Uwishunu.com

Rum on the River, Headed Up by Rittenhouse Square's Rum Bar

Here in Philly, you always get to have your pick of delicious beer. Now, thanks to Rum on the River, you’ll have your chance to get your fill of fine rums.

Taking place on Penn’s Landing waterfront on August 19th, the festival will feature an evening filled with rum-centric activities. And while these rums might not hail from Philly, the festival was conceived by local rum genius Adam Kanter, of Rum Bar, and will include participation from several other local mixologists. The event will be a perfect retreat from the late summer heat, offering great food and drink, festive music, and an unbeatable location.

The festival will take place at new prime dining and nightlife spot OCTO Waterfront Grille, complete with a fantastic view of the water. Highlights will include 30 rums available to sample, including offerings from Bacardi, El Dorado, and Leblon. The Pagode Project will provide live samba music all night to add to the tropical vibe.

Far distanced from just another cocktail party, the evening will feature the third annual Mojito Olympics will find local and visiting competitors mixing and muddling their very best versions of the cocktail. Winners will be determined by an expert panel including Arthur Etchells of Foobooz and several rum industry celebs.

Regular tickets ($70) include unlimited rum samples and light fare while the VIP tickets ($110) will include an additional hour from 6-7 of specialty cocktails and butlered hor d’oeuvres, all in a tropical theme. And if you tire of rum (impossible), there will be a cash bar on site. More info and tickets are available at www.rumontheriver.com.

Attendees would do well to brush up on their rum knowledge in the next month by visiting Rum Bar (2005 Walnut St) offering a mini version of the festival all year round.

Rum on the River [ www.rumontheriver.com ]

Profis Creperie in Reading Terminal Market

Imagine diving into fresh strawberries and cheesecake wrapped in a warm crepe smothered in nutella. Now imagine not having to pay for it either. Do I have your attention yet?

On Thursday, July 29th, head over to Profis Creperie located inside Reading Terminal Market to get one FREE crepe. In celebration of their fifth anniversary, the Profis is offering free sweet crepes all day.

Order any off the sweet side of the menu, then sit back and watch as your delicacy is made with precision and packed with fresh fruit, desserts and sweet sauces.

Take a bite into your rich meal and see why Profis has seen success since its opening five years ago. You’ll be so satisfied, we bet you’ll be coming back—the crepes are exceptional, even when they aren’t free.

Each customer is limited to one crepe, but that is all you will need. One crepe can feed at least two people.

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

Bonus: Stephen Starr is bringing along six of his restaurants to compete in this year's challenge.

This year’s Stephen Starr-Garry Maddox Barbecue Challenge, presented by Hatfield Quality Meats, takes place on Saturday, August 7, when restaurant teams and pit master teams will converge on Citizens Bank Park to compete for the bragging rights that go along with claiming the region’s best barbecue.

The always-popular Barbecue Challenge event is free and open to the public, and runs from 4-7 pm along Citizens Bank Way just outside the ballpark.

NOTE: while there is a Phillies game later that night, you do not need Phillies tickets to attend and enjoy the Barbecue Challenge that afternoon.

Among the restaurants participating in the Barbecue Challenge this year: Bomb Bomb BBQ Grill & Sandwich Factory (last year’s defending champ in the Ribs category), Bull’s BBQ, Butcher and Singer, Capt’n Dick’s BBQ, Carolina Blue Smoke House & Taproom (last year’s defending champ in the BBQ Chicken category), Continental Mid-town, El Rey, El Vez, Hatfield Quality Meats with Garry Maddox, Great American Pub, Jones, London Grill, McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon, Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant, Morimoto, New Orleans Café, Rosey’s BBQ, and Rouge.

That list includes six restaurants from All-Star restaurateur Stephen Starr, who had this to say about the 2010 event: “We are thrilled to partner with Garry Maddox for the ninth annual barbecue challenge. STARR Restaurants fully believes in the mission of the Youth Golf & Academics Program and the importance of educational and developmental programs for our city’s youth. With an outstanding roster of chefs competing, we know this year’s event will be even more exciting and help raise additional funds for the enrichment and support of our children.”

Also be on the look out for special guest judges. Among the judges at last year’s event were Iron Chef Jose Garces, Tony Luke of Tony Luke’s Steaks, and Phillies announcer Gary “The Sarge” Matthews.

In addition to a lot of delicious barbecue eats, the event also features family-friendly entertainment and appearances by Phillies alumni and the Phillie Phanatic. Maybe you can get the Phanatic to pose for a photo with you and one of his statues.

Stephen Starr-Garry Maddox Barbecue Challenge [Official Site]
Summer’s Set to Sizzle with BBQ Challenge [Phillies.com]
Philadelphia Phillies [Visit Philly]

Eastern State at Dusk, Photo courtesy Eastern State Penitentiary

Next weekend, Eastern State Penitentiary is hosting one of their classic Prison Break Weekends, commemorating some of the most famous prison breaks in American history.

