Weekly Entertainment Guide – ‘100 Works for 100 years’ in Delaware
From Center City to the Jersey Shore, we’ve got your weekend covered. WHYY’s Arts Calendar curator Robin Bloom sorts through hundreds of listings each week to find out what’s happening in the Delaware Valley. Here are her picks:
After prominent Wilmington illustrator Howard Pyle’s death in 1912, a group of citizens collected his art for what is now the Delaware Art Museum. 100 years later, the museum continues to honor his illustrations and other renowned artists with the Centennial Celebration, “100 Works for 100 Years,” opening June 23 through September 16. This unique installation features one or more works of art for each year in the century, focusing on the history and development of the museum’s permanent holdings and core collections, including Pyle’s “So the Treasure was Divided,” Rembrandt Peale’s “George Washington,” and Winslow Homer’s “Milking Time.” Never-before-told narratives of the museum’s most treasured works of art are included, as well as a surprise, recent acquisition, 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington DE. Admission: Adults $12, Seniors (60+) $10, Students $6, Youth (7-18) $6. Free on Sundays.
“Angels in America” at the Wilma Theater
“Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches,” the final production of Wilma Theater’s season, is an exciting and shocking play filled with drama, chaos, heartache, rejection, progression, illness and politics. In 1985 New York City, the subjects of homosexuality and HIV/AIDS are taboo. Roy Cohn (Stephen Novelli), a highly potent and conservative lawyer, defiantly denies his AIDS diagnosis while his Republican and Mormon aide Joe (Luigi Sottile) struggles with his pill-addicted wife, Harper (Kate Czajkowski), and a deeply rooted secret of his own. Meanwhile, Prior (Aubrey Deeker), a sickly man, begins to hear voices from a ghostly being while struggling with his partner, Louis (Benjamin Pelteson). Their fates collide, leading to a conclusion that will have the audience craving more, onstage through July 1 at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA. Tickets start at $39. Contains nudity and sexual situations.
Tall Ships at Independence Seaport Museum
Celebrate our nation’s maritime history at the Independence Seaport Museum by visiting the 1812-era 122-foot square top sail schooner “Lynx” as well as the Tall Ship “Gazela,” with tours June 22-24, 10am-1pm, included with museum admission, Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia. See the current exhibit “Home of the Brave, the War of 1812 in Art, Story & Song.” Admission: Adults $12, Seniors, Children, students, and military $10, Children under 2 free. Ship tours: Adults $5, Children $2; River Tours, June 22-24, 2-4pm Adults $65, Seniors $55, Children $35.
The annual Whitesbog Blueberry Festival is Saturday, June 23, 10am-4pm, celebrating the centennial of the cultivated Highbush Blueberry with an old fashioned festival including pinelands crafters and artists “alley,” walking and wagon tours, children’s activities, live bluegrass music, old time General Store and more, Whitesbog Historical Village, Brendan Byrne State Forest, Browns Mills, NJ.
Midsommarfest at American Swedish Historical Museum
The annual Midsommarfest takes place this Saturday, June 23, 4-7:30pm, at the American Swedish Historical Museum with family entertainment including the raising of the Maypole, Swedish food, music and more, at 1900 Pattison Avenue, Philadelphia. Adults $10, ASHM members $7, children 4-12 $4, children under 4 free.
The 40th Street Summer Series returns to Philadelphia every fourth Saturday of the month through September at 6pm, opening June 23 with a performance by Slavic Soul Party along with complimentary Rita’s Water Ice and antique photos. Upcoming performances include Sun Ra Arkestra, Adventuredrum, and a special John Coltrane Birthday Celebration with Bobby Zankel’s Warriors of the Wonderful Sound with Odeon Pope and Dave Liebman, behind the Walnut Street Free Library, 40th and Walnut Streets, Philadelphia. Free.
The Cat’s Pajama’s continues to entertain families with a variety of music for kids, Saturday, June 23, 7pm, at Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse, East Fairmount Park, near 33rd and Oxford Streets, Philadelphia. Tickets: Adults $5, Children $10.
