FunTimes Fun Events Education, & Entertainment!
July is sweltering hot. Cool off with these free or low-cost summer activities featuring tacos, theater, movies, muppets and camping. Please respect the ongoing pandemic safety protocols, and check individual event-attending instructions with the organizers.
Song tribute to Nina Simone
July 22, 2022. WXPN Public Radio members can reserve a free pair of tickets to Ledisi Sings Nina with the Philadelphia Orchestra. New Orleans-born and Oakland-raised vocalist Ledisi joins the Philadelphia Orchestra for a powerful evening honoring the late Nina Simone in song. Known as the “High Priestess of Soul, Simone was a civil rights activist. And as this concert can attest, her legacy is enduring. Free, 8 p.m. Register Here. Non-WXPN members can use a $20 discount promo code SAVE20 to save on select seats. The Mann/TD Pavillion, xpn.org
This kids’ play has teeth.
July 23 & 30, 2022. “Without Wings,” by Ilana Zahava Abusch, is making its Philly premiere. There’s always pressure to grow up, do well in school and to become the best tooth fairy in all of history. But what happens when it’s all too much? New tooth fairy, Cassiopeia, is about to retrieve her first-ever tooth, in hopes of impressing her award-winning mother. But the challenge begins when 7-year-old Mia cannot part with her tooth. A Q & A with the actors will follow the movie, which is for ages 3-12 and families. Bring a blanket or low chairs to sit for this outdoor play. Free, 2 p.m. to 3 pm, Hawthorne Park, 1200 Catharine St, phillychildrenstheatre.org
Creative kids-play through art
July 20, 2022. Kids can try their hand in an afternoon of art-making at home. Art Kids will enjoy mixed-media collages inspired by the artist Lorna Simpson. For ages 6 and up. No experience necessary. Free 10:30 a.m., Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, 215-763-8100 Click the link for free registration. (Philadelphia Museum of Art via Instagram), https://www.philamuseum.org/
Time for taco lovers to come out of their shell
July 30 & 31, 2022. There are many types of tacos. And The Philly Taco Festival proves that. It will bring you 75 different tacos and margaritas capped off with live entertainment that will make you dance the Cha-Cha-Cha! More than 20 restaurants and food trucks will tantalize your taste buds in a weekend of tangy taco fun. Games and eating contests. $10 to $50, Xfinity Live!,1100 Pattison Ave., the sports complex in South Philadelphia. (267) 443-6415, Phillytacofest.com, https://www.tacofests.com/philadelphia-taco-festival
Shakespeare in Clark Park tames the summer heat
July 29, 2022. Go to Clark Park on a lark. Or, plan it out after you read this entry: Immerse yourself in some summer theater with The Taming! — a comedy in two separate acts. Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew squares off with John Fletcher’s revenge play, The Tamer Tamed! Kate and Petruchio battle it out in Act 1 in which Petruchio tries to tame Kate’s shrew-ish manner. Act 2 brings more drama, as Bianca and Maria, the woman Petruchio fancies, join forces to doom him. Promotional material explains: “Fletcher’s play, written 15 years later, gives a good base to explore all the ways we might clash with Shakespeare’s original text.” Plus, a West Philly spin on the lost classic makes The Taming! quite relevant today. Free, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., Clark Park, 4300 Baltimore Ave., http://shakespeareinclarkpark.org/
Movie Muppet mania in Kingsessing
July 29, 2022. You will find that devilish Miss Piggy at the Kingsessing Library / Rec Center in West Philly for a joyful community party and outdoor movie night in the 1999 screwball comedy, MUPPETS FROM SPACE. The event sponsor is the Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy and is produced by CINESPEAK, which provide movie entertainment to underserved communities. Bring your chairs, blankets, food and beverages. Free (but donations accepted), seating is first come, first serve; doors open at 7:15 p.m. with the Joyful Community Celebration hosted by Icon Ebony Fierce and DJ Aura. Movie: 8:45 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. (hey, wait for it to get dark out, everyone!). Kingsessing Library and Recreation Center, 50th Street and Kingsessing Avenue. www.cineSPEAK.org
Paschalville Library
Artists opportunity at Paschalville Library
July 22, 2022. The City of Philadelphia’s Percent for Art Program and the City’s Rebuild are calling out to all artists to create a piece of site-specific public art for the Paschalville Library built in 1914. It is part of a construction project of the interior and exterior. The visual component is the result of the City’s Percent for Art program designed to create permanent, site-specific public art, reflecting “the culture, values and diversity of the Paschalville community.” The public art will be placed at the outdoor “Story Circle” on the library’s Saybrook Avenue side that will provide an intimate learning and gathering experience. Artists are asked to interpret the history and culture of the Paschall and Elmwood communities through the development of permanent, outdoor fixed seating for the “Story Circle. Artists who live or work in the community near the library are encouraged to apply and to propose works that respond directly to the characteristics of the specified site. Priority also will be given to applicants who demonstrate the diversity of the community and want to work with community members. Paschalville has been a branch of the Free Library since 1900 when Maurice Fels of the Fels Naptha Soap Company spearheaded efforts to build a branch library. The Paschalville Library, 6942 Woodland Ave., Artists’ deadline is July 22. Apply at: Creativephl.org
Be a happy camper
Sign up now. Slots are still open for the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation’s week-long overnight camp for kids, ages 7 to 12. The camp gives city kids a chance to get into the outdoors to climb, canoe and horseback ride. The sessions will be August 14 to 19 and August 21 to 26, free. Camp Speers YMCA in the Poconos. Email john.murawski@phila.gov to apply immediately, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation via Facebook.
