Sept. 19-22: Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Show in Philly, XPoNential Music Festival in New Jersey and CityFest Dance Jubilee in Delaware are among the weekend's highlights.
Fall's coming in hot! If not in temperature then in volume, with festivals for all. This weekend, you can choose from the Montco Jazz Fest, the South Philly Sausage Festival, XPoNential Music Fest, We Are The Seeds Philly Festival and well, the list goes on, as you'll see below. But arts and culture are represented as well. Actress Erika Alexander, who started her long career at New Freedom Theater, is celebrated at a Mid-Career Retrospective hosted by the Philadelphia Film Society. The Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Show returns for its fall iteration and also outdoors, the third Philadelphia Polo Classic takes off at Fairmount Park.
Cultural and community organization CityFest hosts the inaugural free three-day festival highlighting the local dance scene. Local troupes will perform and share their expertise in a family dance workshop, there's a community dance battle, and a special performance by Urban Bush Women. Kicking off opening night is Pieces of A Dream performing with the Wilmington Ballet.
To commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month, expect events through mid-October all around the city. At Temple University, programming includes exhibits by a variety of artists, panel discussions, book readings, a movie screening and a book fair. On Friday, the Philadelphia Museum of Art hosts the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month Celebration, which is free with pay-what-you-wish admission. On Saturday, The Franklin Institute partners with El Concilio for a day of activities, including a performance and music lessons from Un Toque de Cache.
Fall officially arrives on Sunday, but unofficially it begins when there are more festivals than hours in the weekend. Festivals of all kinds are happening, so choose wisely if you want to attend more than one. On Saturday, the Free Philadelphia Fall Arts Fest showcases the cultural organizations under the Ensemble Arts umbrella, with a special performance from "MJ The Musical" coming to Philly next year. The Frankford Fall Festival is also free, with children's activities, food and live music. In South Philly, the Sausage Fest brings brews, sausages and community organizations together for a neighborhood food fest. Chinatown is the location for the 29th annual Mid-Autumn Festival, We Are The Seeds Philly, is at the Cherry Street Pier, which honors Native American traditions. At Milkboy, a 30th-anniversary block party is going on, while just down the street, Brauhaus Schmitz hosts Oktoberfest 2024.
Most of the year, Eastern State Penitentiary is a tourist attraction and a place to learn more about the history of American incarceration. During the fall months, it's also one of the area's most popular (and reportedly scariest) haunted house attractions, with five different installations.
Now in its 30th year, the annual arts fest returns to Bucks County with more than 160 artists in juried competition. The artwork, in multiple disciplines from jewelry to furniture to sculpture, comes with a schedule of live music and vendors selling food, drink and, of course, art and art-related products.
The Delaware County Arts Consortium amplifies its most creative residents during a week of showcasing artists and their works in multiple spaces in the county. Dancers, musicians and photographers are part of the week, but there are also outdoor installations, museum exhibits, workshops, open houses, plays and festivals.
Emerging designers and their muses (also known as models) get to "werk" at Philly's version of the heralded fashion weeks in New York, Paris and Milan. The week includes an Avantgarde Ball, Thursday's free (with RSVP) NextUp Trend show and two runway shows on Saturday and Sunday night.
Jazz aficionados can rejoice this weekend as they have a diverse selection of performances they can attend. Josh Lee And The Extended Family kick it off at Temple University's Ambler campus. Other venues include the Elmwood Park Zoo, the Valley Forge Casino Resort, the Keswick Theater and the King of Prussia Mall. Performers include Greg Moore and Actual Proof featuring Geri Oliver, the Victor North Quartet and Jesus "Aguaje" Ramos and his Buena Vista Orchestra.
The four-day festival curated by Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media focuses on films that incorporate new technology, from artificial intelligence to immersive virtual reality. The fest starts with the seven finalists in the first-ever social media competition and ends with the screening of animated films in the shorts program and a concert and conversation with musician Galeet Dardashti.
The Colonial Theater, the home of the annual Blobfest (where the '50s camp movie was actually filmed), also hosts a film festival. Fifty films will be screened over four days, including five world premieres and several movies by local female filmmakers. You can pay per screening, but all-access and weekend passes give you access to perks like the filmmaker and screenwriter meet and greet party, but the annual gala is already sold out.
Kareem Rosser stumbled upon Work to Ride when his brothers discovered it hidden away in Fairmount Park. He discovered a love of horses through the program, overcoming challenges of his upbringing, and was part of the first-ever polo championship by an African American team. He's now WTR's executive vice president and co-founder of the Philadelphia Polo Classic, in its third year.
Actress Erika Alexander was plucked from her class at New Freedom Theater and into a Merchant Ivory film when she was 14 years old. From that opportunity, she began an extraordinary film and TV career that has spanned from "The Cosby Show" and "In Living Single" in the '90s, to 2023's critically acclaimed "American Fiction." She'll be celebrated this week as part of PFS' Curated Films series. Actor Benjamin Bratt joins Friday's screening and discussion of their film "La Mission." On Saturday, City Councilwoman-At Large Katherine Gilmore Richardson is with Alexander for a talk-back for "American Fiction."
Need a nice piece of artwork for the foyer? Well, if you have a foyer, or any area of your home that needs to be brightened up, head to the biannual outdoor art fest, one of the park's most popular traditions. Though there are mostly fine art pieces, you never know what surprises you may find.
A contemporary reboot of the 1907 play by J.M. Sygne, "The Playboy of the Western World" turns the original character Christy Mahon into Christopher Malumo, a Nigerian refugee in Dublin. Conceived by Nigerian playwright Bisi Adigun and Irish writer Roddy Doyle ("The Commitments") it proves that some human stories are unchanged by the passage of time.
Former "Saturday Night Live" cast member and Olympics fan Leslie Jones is heading to Philly for a standup show. The 57-year-old actress/comic is now starring on the HBO series "Our Flag Means Death," guest-hosting "The Daily Show" and co-hosting a podcast, "The Fckry" with Lenny Marcus, who's coming to Philly with her.
Night Shamalayan loves the music of James Newton Howard. That's why he's done the music for eight of his films, including "The Sixth Sense." So it should be no surprise that they're linking up with the Philadelphia Orchestra for a show with special guests, including cellist Maya Beiser and the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir.
Soulman Eric Benet weathered a high-profile celebrity marriage to Halle Berry and cataclysmic changes in the music industry to firmly retain his place as one of R&B enduring crooners. He's coming to town on the strengths of classic songs like "Spend My Life With You," "Sometimes I Cry" and "Georgy Porgy," and his dynamic live performances.
In 2004, British rockers Keane blew up after their debut, "Hope and Fears" became one of the United Kingdom's best-selling albums. Now, they're on their 20th anniversary tour, which stops in Philly Saturday.