The Schuylkill Canal Association celebrates the 30th annual Canal Day @ Lock 60, Sunday, June 24, 9am-4pm with live music, crafts, food, and more at Lock 60 and St. Michael’s Park, Mont Clare, PA. Admission: $5 General Donation, Free for Children 12 and under.
Philadelphia Orchestra summer concerts in Fairmount Park
The Philadelphia Orchestra performs for the 83rd year in Fairmount Park as it returns to its summer home at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, June 27, 8pm, with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony featuring soprano Othalie Graham, mezzo-soprano Margaret Mezzacappa, tenor Zach Borichevsky, baritone Luis Ledesma, and The Philadelphia Singers Chorale, led by conductor Xian Zhang. The traditional “All-Tchaikovsky Spectacular” is Friday, June 29 with fireworks. Concerts continue through July 21. Tickets: $12.50-$49.50
Any Wednesday at Montgomery Theater
Onstage at Montgomery Theater is the comedy “Any Wednesday,” by Muriel Resnik. Director Tom Quinn and Arcadia University professor Michael Kerns teamed up to offer advanced scenic design students a chance to design the set for this production, offering a rare opportunity for students to gain real-world experience in a professional setting, running through June 30 at 124 Main Street, Souderton, PA. Tickets: $26-$35.
The Delaware Division of the Arts presents “The Treasure Hunt,” an exhibit of Bethany Beach artist Tara Funk Grim’s en plein air and studio paintings, on view now through June 29 at The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery, Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington, DE. Grim’s works, including her series of boardwalk paintings, exude color, texture, balance and depth, completed in her trademark quirky style and giving off a high sense of energy and movement in her pieces.
Umphrey’s McGee at Electric Factory
Electric Factory presents Umphrey’s McGee with guest G. Love & Special Sauce, Friday, June 29, 8pm, at Electric Factory outdoor stage, 421 N. 7th Street, Philadelphia.
More events and listings throughout the region:
Philly
The 23rd Annual Manayunk Arts Festival, considered the region’s largest outdoor juried arts festival, is Saturday, June 23, 11am-7pm and Sunday, June 24, 11am-6pm, offering 300 artists along Main Street in Manayunk. Free.
The 4th Annual Madfilmz Summer Family Music Festival arrives at the Rotunda on June 23 at 4pm, a family event featuring Joe Becton & The Cobalt Blues, Leia Lacey, Keywest, and “Vina” Turner, at 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Free.
Hella Fresh Theater’s production “Automatic Fault Isolation,” closes this weekend, Saturday & Sunday, June 23-24, 2pm in Kensington’s Paper Mill Theater. Writer and director John Rosenberg explores the issues of racial integration in the time of NASA’s 1960’s space race with this psychological drama, at 2825 Ormes Street, Kensington, Philadelphia. Tickets: $10.
Race Street Pier hosts “Sunday Funday,” June 24, 2-4pm with Spiral Q Puppet Theater puppet-making activities, music with Emily Bate of All Around the World, Silk Screenings, face painting and more, Columbus Blvd at Race Street, Philadelphia.
Neon artist Len Davidson and The Center for Architecture present “Neon Art: Folk, Found, and Fine,” an exhibit showcasing three unique types of neon art alongside an antique collection of 13 commercial neon signs from Len Davidson’s Neon Museum of Philadelphia, on view now through July 27 at 1218 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA. Admission is free.
The “Commotion Festival,” a series of community art workshops and site-specific events showcasing the work of noted area artists and local residents in the Grays Ferry, Point Breeze and South of South Street neighborhoods, is underway through June 30. Free.
Sister Cities Park hosts upcoming events: “Nature in the Park” presented by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Tuesdays at 11am through August 28, designed for children ages 8 and under; “Story Art,” Mondays at 10:30am through August 13, designed for children ages 4-6; “The World We See: Nature, Poetry and Me,” Mondays at 2pm beginning June 25 through August 20, designed for children ages 6-10, 18th & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia.
Azuka Theatre dedicates their newest production, “Hazard County” to launching the careers of recent college graduates who designed and perform in this Philadelphia Premiere by Allison Moore and directed by Allison Heishman, influenced by true events and the TV series, “Dukes of Hazzard,” onstage through July 1 at The Off-Broad Street Theater, First Baptist Church, 1636 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. Tickets: $15-$27.
