Weekly Entertainment Guide – Mural Arts Month, Body Worlds, & Ciao Philadelphia

From the city of murals to the city of music, from Joan of Arc to the Beatles. Something for everyone this week!

What’s Happening

Mural Arts Month

Mural Arts celebrates over 30 years from its start as an anti-graffiti program to an international leader in community based public art. October is Mural Arts Month and, as usual, the organization – that has created 3600 works of public art – offers a series of events including exhibitions, tours, mural dedications and rededications, paint day, and more including three newly commissioned pieces of music inspired by and performed in front of murals. Also, muraLAB; Love. A TED-style evening of talks at WHYY and Philly DJ Mural Block Party DJ party. This year’s theme is “Art Ignites Change.” For more Mural Arts events, visit the website.

Ciao Philadelphia (as heard on WHYY-FM’s Morning Edition)

Ciao Philadelphia, a month-long celebration of Italian and Italian-American heritage in Philadelphia, kicks off in October. The partnership between the Consulate General of Italy in Philadelphia and area organizations involves 30 events. Enjoy concerts, film screenings, architectural tours, demonstrations, exhibitions, and performances including Italian Renaissance Art Tours at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Ciao Bella: Eight Decades of Italian Shoe Design at Drexel University, the Columbus Day parade, and more.

Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk opens

City of Philadelphia and the SRDC officially opens the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk on Thursday, October 2 with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11:30am by Locust Street, east side of the Schuylkill River between Locust and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia. Join the Community Celebration on Sunday, October 5, 1pm-3pm, with live entertainment and free snacks. Entrances to the Boardwalk are located on the east (Center City) side of the Schuylkill River near Locust Street and from the stair tower or ramp on the east side of the South Street Bridge.

Night Market Philadelphia: Chinatown

The Night Market Philadelphia street food festival comes to Chinatown, with the chance to explore more than 60 of the city’s best food trucks and ethnic restaurants during a night of live music, dancing, DJs, craft beer, Kung Fu demonstrations, lion dancing, arts and craft vendors and more, Thursday, October 2, 7pm-11pm, 10th and Race Streets, Philadelphia. Sign up for the Night Market newsletter to be the first to know about upcoming events.

Outdoorsy Weekend at the Oval

Welcome fall at the Oval with Outdoorsy Weekend, Friday through Sunday, October 3-5. Seasonal activities include a beer garden, fireside storytelling, sing-a-longs, food trucks, live entertainment and movie screenings (Moonrise Kingdom and The Parent Trap), Eakins Oval, 2451 Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia. Free.

Flamenco Fiesta at the Barnes Foundation

Escape to Spain with a Flamenco Fiesta at the Barnes Foundation, First Friday, October 3, 6pm-9pm. Dance to the sounds of De Luna a Lunares flamenco ensemble, taste Spanish delicacies, listen to a talk and demonstration on the benefit of dance as an education tool, and enjoy after-hours access to the collection, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia. Free First Sunday is October 5, exploring Hispanic heritage, 1pm (tickets available starting at 9am that day).

Body Worlds: Animal Inside Out at the Franklin Institute

Body Worlds returns to the Franklin Institute in a whole new, unique way. Explore the body’s biology and physiology with two complementary exhibits for both adults and children. Body Worlds: Animal Inside Out offers a rarely-seen perspective, discovering the skeletons, muscles, organs, and circulatory systems of animals through more than 100 “plastinated” specimens including the giraffe, giant squid, bull and more. Specimens on display have been preserved through “Plastination,” the anatomical preservation process invented by Body Worlds creator and anatomist, Dr. Gunther von Hagens. Sesame Street presents: The Body includes age-appropriate interactive experiences that teaches kids the locations and functions of internal organs as well as healthy eating, exercise, and hygiene habits with the help of beloved muppets, 222 N. 20th Street, Philadelphia.

Morris Arboretum’s Fall Festival

Experience the beautiful autumn color at Morris Arboretum with their annual Fall Festival, Saturday and Sunday, October 4-5, 10am-3pm both days. Make a scarecrow and stroll down Scarecrow Walk and vote on your favorite, sample apples, paint a pumpkin, visit with animals from Elmwood Park Zoo, build a large owl with Legos, and more, 100 East Northwestern Avenue, Chestnut Hill.

The Revolutionary Germantown Festival

In the pre-dawn hours of October 4, 1777, General George Washington made a daring, but failed attempt to retake Philadelphia from the British by attacking their encampments, culminating in the battle of Germantown. The Revolutionary Germantown Festival commemorates the encounter this Saturday, October 4, a day of historic entertainment beginning at 10am with live presentations, guest re-enactors, merchants offering colonial replica crafts and souvenirs, beer garden, children’s activities, and more at historic sites in Philadelphia’s Germantown section, including the reenactment of the Battle of Germantown at Cliveden at noon and 3pm. The day closes with a traditional Oktoberfest at Grumblethorpe, a 1774 colonial German country seat, Germantown. Free.

