A few things scream April as cherry blossom trees in bloom. Just like this one at Awbury Arboretum in Historic Germantown.
Philosopher and abolitionist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “The earth laughs in flowers.” With that in mind, enjoy this low-cost or free spring bouquet of jazz, art, history, fashion, Black and Latino culture, all just in time for Earth Day/Month, Jazz Appreciation Month, World Health Day, and World Art Day.
FunTimes Hosts Maternal Care Event
Friday, April 17, 2026. FunTimes will host “The Mother of All Workshops: The ABC’s of Maternal and Childcare”, a virtual community conversation to recognize the nationally-observed World Maternal Health Week and the ongoing crisis in maternal care. Learn about the quality of maternal and child care in the United States and in Africa, key factors driving the growing crisis of high maternal mortality rates and resources for Black mothers and families.
Get tips on parenting and infant care, and take a dive into systemic issues such as racial bias in healthcare. Gain insight into access to quality care, socio-economic inequality, as well as services including community midwives and doulas. Join multi-media host Lavonne Nichols, leading a panel of maternal care professionals: Hadja Diallo, a nurse, midwife, educator and then community advocate; Alexia Doumbouya, founder of CocoLife, a certified doula and childbirth educator, and finally, Joanne D. Craig, Chief Impact Officer for The Foundation for Delaware County.
Free, but pre-register; noon to 1 p.m. EST. Zoom Live. Email: info@funtmesmagazine.com, 215-954-6300 or https://funtimesmagazine.com or visit the registration link:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Ms3oq-_jQXeldacF37iRTQ
Jazz Event is Smooth as ‘BUTTER’
Saturday, April 18, 2026. Organizers are promoting this mixer as “Black prep meets cool!” BUTTER en Bloom: The Black Ivy Spring Opener is in tune with Jazz Appreciation Month observed in the United States each April. The event theme will be “Black Ivy“, inspired by 19th-century Black artists, students, and professionals who relied on style, intellect, and community as distinguishing features. “Black intellectualism is the culture,” proclaims the event’s promotional material. Chill out to live jazz and DJ music popular on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as well as in jazz clubs, literary circles, and social organizations.
$39.41 per ticket; 7 p.m. EST to midnight. The mystery event location in Central Philly will be revealed on April 17th. Email: info.ptoent@gmail.com or https://posh.vip/e/butter-en-bloom-black-ivy?t=rrp
Swing Hard With The Tim Warfield Quartet
Friday, April 17, 2026. For a sweet mix of old school and improvisational jazz, get in the groove with the Tim Warfield Quartet in concert. Bandleader Warfield is an acclaimed tenor saxophonist who turns up traditional jazz with a bold, innovative modern twist. He has shared the stage with Dizzy Gillespie, Nicholas Payton, Sefon Harris, Christian McBride, and Terell Stafford.
$5 to $15 per ticket;7 p.m. EST to 8 p.m. EST The Church of Saint Luke & Epiphany, 330 S. 13th St. 610-213-8277 or www.eventbrite.com
Pablo Batista To Perform At Esperanza ‘Latin Jazz Showcase’
Friday, April 17, 2026. Grammy Award-winning percussionist Pablo Batista will turn up the heat with his cool beat at the debut of Esperanza Latin Jazz Showcase. Celebrate April’s national Jazz Appreciation Month; vibe to Batista and more than 20 musicians dressed in 1940s and 1950s formal wear in a nostalgic Big Band-era setting.
Enjoy the premiere of compositions by Philadelphia mambo bandleaders Jimmy Lopes and Tony Perez, modelling Latin legends Mario Balza, Tito Rodriquez, Machito, and American jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.
$15 per person; free for students & senior citizens. The concert also will be live-streamed free; 7 p.m. EST to 8:30 p.m. EST Esperanza Arts Center, 4261 N. 5th St. Email: brhoads@esperanza.us, 215-324-0746 or www.esperanzaartscenter.us
Get Down To Earth
Sunday, April 19, 2026. Dig in and spend Earth Day 2026 at the Awbury Arboretum during Earth Month. Volunteer (April is also National Volunteer Month) for a community planting of 50 trees along the Wingahocking and in Awbury Arboretum’s Meadow. All ages and skill levels are invited, including tree tenders. Enjoy food and activities like leaf printing and explore various activations by Awbury’s farm partners and friends. Participate in the Historic Germantown Stamp Rally led by wellness coordinator Megan Do Nascimento. This year’s Earth Day of civic engagement focuses on the theme “Our Power, Our Planet.”
