Philly Weekend Picks: July 10th

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Fourth of July has come and gone, but don’t let that give you a reason to get lazy and stay in house while cool things are going on around town.

ALL WEEKEND:

BEER GARDENS are open all weekend, unless L& I shuts more down. Here are some in case you don’t know the locations. The PHS has beer gardens at 1438 South Street and 829 Wharton Street. There is the Independence Beer Garden w at 100 Independence Mall West, and of course Spruce Street Harbor Park.

Heads up sports fans. Shibe Sports‘ ONE YEAR CELEBRATION goes all weekend at the store (137 S. 13th Street) with a bunch of cool events that’ll feature great guests and free beer from Ommegang! I love this store. Grabbed a 1938 Phillies hat there for this season. Friday features 1952 AL MVP Bobby Shantz of the Philly A’s. Saturday features Ray Diddinger and Glen Macnow from 2-4 p.m and later author Bruce Kuklick. Sunday has an afterparty at McGillin’s. More info.

shibe

Like cats? Painted Bride brings in THE AMAZING ACRO-CATS all weekend with 2 shows on Saturday and Sunday. What are Acro-cats? It’s a one-hour show features over a dozen fabulous felines  (all former orphans, rescues, and strays) walking tightropes, pushing carts, skateboarding, jumping through hoops, ringing bells, balancing on balls and turning on lights. Not only is the show entertaining, but it’s for a good cause. Proceeds will go to a local cat rescue. Samantha Martin, the show’s organizer has saved over 150 cats to date.

Philadelphia’s premier ballet company BALLETX is at the Wilma Theater all weekend/week with their Summer Series, which features the work of Adam Hougland. I don’t know who Adam Hougland is, but this company is hella good. Good date night event here.

US AIR GUITAR 2015 hits Johnny Brenda’s Friday at 9 (doors are at 8). The 2015 U.S. Champion wins a trip to the motherland, the birthplace of competitive air guitar– Oulu, Finland– in August to compete in the 20th Air Guitar World Championships, where s/he will represent the USA among 25 other countries. There will be two rounds. The first round is a song of the contestant’s choosing. The second round is improvising a surprise song. Tickets are $10.

Amy Winehouse is one of the more tragic music stories in recent history. Amazing talent who couldn’t resist the temptations of drugs and alcohol. Amy, the documentary about Amy Winehouse opens today. Trailer looks good and theaters should be air conditioned!

SATURDAY:

Celebrate Bastille Day in Fairmount at the 21st Bastille Day Festival at Eastern State Penitentiary. The experimental theater group Bearded Ladies will do an hour-long reenactment of the French Revolution at 5:30 p.m. This is an all-day block party that begins at 2 p.m. and goes until midnight and is hosted by London Grill and Paris Wine Bar. Food and entertainment throughout the day. Admission is free. The block party is between Corinthian Avenue and 22nd Street.

The 34th Annual Hispanic Fiesta takes place Saturday and Sunday of this week at Penn’s Landing.  The festival unites and raises awareness of Latino culture and community through the celebration of music, dance, entertainment, ethnic foods, and artisan crafts from nearly all Latin American countries. The Fiesta runs both days from 2-8 p.m. The food has gotta be off the hook.

Old heads of the 90’s gotta remember Chapel Hill’s ARCHERS OF LOAF. They are back on tour and at Union Transfer Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. These guys never got commercial success, but were always a solid band. Here’s a good chance to remember the good days of college radio or simply see a good, stripped down band. Tickets are $20.

Like poetry? We got Poets on the Porch on Saturday at 1 p.m. 15 poets from the Delaware Valley and New York will read poetry on the wrap around porch of Ryerss Museum and Library in Burholme Park. Yo…it’s free! Get your culture on!

SUNDAY:

European dance music meets Afrobeat when Jungle By Night play at World Cafe Live Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. This 9 piece from Amsterdam mixes electronica, funk, Afrobeat and jazz to create killer grooves. They played with Mayer Hawthorne, The Roots, and John Legend. Tickets are $12, which is cheap for this.