Popular summer after-work happy hour and entertainment destination, PM @ Penn Museum Summer Nights series returns this Wednesday, June 20, at 5 p.m. Summer Nights features weekly international music performances at the lush garden setting at Penn Museum (3260 South Street). It is also a good opportunity to visit the museum. Tickets are only $5 and include museum admission.

The series kicks off with a performance by Barakka, a Philadelphia-based group with Turkish roots. Barakka will present Middle Eastern folk and rock fusion sounds.

All Summer Nights performances take place in the Penn Museum’s Stoner Courtyard and occur rain or shine. Food and drinks are available for purchase at the venue. The series will run until August 29. For more information, go here.

Check out the full performance lineup (from www.penn.museum).

June 20 – Barakka
The series kicks off with this Philadelphia-based, multi-ethnic group specializing in Turkish folk-rock with a mix of eastern and western instrumentation including guitar, oud, drums, bass, darbuka, and keyboards. www.myspace.com/bariskaya

June 27 – Tres Compadres
This modern flamenco ensemble combines jazz and Latin influences with spirited dance rhythms for a vibrant live performance, with special appearances from flamenco dancer Inez del Mar, vocalist Farah Siraj, and jazz flutist Tim Shay. www.trescompadresband.com

July 11 – Zydeco-A-Go-Go
With Creole Zydeco and Cajun 2steps, this group combines funky New Orleans rhythm and blues and vintage Louisiana rock and roll into a spicy gumbo of irresistible dance music. www.wix.com/petegumbo/zaggwood

July 18 – Klingon Klez
Prepare for warp drive! This eclectic band plays good old-fashioned, heartwarming, rompin’, stompin’ fun-for-the-whole-family klezmer/funk fusion from other planets! www.klingonklezmer.com

July 25 – Magdaliz and Her Trio Crisol
This Latin ensemble is dedicated to the interpretation of folk and traditional music from all over Latin America and the Caribbean, using Puerto Rican boleros, Cuban sones, Mexican mariachi music, Colombian cumbias, Dominican merengues, and much more. www.triocrisol.com

August 1 – Incendio
A Latin world fusion group from Los Angeles, Incendio balances romantic Spanish guitar with rock-style energy and inspired on-stage improvisation. www.incendioband.com

August 8 – Minas
Presenting originals from their CD collection, as well as Brazilian classics, this duo displays multiple talents as vocalists, instrumentalists, and composers with an impressive grasp of awide range of Brazilian musical idioms. www.minasmusic.com

August 15 – La Pequeña Marimba Internacional
This family band focuses on Guatemalan folk music, but also include a smattering of international music like cumbria, merengue, bolero and more.

August 22 – Animus
This internationally acclaimed ensemble, led by Bill Koutsouros, offers an exciting fusion of ancient and modern music with traditional elements of Greek, Rock, Middle Eastern, Blues, Indian, Jazz, African, and more. www.animusmusic.com

August 29 – West Philadelphia Orchestra
An eclectic ensemble made up of Philly’s finest and wildest musicians, this group gets listeners moving with the poignant melodies and the frenetic, propulsive rhythms of Eastern Europe. www.westphiladelphiaorchestra.com

Phase 1 of the Route 34 Track Renewal Project began this morning. Buses will replace the trolleys all the way from the 40th Street Portal to the end of the line at 61st Street until the completion of the project on September 1, 2012. Phase 1 will last until July 7 and will include the reconstruction of the tracks between 40th and 42nd streets. During this phase, the entire two-block area on Baltimore Avenue will be closed.

The “13th and Market” on the bus (see photo) is a little confusing. The bus will take you to the 40th Street Portal where you can catch trolley the rest of the way.

Phase 2, 3 and 4 are scheduled to take place between July 1 and September 1 and will involve track reconstruction and Baltimore Avenue closings between 49th and 52nd streets, 54th and 55th streets, and the intersection of 58th and Baltimore. All traffic, including buses, will be detoured around the construction sites and side streets in the construction area will be closed to through traffic. For more information and the schedule for each phase, go here.

If you have questions, please call SEPTA Customer Service at (215) 580-7800.

Update (6/18): Bishop is back home! Please see comments.

Update (6/16): Bishop is still missing.

Reader April is looking for her cat – a younger, small, long-haired grey cat, named Bishop. He’s been missing since June 11. He has/had a collar with a little bell on it. He is missing from the area of 44th and Larchwood. Please call 215 510 1798 if you have seen him.

Bill Hangley, Jr. sends word that his wife, Cheshire Agusta, a prominent West Philly rock musician and the drummer for the veteran trio Stinking Lizaveta is recovering after surgery following a serious hit-and-run bike/car accident. Agusta was on the bike and her injuries required metal plates and cadaver bone chips.

Agusta was struck on Friday, June 1, at 60th and Chestnut Streets while riding to her gym for a morning workout. After waiting at a traffic light, Agusta had just started pedaling north on 60th Street when a car on her left took a right turn across her path – a maneuver known among cyclists as the “right hook.” Agusta and her bike ended up trapped beneath the car. As Agusta recalls, the driver stopped briefly, backed up, paused again briefly and then drove off with the bike still underneath his car, leaving Agusta sitting in shock on the pavement.

