Weekly Entertainment Guide – Choose your Festival!
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The South Street Spring Festival returns on Saturday, May 2 with an outdoor block party. Photo courtesy of South Street Headhouse District.
Get out and enjoy a festival! 15 to choose from. Robin Bloom shares her picks.
Philly Fests
The South Street Spring Festival returns on Saturday, May 2, 11am-8pm with 40 bands, 30 restaurants, 100 vendors, the annual German Maifest outside Brauhaus Schmitz including German beer, dancers and a May Pole. The outdoor block party spans 8 blocks of South Street between Front and 8th and along the 2nd Street Plaza, between South and Lombard with 3 main stages (including a lawn concert), along with a kid’s zone, free comic books and character appearances, and more. Free. Presented by South Street Headhouse District. Photo courtesy of South Street Headhouse District. #SassySays
Celebrate the culture of Mexico and its diverse art, food, and music traditions with the third Annual Mexican Week, May 1-5, presented by the Consulate of Mexico in Philadelphia and the Mexican Cultural Center. Events include an opening ceremony at City Hall, a concert with a female Mariachi band at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a popular Mexican music concert at the Kimmel Center, “Mexican Restaurant Week,” and more at various locations in Philadelphia.
Art Sanctuary honors authors and institutions who have been major contributors to the proliferation of black literature and literacy with the 31st annual Celebration of Black Writing, May 1-31. One of the oldest African-American literary events in the nation, activities range from conferences and workshops centered around literary art forms, writing, publishing, the role of black writing and art, an outdoor festival, exhibition, storytelling circles, live music and much more.
The Philadelphia Science Festival’s Science Carnival on the Parkway is Saturday, May 2, 10am-4pm, with more than 175 exhibitors offering non-stop, family-friendly experiments, interactive activities, games, and live entertainment on the Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia.
The 45th annual Mt. Airy Day returns to the grounds of Cliveden of the National Trust Saturday, May 2, 11am-5pm, with food, live entertainment, vendors, children’s activities and more, 6400 Germantown Avenue. Rain date: May 3. #SassySays
The Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival is this Saturday, May 2, 12pm-5pm, rain or shine with live music, food, children’s activities and more at 19th and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia.
Bring a kite or make your own at the Sky Festival, Saturday, May 2, 12pm-5pm, with live music, food trucks, eagle painting, artist workshops and more at Penn Treaty Park, Delaware Avenue and Beach Street, Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Wine and Food Festival takes place Wednesday, May 6 at Lincoln Financial Field with over 650 samplings of exclusive wines from around the world, food, vendors, and more. Free parking.
Regional Fests
The 82nd annual Dover Days Festival takes place May 1-3, celebrating the history of the First State with live music, historical interpreters, colonial songs and antique instruments, lectures, exhibits, more than 350 craft vendors, colonial and Victorian tradespeople and crafters, Civil War and Revolutionary war reenactments, fireworks, parades (including a pet parade) and more in historic Dover, DE. Photo by Dave Chambers. #SassySays
The annual Ocean City Block Party is Saturday, May 2, 9am-5pm, with over 350 vendors, live music, restaurant, children’s activities, and more on Asbury Avenue from 5th Street to 14th Street. Free parking from Bay Avenue to Wesley Avenue, including city lots.
The 6th annual Norristown Arts Hill Festival is Saturday, May 2, 10am-5pm, with live music by the Philly Reggae Band, the Whiskeyhickon Boys, and more, along with Montco Idol, a Beer Garden, dance, theater performances, children’s activities, food, crafts, and more, at Main and DeKalb Streets, Norristown, PA. Free.
Peddler’s Village hosts the annual Strawberry Festival, Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3, 10am-6pm, with strawberries served up in various forms, juried artisans showing their wares and demonstrating their skills, live entertainment, pie-eating contests and more, Routes 202 and 263, Lahaska, Bucks County, PA. Free admission, free parking.
Arts & Craft Fests
Morven in May: A Celebration of Art, Craft and Garden takes place this weekend on the Great Lawn of Morven Museum & Garden in Princeton, NJ. Featuring jewelry, glass, ceramics, decorative and wearable fiber, mixed media, furniture, and basketry, and more from a jury-selected group of 35 professional craftspeople from throughout the country. Also, heirloom perennials and unique annuals for sale at the former New Jersey Governor’s Mansion, 55 Stockton Street. Kicking off Friday, May 1 with a preview garden party, 6:30pm-9pm and open to the public Saturday, May 2, 10am-5pm, and Sunday, May 3, 11am-4pm. Free parking. Step inside the museum and check out “Of the Best Materials and Good Workmanship: 19th Century New Jersey Chairmaking,” on view through October 18. Photo courtesy of Morven.
The Haverford Guild of Craftsmen Spring Fine Craft Show is Friday, May 1, 12pm-9pm, and Saturday, May 2, 10am-5pm, at St. George’s Episcopal Church, at Darby Road and Ardmore Avenue, Ardmore, PA. A chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, the group is one of the oldest professional craft guilds in the country and showcases the local handmade work of over 30 artists in media such as jewelry, leather, ceramics, glass, fiber, photography, copper, painting, wood, illustration and mixed media, along with demonstrations. Free. Opening reception from 6pm-9pm, Friday, May 1.
The 42nd annual Yellow Springs Art Show is underway through May 10 showcasing juried work by artists from the Delaware Valley and beyond in painting, drawing, graphics, and 3 dimensional works, fine art, and more. A First Friday Happy Hour will take place on Friday, May 1, 5:30pm-8pm, a Papermaking Demo is Saturday, May 2, noon, and an Arts & Crafts: Craft Beer Happy Hour is Sunday, May 3, 2pm, Chester Springs, PA.
Look for #SassySays – recommended by Sassy as “dog friendly!”
Each week, the Entertainment Guide spotlights interesting local arts offerings happening now, including music, dance, theater, museums, special exhibitions and other arts events from across the region.
To submit an event to be considered, email Robin Bloom at artscalendar@whyy.org.
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