Weekly Entertainment Guide – Adventuredrum, Art Heals, & Dead Can Dance
From Center City to the Jersey Shore, we’ve got your week covered. WHYY’s Arts Calendar curator Robin Bloom searches hundreds of listings each week to find out what’s happening in the Delaware Valley. Here are her picks:
Sum of Parts at Drexel University Art Gallery
On display at Drexel University’s Leonard Pearlstein Gallery is “Sum of Parts,” an exhibit featuring the mythical work of Philadelphia artists Henry Bermudez and Michelle Marcuse. Bermudez paints rich, dreamy imagery that originates from the intersection of pre-Columbian, Christian and ancient myths, religions, and legends, informed by his visits to the Amazon. Marcuse grew up in South Africa and has been influenced by the blend of diverse dichotomies of the Cape and her work embodies a distant level of otherworldly reality, on display through September 28 at the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, 3215 Market Street, Nesbitt Hall, Philadelphia.
Witness the healing power of art by artists from around the country including Rick Chapman, Heather Crowley, and others at the Artistic Circle Foundation’s “Art Heals: the Power of Art Therapy” exhibit, displaying art in the media of digital, mixed, collage, prints, and paintings through August 31 at DaVinci Art Alliance, 704 Catharine Street, Philadelphia.
The Historic Cold Spring Village hosts a Seafarers Weekend, celebrating maritime culture and the history of the Jersey Cape, Saturday, August 25 and Sunday, August 26, as pirates invade with performances, exhibits and activities, along with antique boats, duck decoy carving and more, 10am-4:30pm, 720 Route 9 South, Cape May, NJ. Admission: $10 adults, $8 children ages 3-12, children under 3 free.
Delaware River Waterfront Events
The “Sounds of Gospel” concert returns to Penn’s Landing with powerful contemporary and traditional hymns and songs of praise performed by Israel Houghton, Treena Ferebee, and more Saturday, August 25, 3pm-9pm at the RiverStage at Penn’s Landing on the Great Plaza, 121 N. Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia. Smooth Jazz Summer Nights concludes its 15th year with a performance by Sheila E, Friday, August 31, 7:30pm, followed by a landside fireworks display south of the Riverstage at approximately 9:15pm. Free.
Adventuredrum at the 40th Street Summer Series
The 40th Street Summer Series continues on the fourth Saturday of the month with Adventuredrum, a new dance band led by Philadelphia composer and percussionist Christopher Sean Powell, best known for his work in Need New Body and Man Man, August 25, 6pm, behind the Walnut Street Free Library, 40th and Walnut Streets, Philadelphia. Free. Bring your blankets and chairs. Free Rita’s Water Ice.
The 21st Annual Ukrainian Folk Festival celebrates Ukraine’s independence with ethnic dance, polka music, traditional food and more, including performances by the Zoriany Ukrainian Dance, Music and Song Ensemble, Desna Ukrainian Dance Company, and more, Sunday, August 26, 12pm-8pm, at Tryzub, the Ukrainian American Sport Center, County Line & Lower State Roads, Horsham, PA. Admission: $15 adults, $10 students, free for children under 15.
Dead Can Dance at Kimmel Center
Dead Can Dance brings their world fusion music to Verizon Hall, Sunday, August 26, 7:30pm, 300 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia. Tickets: $44.50.
Hear the smooth sounds of Smokey Robinson at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts for one night only, Sunday, August 26, 8:00pm, with special guest Sinbad, as part of the Peco Pops @ the Mann, on Parkside Avenue in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. Tickets range from $25.50 to $69.50.
George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic performs at the Dell Music Center along with War, Dazz Band, Ohio Players, and Barkays, Thursday, August 30, 7pm, Ridge Ave & West Huntingdon Street in Philadelphia’s East Fairmount Park. Tickets $25-$40.
The Hunt for Treasure! at Mercer Museum
Hunt for treasure at Mercer Museum with a family-friendly exhibit that invites visitors to explore the history of shipwrecks and pirates, along with the tools and methods used in treasure hunting – past and present – through artifacts, video presentations, and interactive elements at 84 South Pine Street, Doylestown, PA. “The Hunt for Treasure!” is included with museum admission through September 21. Admission: Adults $10, Seniors $9, Youth $6.
Philly
The Philly Feminist Zine Fest is this weekend with a zine reading on Saturday, August 25, 7pm, Wooden Shoe Books, 704 South Street, Philadelphia, and then continues on Sunday, August 26, 12pm-5pm, with workshops, skills shares, raffles, food and more, William Way Community Center, 1315 Spruce Street, Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Art Alliance hosts “KnitLab,” a temporary studio set up in the first floor galleries designed to educate and inspire with small-scale knitting machines, samples, swatches, and yarn, providing the opportunity to create your own designs for knitted products, fabrics and accessories, this Friday, August 24 through Sunday, August 26, 11am-5pm each day at 251 South 18th Street, Philadelphia. Admission: $5 adults, $3 for students and seniors. Pay what you wish Fridays.
To benefit Eagles Youth Partnership programs, Philly’s favorite birds celebrate the start of a new season with the Annual “Eagles Flight Night,” Sunday August 26, 7:30pm, with prizes, merchandise and the opportunity to meet Eagles players and coaches at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia. Gates open at 5:30pm. Admission: $20 for adults, $30 for premium seats, $12 for kids, 12 and under.
