Weekly Entertainment Guide – Twilight Time

Get out and enjoy Shakespeare in the Park, summer farces, live music, and more. Robin Bloom shares her recommendations for what to check out this week.

What’s Happening

Twilight in the Barnes Arboretum

Spend Twilight in the Arboretum with live acoustic guitar music by Matt Richards, Thursday, July 20, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., at the Barnes Foundation Arboretum, 300 N. Latch’s Lane, Merion, Pennsylvania. Bring a picnic and stroll the grounds after hours. Photo by Rob Cardillo.

 

The Oval+ “Park on the Parkway”

The Oval+, the “Park on the Parkway” partnership between the Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, kicks off another summer of free outdoor fun on July 20. Programming, events, and activities for all ages will be held Wednesdays through Sundays with live musical performances, pop-up beer garden, interactive arts and culture activities, fitness and wellness activities, movie nights, beer gardens, food trucks and more, through August 20, at Eakins Oval in front of the Art Museum stairs, Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 24th Streets, Philadelphia. Photo by Albert Yee.

Shakespeare in the Park

Delaware Shakespeare Festival performs Henry V, through July 30 at Rockwood Park, 4651 Washington Street Extension, Wilmington, Delaware. Bring blankets or chairs and picnic and enjoy pre-show entertainment including music, comedy, children’s activities and more.  Head to Cape May for Hamlet on the outdoor stage at the Emlen Physick Estate, performed by REV Theatre Company, 1048 Washington Street, July 19-29, 7 p.m. Bring a chair or blanket!  Shakespeare in Clark Park brings free productions of the Bard’s plays to the West Philadelphia park each summer. July 26-30, enjoy a reimagining of Coriolanus with an all-female cast led by Barrymore Award winner Charlotte Northeast, directed by Kittson O’Neill, with 50 Philadelphians as the riotous citizens of Rome. Performances at 7 p.m. at “The Bowl,” 43rd and Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia. Bring chairs and blankets and flashlights!  Commonwealth Classic Theatre Company continues its Free Theatre in the Parks series with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Barrymore Award winners Campbell O’Hare and Trevor William Fayle portray the star-crossed lovers, directed by Kathryn MacMillan with performances through July 27 at parks throughout the region. Photo by Paul W. Meyer.

New Hope Film Festival

Touted by the Huffington Post as the “emerging Sundance East,” the New Hope Film Festival has selected 104 films from 16 countries, July 21-30. Filmmakers will be in attendance with Q&A sessions offered following certain films. For the first time, the festival will show films from the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Philippines, Malawi and Iceland, plus documentaries produced by Sharon Stone and Keely and Pierce Brosnan. Screenings at the New Hope Arts Center, 2 Stockton Avenue, New Hope, Pennsylvania. All information in the program guide. Pictured: “The Lovesong of Charlie Beecher,” featured short.

Ladybug Festival

The Ladybug Music Festival is July 20-21, beginning at 5 p.m., celebrating women in music and now expanded to two days with live music by Nalani and Sarina (pictured), Nadjah Nicole, June Divided, Victoria Watts, Ginger Coyle, and many more, plus dancing, live painting, and a photo exhibit, around 3rd and Market, Wilmington, Delaware. All ages, rain or shine. Photo by Manish Gosalia.

Delaware State Fair

The Delaware State Fair takes place July 20-29 in Harrington with carnival games, rides, pig racing, pig kissing contests (pictured), and more including live music with Rascal Flatts with Morgan Wallen, Darius Rucker with Midland, Gabriel Iglesias, Craft Beer Festival featuring rock of the 70s, and more. Photo courtesy of the Delaware State Fair.

Farm Fest

South Jersey’s Farm Fest (Future of Artistic and Revolutionary Minds) is July 21-23, held at Paradise Lake Campground in Hammonton, New Jersey, with a mix of jam, electronica, Americana and funk artists. Headliners include Medeski, Martin, Benevento, Cline, and Rykman as part of the Big Farm Super Jam. Plus, workshops and live visual art. Photo courtesy of Farm Fest.

Night in Venice

Ocean City’s 63rd annual Night in Venice returns this Saturday, July 22, 6 p.m., modeled after the traditional boat parades in Venice, as owners decorate their boats and parade through the city’s lagoons and back bays, from Longport Bridge to Tennessee Avenue, Ocean City, New Jersey, with live music, children’s activities and food. This year’s theme is “Destination America,” with Alfonso Ribeiro as Grand Marshal. Fireworks conclude the evening at 9 p.m. Photo courtesy of the City of Ocean City.

Mind Travel at Grounds for Sculpture

Grounds for Sculpture, the 42-acre sculpture park, museum, and arboretum, celebrates 25 years with nearly 300 pieces in its collection, including many large-scale works, both figurative and abstract, by 158 contemporary sculptors. With the backdrop of the two site-specific interior glass installations by sculptor Daniel Clayman, Mind Travel with Murray Hidary performs the “Not So Silent Series,” improvisational piano meditations heard through wireless headphones so guests can enjoy a personal listening experience, Saturday, July 22, 8 p.m. (rain date July 29), 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, New Jersey. Pictured: Isaac Witkin, Eolith, 1994, Blue Mountain granite, 168 x 96 x 48 inches, Gift of The Seward Johnson Atelier, Inc. Photo by David W. Steele.

Twilight Music Festival

Twilight Music Festival continues on Sundays on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive near the Dragon Boat Dock with a beer garden, food trucks and live music beginning at 7 p.m. July 23, catch the Sun Ra Arkestra (pictured), with upcoming performances by Bardo Pond, Worldtown Soundsystem, Grandchildren, Steve Gunn, and The Dove and the Wolf. Tickets are free with RSVP required. Photo by Suso Navarrete.

“Moon Over Buffalo” at People’s Light

Everything that can go wrong does in Ken Ludwig’s madcap farce Moon Over Buffalo, about two actors about to enter the twilight of their season, onstage at People’s Light, July 19 through August 13. Directed by Associate Artistic Director Pete Pryor with Mary Elizabeth Scallen and David Ingram as George and Charlotte Hay, 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, Pennsylvania. Recommended for ages 13 and older. Related programs and events include AfterWORDS, a facilitated post-performance conversation with the cast after Thursday evening performances, Scoop on Wednesdays, and open caption performances. Photo by Mark Garvin.

“Around the World in 80 Days” at Hedgerow Theatre

Five actors portray 42 characters and travel four continents in a race against the clock! Hedgerow Theatre’s summer farce, Around the World in 80 Days, promises danger, romance, and comic surprises with Mark Brown’s reimagining of Jules Verne’s 1873 epic adventure novel. The fun and fast-paced production features Zoran Kovcic, Mark Swift, Hanna Gaffney, Sarah Knittel, and Jared Reed, directed by Damon Bonetti, through August 13 at 64 Rose Valley Road, Media, Pennsylvania. Photo by Wide Eyed Studios, courtesy of Hedgerow Theatre.

A Little Night Music at the Michener

The Michener Art Museum’s summer concert series A Little Night Music continues with the Brian Pastor Octet, Wednesday, July 26, 7 p.m., known for their interpretation of jazz, pop, and Great American Songbook standards. While at the museum, check out the exhibit Myths & Nature: Early Prints by Sam Maitin.  The concert series continues on August 9 with Trinidelphia, 138 South Pine Street, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Photo courtesy of the Michener Art Museum.