Philly Weekend Picks 6-19-2015
It’s the freakin’ weekend so here are our Philly Weekend Picks for things to do in/around town.
FRIDAY:
BEER GARDENS! BEER GARDENS! BEER GARDENS! Hit them up all weekend and hydrate yourself around the city. PHS has beer gardens at 1438 South Street and 829 Wharton Street. There is the Independence Beer Garden w at 100 Independence Mall West. The Point Breeze Pop-up at 1622 Point Breeze Ave. and of course Spruce Street Harbor Park.
The amazing West Philadelphia Orchestra is at Franky Bradley’s tonight. If you read the blog, you know that we are huge fans of this band. There may not be a more entertaining live show with musicianship this good. It’s Balkan, it’s gypsy, it’s brass. What else you need?
The Trestle Inn is having a Go Go on the Block Friday from 5-9p.m. They’ll be drinking beers and dancing on Callowhill Street. Neshaminy Creek Churchville Lager pitchers are $8. Sidewalk Go Go by Marsha Katt. Seems like a great stop off after work.
SATURDAY:
Celebrate the Summer Solstice with the 2015 Clark Park Music & Arts Festival. This is an all day event at Clark Park(43rd & Chester Ave.) that runs from noon to dusk. This is the 45th edition of this festival. It’s family friends with arts vendors, food, family-oriented activities and at least 10 bands playing. The headlining band is Cheap Dinosaurs. IT’S FREE!
The 26th annual Manayunk Arts Festival is also happening Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. It also runs on Sunday until 6 p.m. Main Street from Green to Shurs becomes a block party of more than 300 artists, crafts, music, food and more. The restaurants and shops of Main Street are also open through the event so you can shot and grab food at Han Dynasty or the Manayunk Brewery.
The Antemortem Society at Laurel Hill Cemetery are celebrating The Soulstice on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. with a fundraiser like no other. The celebration takes place on the southernmost section of the cemetery (3822 Ridge Avenue) and will include tarot card readings, food from Fat Jack’s BBQ and music by DJ Scopitone. $50 gets you in and that gets you open bar, including beers by Yards Brewing Company. All proceeds go towards the preservation of the Cemetery. Tickets must be purchased in advance.
Nigerian singer-songwriter Nneka is playing Milkboy on Saturday night. HIP-HOP LEGEND Nas calls her “amazing” and “an incredible artist.”. The Sunday Times hailed her as the new Lauryn Hill and said her debut album was “as good as The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” Nneka is touring supporting her fourth album My Fairy Tales. Tickets are $20 and the show is 8:30 p.m.
If you don’t already have tickets to Connor Barwin’s sold-out Make the World Better fundraising show at Union Transfer on Saturday, you can still get in on the action. Bonfire and WKDU present the Official Connor Barwin’s MTWB Afterparty at Underground Arts featuring King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and local band The Whips. Doors are at 10:00 p.m. and tickets are $13.
Celebrate the Portugese culture at the 21st annual Philadelphia Portuguese Heritage Festival as part of the PECO Multicultural Series at the Great Plaza on Penn’s Landing from 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.. The Festival will include traditional foods and Portuguese wines, revolutionary art, folklore dance groups and a traditional blessing of the fleet aboard the Tall Ship Gazela. These are free to enter and pay as you go for food, drink, etc. A nice, educational afternoon for the family and a stroll down to Spruce Street Harbor Park sounds like a great Sunday.
On Sunday, June 21, Philadelphia will join more than 700 other cities worldwide in celebrating music on the first day of summer. Now in its third year, Make Music Philly is Philadelphia’s only free, “do it yourself” music festival, with organized concerts and informal performances by professionals and amateurs of all genres and ages. Any corner can become a venue. For a listing of the free performances going on all day check out the schedule here.