Fall Philly Festivals

Midtown Village’s 9th annual Fall Festival is Saturday, October 4, noon-8pm. The block party includes food, a beer garden, arts and crafts, shopping at the area’s boutiques, children’s activities and more, Chestnut Street between Broad Street and 12th, Philadelphia. Free.  Germantown Avenue is transformed into an outdoor arts marketplace this Sunday, October 5, for the Chestnut Hill Fall for the Arts Festival. More than 150 artists and crafters from across the country will display their work between Willow Grove and Rex Avenues in addition to live music on two stages, food, and children’s rides and activities, 11am-5pm, Germantown Avenue, Chestnut Hill. Free.  Figment Philadelphia comes to Philly this Sunday, October 5, 11am-5pm, a celebration of participatory art and culture with free, inclusive and participatory art projects at Clark Park, 43rd & Baltimore, Philadelphia. For all ages, rain or shine. See projects from last year’s inaugural event on the website.  The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts hosts a free Family Arts Festival, Sunday, October 5, 12pm-5pm, offering free admission to the museum, live performances, art-making stations, games and other family activities, taking place rain or shine on Lenfest Plaza, 128 North Broad Street, Philadelphia. The festival kicks off a season of free Family Arts Academy workshops, held every Sunday at PAFA.

Regional Festivals

The 23rd Annual Delmarva Folk Festival is October 3-4. The music begins at 7pm on Friday with the conclusion of this year’s Folk Hero contest, followed by a night of folk performances, continuing from 1pm-10pm on Saturday. This year’s lineup includes Celtic Harvest, Chapel Street Junction, the Kennedys and more, along with craft vendors, food vendors, kids’ activities, and more, presented by the Delaware Friends of Folk, 352 Downs Chapel Road, Clayton, DE.  Get a glimpse of Mennonite life a century ago at the annual Apple Butter Frolic, Saturday October 4, 9:30am-4pm, with authentic Pennsylvanian German food, crafts and folk crafts demonstrations, silent auction, horse and wagon rides, sheep herding, and more at the Mennonite Heritage Center, 565 Yoder Road, Harleysville, PA. Rain or shine.  Wheaton Arts’ Festival of Fine Craft is this Saturday and Sunday, October 4−5, 10am−5pm both days, with over 130 juried artists, children’s activities, demonstrations, musical entertainment, food, the annual glass pumpkin patch (pictured), and new this year – a beer and wine garden, 1501 Glasstown Road, Millville, NJ. Rain or shine.

Onstage

“39 Steps” at Bristol Riverside Theatre

Bristol Riverside Theatre takes on Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, a zany adaptation by Patrick Barlow. The Tony and Drama Desk award-winning gem is a quirky take on the Hitchcock classic 1935 whodunit spy film that combines suspense, comedy, and treachery to entice and entertain audiences. Four actors play over 150 characters. Directed by Gus Kaikkonen and starring Dan Hodge, Matt Leisy, Karen Peakes, and Adam Sowers at 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, PA. Special events include a Friday Festival, October 3, 7pm with complimentary wine, appetizers, dessert, and guest speaker, Wine Down Wednesday, October 8, Thirsty Thursday, October 16, and Theatre Theology, October 26.

City Theater Company’s “Come Together”

City Theater Company celebrates their 21st birthday with a career-spanning retrospective of the Beatles’ song catalog, Come Together, Friday, October 3, 7pm. Wilmington-based musician Joe Trainor directs 17 singers, backed by a six piece rock band, nine horns and a string quartet, World Café Live at the Queen, 500 N. Market Street, Wilmington, DE.

“Saint Joan, Betrayed” at Annenberg Center

Saint Joan, Betrayed, the story of how Joan of Arc was deceived by her own men, leading to her capture and execution, takes to the stage at Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts for two shows, Friday, October 3, 8pm and Saturday, October 4, 8:30pm. The multi-discipline theatrical performance was conceived by Aaron Cromie and Mary Tuomanen and features masks, puppets, and physical theater, 3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.

Music

Chucho Valdés

Catch Grammy Award winning Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, Chucho Valdés at the Zellerbach Theatre, Saturday, October 4, 8pm. The original member of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna offers a solo performance at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.

The Bard’s Birthday Bash

Bryn Mawr College Performing Arts Series celebrates the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare with the Bard’s Birthday Bash, Saturday, October 4, 8:30pm. Barrymore Award-winning director James J. Christy directs an evening of sonnets and dance, weaving scenes from Shakespeare’s plays to music by Piffaro, the Renaissance band (pictured). The celebration concludes with a Renaissance dancing lesson by Dorothy Olsson, Thomas Great Hall.

Vienna – City of Song

Lyric Fest celebrates the spirit of the “City of Music” with Vienna – City of Song, featuring the music of its legendary composers Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss, Wolf, Mahler and more performed by Erica Miller, Gabriel Presser, Suzanne DuPlantis and pianist Laura Ward. Narration by Composer-in-residence Kile Smith with a song-sharing fireside chat on German Lied, Sunday, October 5, 3pm, Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce Street, Philadelphia and Monday, October 6, 7:30pm, Bryn Mawr College’s Goodhart Hall.

MarchFourth Marching Band

MarchFourth Marching Band brings their big band sound to World Café Live, Wednesday, October 8. Expect an entertaining show with stilt-walkers, dancers, flag twirlers, clowns, and acrobatics. Doors open at 7pm and show at 8pm. West Philadelphia Orchestra opens, 3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.

 

 

Christine Kelley contributed reporting to this week’s Guide.

To submit an event to be considered for the Weekly Entertainment Guide email Robin Bloom at artscalendar@whyy.org.