A new interactive traveling exhibit, “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: A Grr-ific Exhibit,” opened at the Please Touch Museum over the weekend. The exhibit brings to life the themes presented in the award-winning PBS Kids television series created by Fred Rogers Productions. It chronicles the adventures of 4-year-old Daniel Tiger and his friends. Photo courtesy of Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh.
“Music is always for the listener, but the first listener is always the musician.”
― Musician Wynton Marsalis
If this month has been exhausting so far, then buckle up for a May finale leading to a swoon of June events. Enjoy these enlightening and educational low-cost or free activities, including many that highlight America’s 250th anniversary celebration (America250), or Semiquincentennial. Say that twice!
Artist Carolyn Harper’s rendering, “Shavone”
Art Exhibit Look At All Dimensions Of Time With Upcycled Materials
Friday, May 29, to Saturday, July 11, 2026. Check out InLiquid’s new multimedia exhibition, Future/Past/Present. It will feature works by seven Philadelphia-area artists: Randall Cleaver, Bill Colbert, Carolyn Harper, Candace Karch, James Labold, Carole Loeffler, and Benjamin B. Olshin. The creatives employ discarded materials to create dioramic mechanical sculptures, resulting in a mix of movement and humor. The multimedia exhibition examines “how history, identity, and power shape America’s past, present, and future.”
It will be a showcase of sculpture, photography, textiles, paintings, and installations. It is part of The Clay Studio’s Radical Americana, a citywide Semiquincentennial arts initiative to celebrate America’s 250th birthday this year. The exhibit will examine a range of themes, from erased histories and incarceration to alternate realities and reimagined American iconography. The promotional material notes: “Together, the works underscore the interconnectedness of past, present, and future, reminding audiences that the decisions made today will help define what comes next.” The public is invited to gallery receptions for the exhibit on Thursday, June 11 and Thursday, July 9, from 6 p.m. EST to 9 p.m. EST. InLiquid Gallery, 1400 N. American St.
Free but pre-register here or email: info@inliquid.org, 215-235-3405.
Paint World Cup Soccer Mural With Neighbors
Friday, May 29, 2026. Philadelphia Soccer 2026, Airbnb and Mural Arts Philadelphia got together to celebrate the creation of a World Cup Mural designed by Nile Livingston. And they hope the community will get a kick out of it! That’s why they’re asking all willing participants to come out to a neighborhood block party to help paint the mural. They are calling it “a hands-on mural paint day.” We call it a giant kick-butt paint party! And it will be just in time for the arrival of the World Cup competition coming to Philadelphia in June.
The event will include mural painting, soccer darts, food trucks, music, and giveaways. All ages are invited, and no art experience is needed. The mural is the product of Creative Repute Inc.’s founder, Nile Livingston, a West Philly-based visual artist who has a background in public art. She started Creative Repute, a design, website development, app development, and marketing company, in 2017.
Free, 4:30 p.m. EST to 7 p.m. EST. Christy Recreation Center, 728 S 55th St. https://www.creativerepute.com/founder/?ct=t()&mc_cid=c52b103e7f&mc_eid=c6604c8a62
Wynton Marsalis. Photo courtesy of https://wyntonmarsalis.org
Marsalis Takes The Fifth… To New Heights
Thursday, May 28, Saturday, May 30 & Sunday, May 31, 2026. Pulitzer Prize winner Wynton Marsalis will go classical with Beethoven and Marsalis. The American trumpeter, composer, music instructor and reigning artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center will come to Philly to pay tribute to the 18th-century German composer-conductor. Worlds apart, they both have something in common: They are musical geniuses. So, they are a natural fit. Marsalis’ 1997 oratorio Blood on the Fields was the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. In fact, Marsalis is the only musician to have won a Grammy Award in both the jazz and classical categories in the same year. But in the ‘Beethoven and Marsalis’ concert, the focus will be on symphonies, sonatas and concertos. Enjoy Marsalis’ interpretation of Symphony No. 7 and Sympathy No. 5 (Liberty), with the Philadelphia Orchestra, featuring guest conductor Marin Alsop, Bass-baritone Kevin Short and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
Register for a free pre-Concert panel discussion about Beethoven’s career, including his hearing loss, on May 28th at 6:30 p.m. EST. It will be moderated by Jeremy Rothman, Chief Artistic Officer and Executive Producer of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts Philly. The panel will feature Professor Yale E. Cohen, Ph.D., Director of the Hearing Sciences Center, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia Orchestra violinist Davyd Booth.
‘Beethoven and Marsalis’ concert: Individual tickets, starting at $55; times vary, based on the concert date. Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Marian Anderson Hall, 300 S. Broad St. 215-893-1999 or philorch.ensembleartsphilly.org or https://www.ensembleartsphilly.org/tickets-and-events/philadelphia-orchestra/2025-26-season/beethoven-and-marsalis
Daughter Charity (played by Semaja Murphy) and mother Rayne (played by Angela Bey) in The Great Privation. Photo by Robert Hakalski.
