Street Movies!, Scribe Video Center’s traveling film series that features a range of shorts – from internationally recognized award-winning fiction, documentary, and animation films – will be held next month at nine locations throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area and Camden, NJ. There will be a screening in West Philly as well – on Friday, August 30 at the Lucien Blackwell Community Center (47th and Aspen St).

This year, Street Movies! is coordinated and programmed by Nehad Khader, a filmmaker, curator, editor and the Program Director at Philadelphia’s BlackStar Film Festival. Marquee films include T.E.M.P.L.E.- Tell ‘Em My People Leave Enriched (USA, 2019), directed by Lamont Nathaniel Gibson, and They Charge for the Sun (USA, 2016, 16 min), directed by Terence Nance.  Continue Reading

Shakespeare in Clark Park is returning this week. For five nights (July 24-28), the popular outdoor theater company will present the classic tragedy “King Lear” in the park’s “Bowl” at 43rd and Chester.

Shakespeare in Clark Park brings to life this classic tale of power and madness with a company of Philly’s favorite actors including Brian Anthony Wilson and Charlotte Northeast, transforming Clark Park thanks to scenic design by Sebastienne Mundheim.  Continue Reading

Photo from Theatre in the X website.

One of our favorite things about summer in West Philly is performances by Theatre in the X, the company that stages free Afrocentric plays at Malcolm X. Park. This summer they will present the world premiere of “The Beast of Nubia” on Aug. 4, 11 and 18. (look for a more detailed preview later this month). Check out the trailer below. For now, we wanted to let people know about their fundraiser and volunteer sign-up.

Theatre in the X has a GoFundMe campaign here to keep the summer performances going well into the future. They are also seeking volunteers for everything from ushers to wardrobe assistants to set builders. Go here to fill out the volunteer form.  Continue Reading

This year’s free Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival offers a family-friendly Jazz showcase featuring the “Hometown Sound of Philadelphia Jazz.” Philadelphia Tenor saxophonists Bootsie Barnes and Sam Reed will headline the 2019 Festival on Saturday, July 20. The event takes place starting at noon in Penn Presbyterian Medical Center’s Saunders Park Greene, 39th and Powelton Avenue.

Hosted by People’s Emergency Center (PEC) and PEC Community Development Corporation (PECCDC), this marks the 13th year that this annual event has taken place, which has grown from a few hundred attendees to 4,000.

The Producer’s Guild of Philadelphia has curated an exceptional lineup of jazz musicians performing on the Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival stage. In addition to Barnes and Reed, this year’s lineup includes jazz performers Jamal Jones & the Bureau of Sonic Wonderland Jazz Orchestra, Glenn Bryan & Friends, Geraldine Oliver, Chris Oatts, and Jonathan Michel. The Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble will also be back by popular demand.  Continue Reading

Friday Night Jazz in Cedar Park will continue until August 2nd, and here’s another West Philly park that has been hosting free live jazz performances this summer. The Jazz Heritage Series is held every other Thursday at 7 p.m. at Malcolm X Park (52nd and Pine). The series is hosted by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and Friends of Malcolm X Park. The next performance is this Thursday (July 4) by vocalist Shirley Lites.

Here’s a full schedule of performances through September 12:  Continue Reading