City Hall Presents is a new series of free events welcoming performing arts into the spaces of City Hall on Wednesdays from 5:30-6:30pm: Ballet X, June 27; Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, July 11; Just Us Singers & The Williams Brothers, July 18; City Hall Courtyard, Broad & Market Streets, Philadelphia.
Center City District hosts lunchtime concerts every Wednesday at noon at various outdoor locations in Philadelphia: Chris Despo, The Shops at Liberty Place, 16th & Market Streets, June 27; Mark Stinger Band, July 11, Bellevue, 200 S. Broad Street; Randy Lippincott Band, July 18, 1700 Market Street; Life’s A Beach, July 25, Three Logan Square, 1717 Arch Street; Kiwi Band, Aug. 1, Sister Cities Park, 18th Street & Ben Franklin Parkway; Philadelphia String Quartet, Aug. 8, Gallery at Market East, 9th & Market Streets. Free.
The Food Trust hosts “Night Market Philadelphia” a food festival, Thursday, June 28, 6-10pm, with food and music curated by ?uestlove, local art by With Art Philadelphia, local beer and wine, and more. Tickets $55.
PA Suburbs & Delaware
Community Arts Center’s first annual Summer Solstice Celebration is Friday, June 22, 8pm-midnight, a night of art making, live music (bring your own drum and BYOB), s’mores, and more, 414 Plush Mill Road, Wallingford, PA. Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 at the door.
Livingston Taylor performs with Lizanne Knott Sunday, June 24 at 7pm as part of the Concerts Under the Stars in the Upper Merion Township Building Park, West Valley Forge Road, King of Prussia, PA. General Admission $5
Bristol Riverside Theatre presents The Summer Musicale series with “Hooray from Hollywood: Music from the Silver Screen” through July 1, featuring Keith Baker and the BRT Band performing a range of Tinsel Town’s greatest musicals, from “Mary Poppins” to “Fame,” at 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, PA. Season Subscriptions: $78. Single Tickets: $33.
The Delaware Museum of Natural History presents “Earth from Space,” an exhibit showcasing Delaware’s role in space exploration, images of the planet’s surface through the eyes of space satellites, as well as a Magic Planet digital video globe, on display through September 3 at 4840 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE. Admission: Adults $9, Seniors $8, Children (3-17) $7, Museum Members Free.
New Jersey
WheatonArts hosts the “Kingdom of Wheaton Fantasy Faire,” June 23 & 24, 10am-5pm, a family festival of Renaissance arts and folk life, blending historical fact with myth and popular fantasy from the medieval and Renaissance periods. Join knights and princesses for the performances of Phoenix Swords, the Cumberland Players’ “Romeo and Juliet,” the Hunchback of Notre Dame’s Court of Miracles, and more at 1501 Glasstown Road, Millville, NJ. Tickets: Adults $10, Seniors $9, Students $7. On Sunday, all children 17 and under are admitted free.
Camden Children’s Garden hosts Festival de Aibonito, Puerto Rico Family Festival, Saturday & Sunday, June 23 & 24, 1-4pm, with Hispanic arts and crafts, games, Puerto Rican activities and tropical fruit! The festival is a part of Camden’s Parada San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist parade), 3 Riverside Drive, Camden, NJ. Admission $6 per person, free for children two and under.
Terhune Orchards hosts a “Firefly Festival,” celebrating the insects and wild animals living on the farm in this “electrifying” event Sunday, June 24, 4-9pm, with an evening of nature, music, wagon rides, crafts, games, food, and more, 330 Cold Soil Road, Princeton, NJ. Free Admission, $5.00 for craft activities.
The Camden County Sunset Jazz Music Series kicks off Monday, June 25 with Christian McBride & Inside Straight; Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Septet, July 10; Buckwheat Zydeco, July 17; all concerts at 8pm, Wiggins Park Riverstage, Camden, NJ.
