One of the coolest events in West Philly and something many of us have been looking forward to all year is finally here. The first Dollar Stroll of the season is taking place tonight on Baltimore Avenue between 41st and 52nd Streets, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Dollar Stroll means $1 deals on some popular items from local shops, cafes and restaurants (see the full list of participating businesses on the flyer below).
Local food vendors are lining up to showcase what they are good at and to satisfy every taste and preference in food and drink, from vegan to carnivore and fruit juice to beer. We figure that for about $6 bucks you can get dinner, desert, a couple of beers and about a dozen tunes (see below).
Worthy of special mention is that besides $1 deals you’ll be able to pick up a free-download card with an access code to download the “West Philly Mix Tape” featuring tracks by 11 West Philly bands, including West Philadelphia Orchestra. Download cards will be available at many of the participating locations.
And finally, $1 food and drinks are great, but don’t forget to stop by Curio Theatre to pick up tickets to their 2011-12 preview shows. This local gem put up some hugely popular performances this past season.
Puerto Rican vocalist Taína Asili, flamenco dancer April Goltz, and guitarist Gaetano Vaccaro present an intimate and unforgettable performance of Latin American folk and flamenco tonight, at 7:30 p.m. at Crossroads Music (801 S 48th St.).
Taína Asili and April Goltz are former Philadelphians. Goltz took her first flamenco steps at the Arts League in West Philly beginning in 2002.
Before the main event, there will be a short children’s concert, from 6 p.m. to approximately 6:45 p.m. Tickets to this show are $5 for kids, with accompanying grownups free.
The Rita Jones Dance Company will present A Tribute To Billie Holiday concert tonight at 7:30 p.m. at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St.). Proceeds from the event will go to Pancreatic Cancer Research program at Jefferson Hospital. General admission tickets: $10.
With its classic tiled roof and soaring, arched windows, The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St.) sticks out amid the polished metal and stone that has become the west side of the intersection of 40th and Walnut Streets.
Built in 1911, the one-time Christian Science church turned neighborhood arts and culture venue is 100 years old this year. It’s celebrating with three days of performances by the wonderful Anne-Marie Mulgrew & Dancers Co., which has designed a production specifically for The Rotunda’s sanctuary space.
Most events at The Rotunda are held in a black-box theater in the rear part of the building that once served as a Sunday school when the building was a church. Occasionally, a performance warrants opening the much bigger sanctuary space, which sits under the buildings distinctive round roof.
This description of the performance comes from the dance company’s website:
The program consists of a dozen short theatrical vignettes, dances and art installations inspired by the architecture of the space and the festival theme, Paris in 1911 moving towards 2011. Highlights include video projections on walls juxtaposed with live performance, a 2011 installation inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s notorious Etant Donnes, dancers clinging to doorways and walls, a pew dance, characters such as the lighted-hat lady who drops Kleenexs from the choir loft, a re-imagined version of Mulgrew’s 1992’s Earthborne featuring a woman on a ladder watching a stick dance, carousel like-dances using the fallen chandelier as a
sculpture, unexpected scenarios and audience interaction.
Le Dada explores every nook and cranny of the glorious but decaying cathedral-like space. Le Dada aims to bring new awareness to the building’s architecture and history. The performance commences outside in the courtyard area at the front of the building. The audience is invited to follow the performers around the perimeters of the inside space guided by a MC/Narrator leading to more conventional seating in the round in the 100-year old pews.
Performances on Friday and Saturday begin at 7:11 p.m. Sunday’s performance begins at 3:11 p.m. If you arrive 11 minutes before the show, you can watch a “pre-show” performance outside The Rotunda. There will also be refreshments and discussion in the black-box theater following the show.
Tickets are $15 General Admission, $10 Students/Seniors/DancePass holders. Tickets can be purchased on the PIFA website www.pifa.org, in person at the Kimmel Center Box Office, or by phone at 215-546-PIFA or 215-790-5800.
Below is an interview with The Rotunda’s director, Gina Renzi, about the building and this weekend’s performance.
Good beer, good pizza and a good cause. That is precisely what you’ll get this Sunday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the fourth annual Cedar Park Neighbors scholarship fundraiser at Dock Street Brewing Co. (50th and Baltimore).
Food and drink from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. are included in the ticket price ($35 in advance/$40 at the door). Cash bar is 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Live music is also on tap. Advance tickets are available at the Cedar Park Neighbors website or by calling Laura Tate McHugh at (267) 235-2046.
A bunch of items, from salsa lessons at Take the Lead to admission for 6 to National Constitution Center, are up for grabs during the silent auction (see the list to the left). A 50/50 drawing will also be held. Tickets for that are $1 apiece or $10 for an arm’s length. The silent auction bidding closes at 5:45 p.m.
The fundraiser provides financial assistance to college-bound students who live in Cedar Park. The scholarship fund has made more than $67,000 available to local students.
Don’t, don’t, don’t forget the Go West! Craft Fest this Saturday at Cedar Park.
Go West! will run from noon to 5 p.m. and will feature a massive variety of handmade items, from sweet jewelry made from records or real fruit to West Philly inspired prints and painting. Profiles of selected vendors are available here.
The festival will also feature a kids program beginning at 3:30 p.m. with Jay Sands of All Around this World fame. Firehouse Bikes will sell used bikes all day long. Stop by the VIX Emporium afterward from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
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