A hip-hop summit, a haunted circus and Al Roker signs cookbooks in this week’s ‘Things To Do’

As you head out the door this weekend, send up a quick thank you to the weather gods for their favor and to event organizers for the variety of options.

On Saturday at the Delaware Art Museum is the second annual Hip-Hop Cultural Summit hosted by allhiphop.com, featuring special guest Flavor Flav. Al Roker is also in Wilmington Friday night to support his new cookbook. The weatherman turned co-cookbook author is a meat eater — and many recipes reflect that — but Vegan Restaurant Week in Philly has something for the plant-based foodies.

South Jersey enjoys a Haunted Weekend in Haddon Township, while across the bridge, there’s a two-day schedule of Haunted Circus events at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts. Filipino American History Month is celebrated on Saturday during Taste of the Philippines at Cherry Street Pier. And music lovers can choose two tribute bands, Frankie Beverly and Queen, or two bands known for their genre-bending music, Time for Three and Sweet Honey in the Rock.

Delaware | New Jersey | Special Events | Arts & Culture | Outdoors | Kids | Food & Drink | Music

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Delaware

2nd Annual Hip-Hop Cultural Summit

• Where: Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Pkwy., Wilmington, Del.
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• How much: Free with registration

Delaware natives Grouchy Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur created the website allhiphop.com 26 years ago, unknowingly setting them on a path as part of the genre’s zeitgeist. This weekend, they host the second annual summit that includes special guests Flavor Flav and Pam Africa and an exhibit showcasing the work of hip-hop photographer T. Eric Monroe.

Al Roker’s ‘Recipes to Live By’

• Where: Wilmington Public Library, 10 E. 10th St., Wilmington, Del.
• When: Friday, Oct. 25, 6 p.m.
• How much: $30 (includes book)

Al Roker and his oldest daughter, chef Courtney Roker Laga, collaborated on a new cookbook, “Recipes to Live By: Easy, Memory-Making Family Dishes for Every Occasion.” Al will be in town to promote and sign it, and afterward, Chef Justin Womack, owner and executive chef at Wilmington’s Oath ‘84, will host a tasting based on recipes in the book.

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New Jersey

Haunted Haddon Market

• Where: Haddon Square, 51 Haddon Ave. 
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 4–8 p.m.
• How much: Free, pay as you go

Haddon Township is celebrating Halloween with a series of events. On Friday, a free Spooky Movie Night screening of “The Addams Family.” On Saturday, the township hosts the Haunted Haddon Market, which offers fire pits, a beer garden, a trick-or-treating event, spooky vendors and more, including a Brews and Boos Pub Crawl with free jitney rides to and from the bars.

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Special Events

Haunted Circus 2024

• Where: Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, 6452 Greene St.
• When: Friday, Oct. 25, 6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 26, 2:30 p.m., 8 p.m.
• How much: $10 – $20

It’s spooky circus time as the Philadelphia School of  Circus Arts embraces the holiday with three events over two days. First is the Kids Haunted Circus on Friday night, incorporating an “Intro to Circus” workshop. On Saturday, there’s the Family Haunted Circus in the afternoon and the Adults Only Haunted Circus at night, which requires you to leave your inhibitions at the door.

East Passyunk Fall Fest

• Where: East Passyunk Avenue between Morris and Dickinson streets
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• How much: Free, pay as you go

Celebrate the fall season and its wonderful weather (so far) at this neighborhood fall festival, which brings arts and crafts vendors, trick or treating and discounts on food and drink to South Philly. Live music and pumpkin carving are on deck as well.

Taste of the Philippines

• Where: Cherry Street Pier, 121 N. Christopher Columbus Blvd.
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
• How much: Free

October is Filipino American History Month, commemorating the month when Filipinos were first documented in the continental United States in 1587. The festival features musicians, dancers, food and a marketplace where you can buy items from Filipino vendors and businesses.

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Arts & Culture

Venus in Fur

• Where: The Regency Room, 190 Mifflin St., Bristol, Pa.
• When: Through Sunday, Nov. 10
• How much: $15 – $45

An actress in need of a part encounters a casting director just about to pack it up for the day. Their interaction is the basis of “Venus in Fur” as the power dynamic takes a comedic turn in this play The New York Times called “seriously smart.” (Note, while Bristol Riverside Theatre is undergoing reservations, their productions will be staged at a smaller space half a mile away.)

The Thanksgiving Play

• Where: Curio Theatre Company, 4740 Baltimore Ave.
• When: Through Sunday, Nov. 9
• How much: $20 – $30

West Philly’s Curio Theatre Company has been a staple in the community for two decades. Their latest production is the story of what happens when four white teachers decide to put on — what they think is — a culturally sensitive Thanksgiving play at their elementary school. Their challenge is exacerbated by the fact they have no Native American representation or any clue how it should really go.

‘Red’

• Where: Theatre Exile, 1340-48 S. 13th St.
• When: Through Sunday, Nov. 10
• How much: $10 – $45

Artist Mark Rothko achieved great success in his lifetime but after his passing, the value of his paintings grew to multiple millions of dollars. In the Tony-winning play “Red,” set during the creation of Rothko’s Seagram murals, he and his assistant clash as Rothko treads the thin line between art and commerce.

Intimate Apparel

• Where: Arden Theatre, 40 N. 2nd St.
• When: Through Sunday, Dec. 1
• How much: $32 – $62

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage puts her award-winning pen to good use in her latest play, “Intimate Apparel.” Set in 1905, lingerie seamstress Esther Mills learns about the trials and triumphs of her clients as she longs for a more exciting narrative in her own life.