Collingswood, NJ hosts free summer Mummers concert series on the fourth Wednesday of the month through August, with string bands performing live from 7-8:30pm: Fralinger String Band, June 27; Quaker City String Band, July 25; Joseph A. Ferko String Band, August 22; Powell Lane Plaza, off Haddon Avenue at the LumberYard Condos. Bring your own chair. If rain, concert is cancelled.
Dale Wasserman’s adaptation of Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” is onstage at the Eagle Theatre through June 30, 208 Vine Street, Hammonton, NJ. Tickets: $22.
“Down the Shore”
The Atlantic City Summer Concert Series at Gardner’s Basin continues with Tavares, Con Funk Shum, Kool Moe “D”, Eddie Morgan Rek’d for Jazz, The Emperors and Essence Pittman, Saturday, June 23, 1pm until dusk, New Hampshire Avenue & the Bay, Atlantic City, NJ. Free.
Disco Ball Celebrates the 35th Anniversary of Saturday Night Fever, Saturday, June 23, 7pm, with a special Bee Gees tribute featuring Melba Moore, Heatwave, Yvonne Elliman, The Trammps featuring Earl Young, and more, Mark G. Etess Arena, Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, NJ. Tickets $29.95-$125
Ocean Professional Theatre Company presents the musical, “Man of La Mancha,” through July 8, starring John Davidson as Don Quixote and featuring the classic song, “The Impossible Dream,” at Barnegat High School, 180 Bengal Blvd, Barnegat, NJ. Tickets: Adults $35, Children under 12 $20.
Cape May Stage presents “God of Carnage,” by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton, through August 3, Robert Shackleton Playhouse, corner of Bank and Lafayette Streets, Cape May, NJ.
Chicken Bone Beach Concerts continue on Thursdays in Atlantic City, NJ with Ella Gahnt, June 28, 7pm at Brighton Avenue and the Boardwalk. Tickets $10.
Tuckerton Seaport hosts special events: Baymen’s Seafood and Music Festival, Saturday, June 23 and Sunday, June 24, 11am-5pm; 10th Annual Red Wine and Blues Festival, June 30, 3-8pm; Tuckerton Creek, 120 West Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ.
The Wildwoods hosts special events: North Wildwood Original Italian-American Festival, Friday, June 22, 4pm-10pm, Saturday, June 23, 10am-10pm, and Sunday, June 24, Noon-6pm, with vendors, food, live entertainment and more, Olde New Jersey Avenue, North Wildwood; Live music series at Centennial Park: Classic rock with Mother’s Worry, Saturday, June 23, 7:30pm, and Ribic’s Cube 3, Wednesday, June 27, 7:30pm, all ages, Fern Road and Ocean Avenue, Wildwood Crest. Free.
Cape May’s Historic Cold Spring Village hosts the Cape May Quilt & Fiber Show, June 23-24, 10am-4:30pm, celebrating all forms of fiber arts. In addition to voting for your favorite quilt, guests can take in workshops and demonstrations on knitting, crocheting, wool dyeing, sheep shearing and more, 720 Route 9. Included with admission: Adults $10, Children 3-12 $8, Children under 3 free.
For the first time since Tony Mart’s closed 30 years ago, the excitement of live Jersey Shore Rock ‘n Roll lives on this summer with a series of live Saturday, night concerts including the “Tony Mart Rock ‘n Roll Reunion Party,” Saturday, June 23, 8pm, featuring Billy Walton from Southside Johnny’s Asbury Jukes, Ocean City Music Pier, Boardwalk between 8th & 9th Streets, Ocean City, NJ. General admission $20.
The Jazzy Scallop Seafood Festival is Saturday, June 23, 3-6pm, Viking Village, 19th Street & Bayview Avenue, Barnegat Light, NJ.
The Somers Point Beach Concert series is underway with free shows on Fridays at 7pm: Bonerama, June 22; The Commander Cody Band, June 29; The Bob Campanell Band, July 4; at the William Morrow Municipal Beach Park, between Higbee and New Jersey Avenues on Bay Avenue in Somers Point, NJ.
To submit an event to be considered for the Weekly Entertainment Guide email Robin Bloom at artscalendar@whyy.org.
Kelly Hagerty and Pamela Seaton contributed reporting to this week’s guide.
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