The Great Privation Unearths History
Thursday, May 28 through Sunday, June 14, 2026. Theatre Exile’s season finale — The Great Privation: How to flip ten cents into a dollar (The Great Privation) — chronicles the disturbing story of grave robbing at Black burial sites. Get ready to be shocked by Nia Akilah Robinson’s powerful and insightful play. The production, directed by Ontaria Kim Wilson, will shine a light on a dark part of American history. It will focus on the brutal practices in the 18th and 19th centuries when Philadelphia’s growing medical schools needed cadavers. Until Pennsylvania’s Anatomy Act of 1883 stopped the ungodly practice, “resurrectionists” were paid to rob graves and sell recently-buried bodies to anatomical halls for medical dissection. Poor and Black Philadelphians were subjects of these robbing-the-dead crimes, resulting in families guarding burial sites to protect the remains of deceased loved ones.
In 1832, a mother and daughter held a vigil at the grave of deceased loved ones at the South Philadelphia church. Fast forward to modern-day Philadelphia, where a summer camp on the grounds of that same burial site creates an enduring scene. This time, a new but not-so-different mother and daughter sing camp songs to prevent the daughter from being expelled. Generations unite them, as the past mirrors the present, and secrets of the living and dead will be revealed.
Theatre Exile, 340 S. 13th St. The May 28th opening: $10 per ticket; $25 per ticket thereafter; time vary: 3 p.m. & 7 p.m. Theatre Exile, 340-48 S. 13th St., 215-218-4022, boxoffice@theatreexile.org or theatreexile.org
Ivorian Mask Traditions Come Alive
Saturday, May 30, 2026. Learn about the masking traditions of the Ivory Coast, where “the mask becomes a bridge between community and continuity,” at “The Ivory Coast – Masks in Motion.” The cultural event will take a deep dive into the expressive music and spiritual importance of West African masks. It will showcase the time-honored masking traditions of Côte d’Ivoire, like the Zaouli and Goli dances. Dance to live drumming and mask performances featuring Dr. Djo Bi and Emmanuel Djo Bi. Live filming and documentation will take place at the event for Sira: A Virtual Museum of West African Masks and Their Stories. Sira is a digital museum and immersive platform created by Delou Africa, Inc., reimagining how we encounter West African mask traditions.
Free but pre-register, 2 p.m. EST to 5 p.m. EST. Malcolm X Park, 5100 Pine St. ivorycoastmaskngmotion.eventbrite.com or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ivory-coast-mask-in-motion-tickets-1987515245602
Oliver St. Clair Franklin’s ‘Becoming American: Philadelphia’s Story’ explores the lives of the free Black community.
Film Shines Light On Everyday People in Early History
Thursday, May 28, 2026. For an honest look at the untold stories left out of traditional history books, check out the debut of the documentary Becoming American: Philadelphia’s Story. Explore the birth of the United States through the lens of its first capital, Philadelphia. The film will tell the early, unfiltered story of enslaved Africans and how diverse communities shaped an upstart new nation. Produced by Oliver St. Clair Franklin and Bear House Media, the film will air on Philadelphia WHYY on May 28th, and later nationwide on PBS, beginning Monday, June 15. The Philadelphia origin story is an account of a whole nation, and it is relevant today as America celebrates its 250th birthday. 8 p.m. EST. WHYY-TV 12. https://www.pbs.org/show/becoming-american-philadelphias-story/
Flag Up With Chestnut Hill Contest
Through Monday, June 1, 2026. What’s not to like about a contest celebrating artistic expression and community spirit in Chestnut Hill, to recognize the America250 events? To mark America’s anniversary this year, the Chestnut Hill Community Association wants you to be part of a Design Your Own Flag Contest. Just create an original 11 by 17 flag using any materials to reflect three themes: Garden District, Community & Culture, or Red, White & You. Winners will be selected in various age groups in each category. The winning flag designs will be displayed in Chestnut Hill storefront windows from Flag Day Sunday, June 14th, through Saturday, July 4th, and featured in the Chestnut Hill Local community newspaper. The goal is to celebrate creativity and neighborhood pride in the Chestnut Hill community.
Free to enter. June 1, 2026, is the deadline. https://www.chestnuthill.org/design_your_own_flag_contest.php
FunTimes Women of Influence Awards Event Shines A Light On Excellence
FunTimes hosted the Women of Influence: From Foster Care to Impact Awards Dinner to highlight the outstanding achievements of 3 individuals and 2 organizations connected to the foster-care system last Friday at Mother Bethel AME Church in Society Hill. Award recipient Dr. Nikia Owens spoke about how she narrowly escaped the abuse of living on a work farm with a family, as a youth in foster care in California, before being released, and later pursuing an education that earned her several academic college degrees. FunTimes Publisher Dr. Eric Nzeribe said the event reaffirmed “our shared responsibility to support systems that nurture dignity, equity, and long-term success for foster youth and families.” There are more than 2,250 foster-care youth currently in Philadelphia. The event marked the observance of National Foster Care Month in May.
Pictured in the photo, from left to right: Robin Chapolini, Deputy Commissioner, Child Welfare Operations, City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services; Women of Influence Award recipient Dr. Nikia Owens, President & CEO of Campaign for Working Families, Inc., and FunTimes Publisher Dr. Eric Nzeribe. Photo by Laura Elam.