Thanks to helpful bystanders who got the car’s license plate number, police soon located the driver, an 18-year-old man who told police that Agusta was in his “blind spot” and that he did not know anything was wrong. In part because of his clean driving and criminal record, police declined to charge him. Both Agusta and the driver were insured.

The accident partially crushed the top of Agusta’s left shinbone, which had to be reconstructed with cadaver bone chips and titanium plates. She faces a total of six months of rehab. Possible long-term complications include chronic stiffness and early-onset arthritis in the joint. Doctors at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) say Agusta now faces a painful rehab but should be ready to tour in September in support of Stinking Lizaveta’s latest record, “Seventh Direction,” to be released in the U.S. and in Europe.

“My summer plans have changed dramatically, but my fall plans are still the same,” said Agusta. “We’re really proud of this record. There’s eighteen years of work behind it.”

“The worst thing that could have happened is that I could have died,” Agusta said, “but the next worst thing would be if I couldn’t get out and play this music.”

The band has scheduled a five-week European tour starting in September to support “Seventh Direction,” recorded at Chicago’s Engine Music Studios. The record features original compositions from all three band members (Cheshire Agusta and brothers Alexi and Yanni Papadopoulos).

Agusta is the second member of Stinking Lizaveta to be seriously injured in a West Philadelphia traffic accident. Alexi Papadopoulos, a co-owner of the popular Satellite Café on Baltimore Avenue, was struck by a car on his motor scooter two years ago, suffering multiple fractures and internal injuries. “The consensus among friends is that I’m next,” said his brother Yanni but the guitarist had no comment on any steps he might take to avoid his bandmates’ fate.

We are wishing a speedy recovery to Cheshire Agusta and hope that this was the last in the series of unfortunate happenings involving Stinking Lizaveta members.

Ann Schwartz, a musician skilled in a wide range of instruments and with over 15 years of music teaching experience, is launching The Green Tambourine, a new series of interactive music programs for kids ages 0 to 10 years at The Rotunda (40th & Walnut). The programs include musical playgroups for babies and little kids and group instrumental lessons for older children. Musical playgroups are divided into the following age groups: birth-9 months, 2 & 3 year olds, 4 & 5 year olds, and Toddler Class (10-23 months). The first 6-week session includes one class per week every Friday kicks off on June 22.

The Green Tambourine also offers group violin and guitar lessons for kids ages 6-10 beginning in September. The lessons are taught once a week on Thursdays and are also offered in 6-week sessions. Participants will need to bring their own instrument.

To sign up for classes and for more information, please visit The Green Tambourine’s website or contact Ann Schwartz at (215) 360-3215, info@thegreentambourine.com. A special 20% Class Kickoff discount is offered. Scholarships and other discounts are also available.

This Friday and Saturday, June 15 & 16, The Green Tambourine will be at Clark Park from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. for some musical free play.  You and your kids are welcome to stop by to meet the class facilitator,  get more information on programs and most importantly, play music!

A neighbor is looking for a permanent home for her foster dog:

“This is Champ, my foster dog. He is a one in a million kind of dog. I have tried to describe here how sweet and cute and goofy he is but you might just have to meet him to find out how special he is!

First off, he is very handsome. He has a giant smushy head and big mitten-paws and a fancy striped coat with a white ring around his neck. There is something about him that makes everyone want to meet him. It takes us forever to go on a walk because so many people want to stop and pet him. He loves the attention but he is polite and gentle. I think he has a lot of potential as a therapy dog. He walks very nicely on leash, right next to your side with a loose leash. Sometimes he wants to stop and look at things but he doesn’t yank the leash or pull ahead of you. Oh, and he is housetrained!

At home, Champ is super calm and mostly sleeps. He is an easy, low energy dog. He is a huge snuggle bug and wants to be in your lap, but he is also fine to chew on a bone or sleep in his crate. He goes into the crate for a treat and he is usually quiet even if there are people or dogs around while he’s in there. He sometimes cries for a minute but he doesn’t keep it up. He comes to work with me and is an angel there. He just plays with his toys, sleeps, or gives my co-workers a stress break. He is goofy and a little foolish and makes everyone laugh and smile when they are around him.

Champ is amazing with other big dogs. My own dog is really picky/bossy with other dogs and he does great around her. He respects corrections from other dogs and doesn’t invade their space, but he still likes to play! I have not had him around small dogs or cats so I am not sure how he feels about them!

Champ is such a pleasure to have as a foster dog. The only things that make him not completely perfect are that he is a chewer (but he responds well to a verbal correction and doesn’t guard anything that he chews, so it’s no big deal), and that he is a picky eater and sometimes needs some encouragement to eat his food. We’re still figuring out what foods he likes to eat. Those are seriously the only things I can find remotely “wrong” with him!

Champ is healthy aside from a mild case of kennel cough that he is recovering from. He is already neutered, microchipped, and fully vaccinated for the next year.

His stats:
Age: 4
Sex: Male/Neutered
Breed: To me he looks like a mix of Cane Corso, Pit Bull, and maybe American Bulldog. Who knows though!?
Weight: 74 pounds; he should gain 5-10 pounds though.
ACCT Number: A16225742
At the shelter because: He got lost and was rescued by the police and brought to ACCT!”

If you would like to meet Champ please email Natalie at davidna@vet.upenn.edu.