Free but pre-register; 10 a.m. EST to 4 p.m. EST (tree-planting: 10 a.m. EST). The Farm at Awbury / the Lightning House, 6336 Ardleigh St. Email: volunteer@awbury.org, 215-849-2855 or https://awbury.org/event/earth-day-2026/
Educators’ Workshop Probes 19th-century Black Civil Rights
Tuesdays, April 14 & 28, 2026. Learn how ideas and news shaped Black communities nationwide at Exploring Civil Rights History, a two-part virtual workshop for educators. Gain valuable research skills “to uncover local stories of activism, while demonstrating how these source sets can spark deeper civic learning,” according to the workshop’s promotional material.
Get access to 19th-century Black civil rights records from the collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Library of Congress. The workshop speakers are Michiko Quinones on April 14 and Sarah Harris on April 28. Dr. Tisdale leads the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education and is a historian. She co-founded the 1838 Black Metropolis, an award-winning project dedicated to uncovering the stories of Philadelphia’s free Black community in the antebellum era. Harris serves as the Senior Director of Teacher and Student Programs at the National Constitution Center.
Free, 7 p.m. EST; Zoom. 215-732-6200, Registration Link or https://www.portal.hsp.org/upcoming-events
Art Show Focuses On Identity & Ecology
Friday, April 17, 2026. Check out the opening of “Entre Raíces y Alas: Obras de Santiago Galeas/ Between Roots and Wings: Works by Santiago Galeas” at the Magic Gardens Museum. The exhibit is a collection of figurative paintings that focus on identity and ecology; it turns traditional presentations of landscape and portraiture upside down. Galeas’ art, notes the promotional material, “depicts first-generation and immigrant queer Latinx Americans in an inventive world that bridges the landscapes of Latin America and North America.” Galeas dives into the diaspora, gender, sexuality, and immigration. The exhibit runs through Sunday, July 26. 2026. On Tuesday, April 21st, also attend a Tour & Talk session to discuss the art-making process and the inspiration for the exhibit with the artist, in a tour-and-question-and-answer format:
$15 per ticket, 6 p.m. EST to 8 p.m. EST. Opening reception April 17th: Pay as you wish; 6 p.m. EST to 9 p.m. EST. Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, 1020 South St. Email: info@phillymagicgardens.org, https://www.phillymagicgardens.org/event/entre-raices-y-alas-obras-de-santiago-galeas-between-roots-and-wings-works-by-santiago-galeas/
Get In Step With Black Dance History
Tuesday, April 21, 2026. Celebrate the legacy of Black dance in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Black Dance Mural Project. Hear all about a generation of great dancers, from Essie Marie Dorsey to Joan Myers Brown. Dorsey, a pioneering dance instructor (1893–1967), taught Black students from her home studio, beginning in 1926. One of her students was Brown, the founder of Philadanco and a dance educator who shaped the city’s cultural identity and global influence.
Visual and spoken-word artist Bernard Collins Jr., will pay tribute to the trailblazers who overcame centuries of racial barriers to teach European techniques to Black students excluded from white ballet institutions. Enjoy live performances, a film screening, and an informative conversation. You can be the first to see the unveiling of a new Mural Arts Philadelphia design honoring history and the shining stars of the local dance community, including Michaela DePrince, a Sierra Leone–born prodigy who trained in Philadelphia and achieved worldwide acclaim. The mural will be installed in Grays Ferry in South Philadelphia. Featured speakers will be Dr. Lynette Young Overby, Professor Emerita of Theater and Dance, University of Delaware; Dr. Patricia Reid-Merritt, Distinguished Professor of Africana Studies and Social Work, and dance historian Karen Warrington. Refreshments will be served.
Free, 5:45 p.m. EST to 8:45 p.m. EST. Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine St. 215-685-0750 or https://muralarts.org/artworks/black-dance-legacy-mural/