CultureFest: Día de los Muertos

• Where: Penn Museum, 3260 South St.
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• How much: Free with museum admission; $18 for adults, $13 for kids and students

The annual Day of the Dead celebration happens locally at Penn Museum as part of its CultureFest! series. The event promises music, dance and a marketplace, along with a large ofrenda, or offerings, installation, which references the altars created to honor loved ones who have passed on.

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Outdoors

Head of the Schuylkill Regatta

• Where: Kelly Drive and Fountain Green Drive
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 8 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 27, 7:50 p.m., last races begin at 5 p.m.
• How much: Free

The annual regatta, founded in 1970, has grown to be one of the largest in the world necessitating its expansion to a two-day event. The distance races now encompass high school, college, alumni, masters and adaptive competitions. The best place to watch is the Grandstand on Kelly Drive if you can get there early.

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Kids

Halloween Festival in Fairmount and Cherry Hill

• Where: Philly Art Center, Philly and Cherry Hill locations
• When: Sunday, Oct. 27, 2–4 p.m.
• How much: Free with RSVP: Philly, Cherry Hill

The Philly Art Center hosts two Halloween festivals; one in the city and the other at its South Jersey location. You’ll find make-and-take art stations, baby activity zones and treats at both locations. In Philly, there’s also a parade, with Positive Movement Drumline and partner Eastern State Penitentiary. Costumes are welcomed at both locations, but not mandatory.

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Food & Drink

Philly Vegan Restaurant Week

• Where: Multiple venues
• When: Friday, Oct. 25 – Sunday, Nov. 3
• How much: Various prices

Despite its deserved reputation as a carnivore’s delight, Philadelphia has a long history of veganism, with takeout, restaurant and even grocery store offerings. During Vegan Restaurant Week, participating vegan eateries and those with vegan options offer discounts and special menus.

US Night Market

• Where: South Street between 21st and 23rd streets
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 6 p.m. – 10 p.m.
• How much: Free, pay as you go

A longtime staple in Asian countries, night markets are quickly becoming a mainstay in the U.S. There have been several throughout the year, but the fall version is heading to South Street. The US Night Market, put together by Odunde CEO Oshunbumi Fernandez-West, includes both kids and dogs costume contests, dance performances by multicultural troupes from around the area, and, of course, food. West says the goal is to bring together people from Philadelphia’s diverse backgrounds.

Philly Rhythm and Hops Festival

• Where: Sister Cities Park, 210 N. 18th St.
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 2–7 p.m.
• How much: $55

Performances by Dustin Douglas and The Electric Gentlemen, Drayton Farley and Mikey Junior anchor the Philly Rhythm and Hops Festival. Your ticket includes five hours of unlimited sampling and two 16-ounce pours.

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Music

Philly Music Fest

• Where: Multiple venues
• When: Through Sunday, Oct. 27
• How much: Various prices

The week-long Philly Music Fest winds up with performances by Cadre Noir, Amos Lee, Queasy, The Tisburys, Emily Drinker and Marshall Allen, among others, at World Cafe Live, Underground Arts, Milkboy and Solar Myth.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra

• Where: Keswick Theater, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside, Pa.
• When: Thursday, Oct. 24, 7 p.m.
• How much: $45 – $75

The heyday of the big band swing era took a heavy loss in 1944 after the death of Glenn Miller, one of its founding fathers. But the sound and  The Glenn Miller Orchestra persevered with various lineups in the decades since and it comes to the Philly burbs tonight.

We Are One X-Perience: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Frankie Beverly

• Where: City Winery, 990 Filbert St.
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m.
• How much: $35 – $55

Frankie Beverly and Maze were staples on the Black touring scene for decades playing sellout audiences without a current recording. But when you craft a cookout staple like “Before I Let Go,” you don’t need one. Beverly passed away earlier this year shortly after a street in his native Germantown was renamed in his honor. The Beverly tribute band We Are One X-Perience endeavors to extend Beverly’s legacy with a tour stop in his hometown.

Prokofiev and Time For Three

• Where: Marian Anderson Hall at the Kimmel Center, 300 S Broad St.
• When: Sunday, Oct. 27, 3 p.m.
• How much: $24 – $59

Two-time Grammy winners “Time for Three” perform with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra to help celebrate its centennial. The trio is known for their contemporary take on classic music, with lengthy energetic jams across genres. At this concert, they’ll be playing Prokofiev, Higdon and Sibelius under the direction of Osmo Vänskä.

Almost Queen: A Tribute to Queen

• Where: The Fillmore Philadelphia, 29 E. Allen St.
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 8 p.m.
• How much: $41 – $114

“Queen” and its fiery frontman Freddie Mercury made a lot of music, but are best known for three songs: the anthems “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” and their juggernaut, genre-defying classic “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The tribute band “Almost Queen” is certain to play them all at their Philly tour stop.

WHYY Lifting Voices In Praise Finale Competition

• Where: Keswick Theater, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside, Pa.
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, noon – 3:30 p.m.
• How much: $5, children 12 and under, free

After airing the PBS special “Gospel Live!” with Dr. Henry Louis Gates at the helm (an addition to its four-hour gospel documentary) the response was so overwhelming that WHYY decided to create a gospel music competition. Local vocalists, ensembles and choirs responded and the winner will be determined on Saturday at the Keswick Theatre. Niecey Tribbett, Laurin Talese and Byron Cage are among the celebrity judges.

Sweet Honey in the Rock

• Where: Penn Live Arts at the Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St.
• When: Sunday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.
• How much: $46 and up

Co-founded by North Philly native Carol Maillard, Sweet Honey in the Rock celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023. The a cappella group is known for its musicianship and activism, performing globally (and for presidents, including Barack Obama) and spreading a message of love and liberation with varying lineups over the years. They make their Philly tour stop on Sunday.