helm Philadelphia’s largest park Friends group. FOW, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, manages more than 2,000 acres of land, hundreds of wildlife species and assets worth $3 million.

In August, the Chestnut Hill Community Association welcomed seven new and returning members to its board of directors. The CHCA typically holds community elections for board seats; however, this year the number of nominees equaled the number of open seats, negating the need for an election. New to the board as at-large members were Allen Barkus, Janel Baselice, Tom Johnson, Laura Leon-Maurice, and Sarah Robertson. Returning board members were Joyce Lenhardt and Larry McEwen.

In June, Chestnut Hill celebrated 50 years since being placed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to Chestnut Hill Local archives. It was “one of the most important things that has happened to Chestnut Hill,” said Nancy Hubby, former president of the Chestnut Hill Historical Society, in an article published on June 27, 1985. “It will be one of the decisive events in shaping the future of Chestnut Hill, making a significant difference in preserving our ‘greene countrie towne.’”

The Chestnut Hill historic district features more than 2,600 buildings, some dating back as far as 1744, and its borders are Northwestern Avenue on the north and Cresheim Valley Drive on the south, as well as Wissahickon Creek on the west and Stenton Avenue on the east, according to the Chestnut Hill Conservancy. It is one of the largest historic districts of its kind in the United States.

Other big anniversaries were celebrated by Chestnut Hill Meals on Wheels (50 years) and the Rotary Club of Chestnut Hill (30 years). But the most impressive was United Lutheran Seminary, which announced that it would mark its 200th anniversary with a yearlong series of events throughout 2026.

Finally -- last but certainly not least -- the Chestnut Hill Local won a dozen Keystone Media Awards in the 2025 Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association (PNA) contest and, for the third year in a row, came in second place in the weekly publications category for News Organization of the Year. The Keystone competition was fierce: PNA said that this year, it received 2,513 entries from 119 news organizations.

The Local also won its division in PNA’s Advertising Sweepstakes Contest, in which media outlets from across the state submit printed and digital ads for consideration and an impartial panel of judges come together to cast their ballots. It is a highly competitive competition.