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We’re in Week 3 of the “Phanatic Around Town” photo submission contest and so far we’ve been receiving some awesome shots of you and the featured Phanatic statues. After the jump, check out last week’s winning submission.

Week Three’s featured Phanatic Around Town location: Rittenhouse Square

This week’s featured statue is scenic Rittenhouse Square’s “All-Starry Night” Phanatic and the deadline to submit your photo is Monday, May 3rd.

Photo Op:
The statue will be in the center of the action this weekend during the annual Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival Festival, a day-long celebration with food, music, entertainment and much more. While enjoying the festival, grab your camera, a few friends and take advantage of the statue’s picturesque backdrop when snapping your photos.

To submit your photo, upload it to our Visit Philly Facebook fan page or share it on Twitter using the hashtag: #Phanatic. Each week’s winners will receive free Philly baseball gear.  Click here for all the details.

Who: You and a “Phanatic Around Town” statue.
What: Take a picture of you with the “Phanatic Around Town” statue of the week and share it with us via Facebook and/or Twitter.
When: Every week for 20 weeks beginning on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Where: At 20 locations across the city, changing each week.

“Phanatic Around Town” Program [visitphilly.com]

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Outside Memorial Hall, Photo courtesy the Please Touch Museum

This Saturday, May 1st, the Please Touch Museum is celebrating Día del Niño (Children’s Day) with an “all-day celebration of Latin American music, dance and folklore.”

Louie Miranda, who appeared at the Please Touch Museum during the Junior Jazz Festival earlier this year, will be performing her family-friendly, educational songs in Hamilton Hall at noon, 2pm, and 4pm.

Guests can also watch dance troupes (10am, 11am), take salsa lessons (11:30am, 1:30pm), and listen in on story time at the Story Castle (10:30am, 3:3opm) with readings from Dora the Explorer and There’s a Coqui in my Shoe.

The celebration is free with regular museum admission. For info on the event, and a last of other activities, check out the official page for Día del Niño on the Please Touch Museum’s website.

Please Touch Museum
4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia, PA 19131
(215) 581-3181
www.pleasetouchmuseum.org

The Cast of An Evening Without Woody Allen, Photo by John Flak

Woody Allen once observed, “80 percent of success is showing up.” Of course, in his own instance, there’s more to it. Like prodigiously cranking out films, some of which have become icons of their time. He’s also written a slew of stories, which as per many of his flicks, offer idiosyncratic perspectives on life, love, religion and death.

Few can ruminate on these topics with such smart comedic flair as the Woodman. He’s a master of the zany zinger. And you’ll hear plenty of ‘em during An Evening Without Woody Allen, a new play by 1812 Productions featuring short stories and essays penned by Allen as published in the New Yorker, Playboy and The New York Times, among other fine publications.

Just like in his movies, Allen’s tales serve up a heaping helping of quirky characters. 1812 Productions, an all comedy theater company, will surely have a field day with this material. They’re keeping things lean and mean with just a bare stage, a bit of video, plus three cast members — Charlotte Ford, Dan Hodge, and Thomas E. Shotkin. It’s the written word that get the big spotlight here, and considering who these particular words are written by, they promise to shine brightly.

An Evening Without Woody Allen
April 29th – May 16th 2010

Plays & Players Theatre
1714 Delancey Street, Philadelphia PA 19103
(215) 592-9560
www.1812productions.org

Charlie DelMarcelle and Leah Walton in Nerve

Ever been on a first date where you uttered something and then immediately thought, “Damn, I wish I hadn’t said that.” Yes? Well then you’ll relate to Nerve, where main characters Elliot and Susan, meeting in person after finding one another through an online dating service, blurt out way too many personal details that maybe they shouldn’t, but geez, they just can’t help themselves.

At first the revelations are not terribly troublesome. As the pair continue to discuss likes, dislikes, fears, neuroses and past relationships, things spiral into a whirlpool of cringe-worthy quirks and anxieties. Susan admits to having borderline personality disorder yet Elliott isn’t far behind on that score. It would be overbearing except that the whole thing is so cartoonish you just gotta laugh.

Actors Charlie DelMarcelle and Leah Walton really hit it out of the park here. Their facial expressions and mannerisms fire up the humor that underscores these disturbed souls. They fuss and fidget and turn one another on and off as readily as a light switch.

Interludes spliced into the dotty duo’s psychodrama have Walton performing amusing fantasy sequences that reveal the tiny dancer in Susan’s head, and boy is she a melodramatic bundle of emotions. These episodes inject an engaging dimension to the rom-com, which is jam-packed with twists and turns as it is.

This is either a first date from hell, or the beginning of a beautiful relationship. You’ll have to see the show to decide which one it is.

Azuka Theatre’s Nerve
Now through May 2nd, 2010

The Latvian Society
531 N. 7th Street, Philadelphia, PA
(215) 733-0255
www.azukatheatre.org

Listen up cupcake lovers!

On Wednesday, April 28 at noon, Flying Monkey in Reading Terminal Market is celebrating its 4th birthday by hosting a Cupcake Eating Contest! You heard right, eight contestants with their respective “nom d’cupcakes” will (more or less gracefully) scarf down as many of Flying Monkey’s raved-about cupcakes in three minutes as they can, all while dressed the part.