Summer concerts continue on Wednesdays with the P.M. @ Penn Museum Summer Nights Music Series featuring The West Philadelphia Orchestra on Wednesday, August 29, 5pm-8pm, including drinks and light fare from the Pepper Mill Café’s garden bar, 3620 South Street, Philadelphia. Admission: $5 (includes Museum entry fee); Penn Museum Members and PennCard Holders Free.
Daniel Beaty’s one man show “Emergency,” featuring slam poetry, song and a cast of 40 characters, is Wednesday, August 29, 7pm, at Drexel University’s Mandell Theater, 3201 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Tickets $10.
On display at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education is the exhibit “Out of Bounds,” outdoor installations inspired by nature, on view now through September 2 at 8480 Hagy’s Mill Road, Philadelphia.
PA Suburbs & Delaware
Music from Chapel Street Junction and the Coyotes, storytelling by Eunice LaFate and Clem Bowen, and the Brandywine Traveling Zoo are just some of the attractions provided by Delaware State Parks at the “Pawpaw Folk Festival,” Saturday, August 25, 10am-3pm at the Blue Ball Barn, 1914 West Park Drive, Wilmington, DE. Free.
Onstage at Playcrafters of Skippack is Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” directed by Marie Bishop, through September 1 in their historic, converted barn, 2011 Store Road, Skippack, PA. Tickets: $15, $14 for groups of 20 or more.
Kate Fodor’s “100 Saints You Should Know,” a live drama about several characters who search for God, is onstage at Langhorne Players through September 1, Spring Garden Mill in Tyler State Park, 1140 Newtown-Richboro Road, Newtown, Bucks County, PA. Tickets: $15.
Onstage at Hedgerow Theatre is “Deathtrap,” written by Ira Levin and directed by Penelope Reed and Ellen Wilson Dilks, a wildly funny thriller mixing clever plot twists, suspense and humor, through September 23 at 64 Rose Valley Road, Rose Valley, PA. Tickets $10-$32.
New Jersey
Western Cumberland County is celebrated with the 3rd Annual Cohansey Riverfest, featuring kayaking, train rides, artist competitions, food and craft vendors, live music and more on Saturday, August 25, 9am-9pm, at the East Commerce Street riverfront, Bridgeton, NJ. Free admission. Cost of activities vary. The Bridgeton 2012 Crabfest & Beer Garden returns with food and festivities including live music by the Shakes, Jack Neff and more, two person kayak challenges, mechanical bull rides, a crab dinner and more at the Cohansey Riverfest, Saturday, August 25, 10am-8pm on 14 E. Commerce Street, Bridgeton, NJ. Free to attend. Crab dinners cost $13 in advance and $15 on festival day.
The International Chili Society joins forces with the American Cancer Fund to raise funding for cancer awareness with “Chili Cooks Against Cancer,” featuring all day music performances by The Nerds, Due South and others, chili contests, animal petting zoo and rides for children on Saturday, August 25, 11am-6pm at 334 South Post Road, Princeton Junction, NJ. Admission: $10, $3 for children 12 and under.
Camden Children’s Garden hosts the “Chocolate & Vanilla Family Festival,” dedicated to two of nature’s most flavorful plants with a tropical smell test, taste tests, crafts, educational activities, Flavors of the Forest concession stand and more, Saturday & Sunday, August 25-26, 1pm-4pm, at 3 Riverside Drive, Camden, NJ. $6 admission, children two and under are free.
The quintet “The Hit Men,” original recording and performing members of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s musical acts including Larry Gates, Jim Ryan, Gerry Polci, Don Ciccone, and Lee Shapiro, pays tribute to some of their classic hits on Saturday, August 25, 8pm, Broadway Theatre of Pitman, 43 S. Broadway, Pitman, NJ. Tickets: $35.
“Down the Shore”
The Wildwoods host free special events: Concerts under the Stars Series, Saturday, August 25 and Thursday, August 30, 8pm, live entertainment at the Lou Booth Amphitheatre, 2nd & Ocean Avenues, North Wildwood; Saturday afternoon Beach Concerts with live entertainment, August 25, 1pm-4pm, on the beach at Andrews Avenue, just south of the Wildwoods Convention Center; Summer Live Music Series at Centennial Park, Saturday, August 25 and Wednesday, August 29, 7:30pm; Labor Day Weekend Fireworks, Friday, August 31, on the beach at Pine Avenue, 10pm, Wildwood, NJ.
Ocean Professional Theatre Company presents “Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash,” through September 1, Bengal Theatre, 180 Bengal Boulevard, Barnegat, NJ. Tickets: $35, $20 children 12 and under. Also on stage is the Childrens’ Theatre production of “Cinderella,” through September 1. Tickets $10.
Chicken Bone Beach Concerts continue on Thursdays in Atlantic City, NJ with Mimi Jones and Luke Carlos O’Reilly, August 30, 7pm, Kennedy Plaza between Mississippi & Georgia Avenues on the Boardwalk. Free.
The Somers Point Beach Concert Series continues with free shows on Fridays at 7pm: Jill West and Blues Attack, August 31; Reverend Raven and The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys, September 7; 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.
Jerome Gallman contributed reporting to this week’s guide.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.