The winner gets one cupcake a day for one year, plus bragging rights. Cupcakes + cupcake-esque costumes? I think we’ve got ourselves the sweetest (literally!) event in town.

If you’ve never stopped by Flying Monkey Patisserie in the Terminal or their Washington Square shop at 11th and Locust, I highly recommend swinging by to indulge on their handcrafted sweets, confections and cakes “made with the finest ingredients and a touch of whimsy.”

Cupcake Eating Contest @ Flying Monkey
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

Reading Terminal Market
12th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, PA
(215) 922-2317
www.readingterminalmarket.org

The Scientist, a magazine about life sciences, recently visited the Academy of Natural Sciences, and shot a video about their two exhibits that blend science and art.

Check it out!

Beyond the Field Trip @ The Scientist [ Link ]

Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 299-1000
www.ansp.org

A happy family adopts the Sphinx, while a visitor adopts one of a pair of Foo Lions

It’s Adopt An Artifact Day at the museum, and this Saturday, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology invites you to explore their International Collections with a number of fun, family-friendly activities.

Visitors to the museum can participate in arts & crafts, and can visit several Make-Your-Own stations, which will guide guests through making their own sock-cat Mummy, Canopic jars, and Mesopotamian bull-headed lyre masks.

The Museum currently has ten artifacts up for “adoption” including the “13-ton red granite Sphinx, ca. 1200 BCE; a Bronze Rooster from the kingdom of Benin in Nigeria; a pair of “twin” Foo Lions from China; an ancient Etruscan warrior’s helmet; and an ancient Egyptian cat statue.” For more information on the program, and a full list of all the other adoptable artifacts, visit the Penn Museum’s official page on the event.

All the events take 10am to 2pm, and are free with regular museum admission.

Adopt An Artifact Day @ the Penn Museum
Saturday, May 1st, 2010

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
215-898-4000
www.penn.museum

Photo by Johanna Austin

Are you a fan of the George Orwell classic 1984, the chilling and riveting tale of a totalitarian future where individuals no longer have the freedom to make their own choices?

With security measures increasing and privacy becoming a rarity, Orwell’s novel has never been more relevant then today. Rebecca Davis Dance Company’s upcoming world premier Braving the New World strives to convey the struggle between societal control and individual freedom in the format that they know best: dance.

For two nights only, the imagined worlds of authors such as Aldous Huxley and George Orwell will be depicted beautifully and innovatively on stage through the extreme dance moves of Rebecca Davis Dance Company. In the ballet’s fictional future, human beings are not born, but grown to conform in every way to a destiny that has already been engineered by an omnipresent “Big Brother.” When one man refuses to surrender his individuality and emotions, he must find a way to rescue a true human connection and find freedom.

Don’t miss the chance to see their last world premiere to be performed in Philadelphia! The company, founded by Temple Alum Rebecca Davis four years ago, has experienced amazing growth since its first production and will be expanding their performances to other U.S. cities.

Braving the New World @ Rebecca Davis Dance Company
May 7th and 8th, 2010
$25 General Admission, $20 for students
www.rebeccadavisdance.com

The Arboretum in full bloom, Photo by B. Krist for GPTMC

It’s no surprise that the Morris Arboretum understands the importance of trees. I mean, they are an arboretum. And this weekend, they are showing off their love of trees with a special Arbor Day Treasure Hunt.

From 1pm to 3pm this Saturday, May 1st, families can engage in a fun adventure that begins with Out on a Limb, ventures across the Arboretum’s popular tree bridge, and wraps up with a treasure hunt across the grounds.

The first 200 people to finish the hunt will receive a free wooden toy from the Little Treehouse of Chestnut Hill. The cafe will also be giving away discount cards and hosting sing-a-long sessions.

For you early birds out there, stop by the Arboretum early for the kick-off event with Judge Midge Rendell, who will participate in a tree planting at 10am.

All of these activities are free with general admission.

Morris Arboretum
100 Northwestern Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118
(215) 247-5777
www.morrisarboretum.org

The artist Shepard Fairey in front of his work at the Rocket Cat Cafe in Fishtown on Friday afternoon. (Photo by Chris Sembrot)

On Friday, the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program teamed up with renowned artist Shepard Fairey to produce two brand new wheat paste murals at two locations in the city.

Fairey is a Los Angeles-based artist and illustrator who is perhaps best known for his OBEY sticker campaign featuring Andre “The Giant” as well as the poster of then Senator Barack Obama which was based on an AP photo by Mannie Garcia and which had a tremendous impact on the 2008 presidential election.

Taking a break from the installation of his exhibition at Deitch Projects in NYC, Fairey and a team of assistants came to Philadelphia on Friday, April 23 to create wheat paste murals at two locations in the city: one on the side of Rocket Cat Café (seen above), located at 2001 Frankford Avenue in Fishtown, and the second on the side of MM Partner’s offices at 2621 W. Girard Avenue in Brewerytown.

Photographer Chris Sembrot was on hand at Rocket Cat Cafe where he took the these photos of Shepard Fairey and his work.

Shepard Fairey working on the Rocket Cat Cafe mural. (Photo by Chris Sembrot)

Mural Arts collaborates with renowned artist Shepard Fairey [Mural Arts Program]