A regular event at Eastern State, these special weekend-long odes-to-escapees feature actors recounting the 1945 tunnel escape, family friendly activities, educational exhibits and more!

All takes place Saturday and Sunday, August 7th and 8th. For more info on Eastern State, visit the historic prison’s official website.

Eastern State Penitentiary
22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 236-3300
www.easternstate.org

The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe is a beloved yearly institution in this city. It has a devoted following, so much so that I’ve known people who plan their annual vacation time around it in order to be able to catch more shows, performances and exhibitions.

If you’re one of these Live Arts & Fringe fans, you should mark your calendar for a new fundraiser, spearheaded by local restaurateurs Stephen Starr, Michael Solomonov and Audrey Claire Taichman, taking place this fall to benefit the joint festivals.

Called the Feastival, this benefit will feature food from Philly’s top restaurants and performances from some of the most cutting edge artists around. The event will take place on Wednesday, September 15th at the Festival Hub in Northern Liberties. Tickets are $200 for general admission and $300 for VIP passes.

To keep up to date with the Feastival happenings, make sure to follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

Henry V, Photo courtesy the Philly Shakespeare Theatre

You’d expect a free theatrical performance to be a one-day-only sort of deal. Not with the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre. This free production of Henry V runs for two weeks.

Tickets for this free show are on a first come, first serve basis, and will be dished out at the box office three hours before the curtain each day.

The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre only holds 122 seats at their intimate location off of 21st and Sansom, so get there early.

The free show runs from August 4th through August 15th. Enjoy!

Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre
2111 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-4406
(215) 496-9722
www.phillyshakespeare.org

Hungry customers waiting for burgers and shakes @ Square Burger in Franklin Square

SquareBurger’s shake of the month is a Strawberry Shortcake Shake.

Now really, that’s all the reason you need to head down to Franklin Square this Saturday, especially since its the last chance you’ll have to savor that delicious beverage.

However, the Historic Philadelphia park also happens to have a party going on… so I suppose that’s worth mentioning too.

Franklin Square is turning 4 this Saturday! The park is celebrating with free cake, live music, and arts & crafts activities for kids. In addition, Jell-O has signed on as a sponsor, and will be dishing out free samples from 10:30am to 3:30pm.

The party starts at 11am. Be there!

Franklin Square [ www.visitphilly.com ]

Photo by Samantha Lazar

Heads up history buffs, this week is your last chance to catch the Ancient Rome & America exhibit at the National Constitution Center.

Over the course of the exhibit’s run, I’ve sent several bloggers to scope it out. Check out James’ write up here, and Samantha’s (complete with some wonderful photographs) here.

The exclusive Philadelphia exhibit closes this Sunday, August 1st.

National Constitution Center
525 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 409-6700
www.constitutioncenter.org

The Gross Clinic (photos by M. McClellan for GPTMC)

Thomas Eakins is one of Philadelphia’s most beloved and acclaimed natives. He spent the bulk of his life living, studying and working right here in the city. Several years ago, when Thomas Jefferson University attempted to sell his most renowned work, The Gross Clinic, to an out of state buyer, art lovers from across the region leapt into action.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts were able to secure the funds to match the distant offer and now own jointly own the piece. It has undergone extensive cleaning and restoration and will be on display at the Perelman Building of the Philadelphia Museum of Art through January 9, 2011, in an exhibition called Seeing ‘The Gross Clinic’ Anew.

The exhibition include other works by Eakins, as well as artifacts from the 1876 American Centennial Exposition, where the work was originally shown. Most notably is The Agnew Clinic, a painting commissioned by medical graduates from the University of Pennsylvania to honor their professor, Dr. D. Hayes Agnew.

This piece was done 14 years after The Gross Clinic and allowed Eakins the opportunity to work on the largest canvas of his career. It is the first time that these two paintings have hung together in Philadelphia in nearly 80 years.

Next year, The Gross Clinic will move to Pafa, where it will become part of an exhibition designed to explore the relationship between Philadelphia’s arts and medical communities. That show is entitled Anatomy/Academy.

Special tickets are not required for Seeing ‘The Gross Clinic’ Anew. Admission is included in the museum’s general admission fee. To see more images from this exhibition, visit our Flickr set from the press preview.

The MMS Gallery is a new project that aims to showcase creativity provided by everyday people, whether they consider themselves actual artists or not.

And they’re doing it initially with more than 1,000 photo submissions taken with cell phone cameras.

The Gallery’s Mission:

“Perceptions of art are evolving. We believe in making art attainable.

As mobile technology continues to evolve, so does the medium’s relevance in the art world. Some would consider it a travesty to consider the mobile phone as a means to create art. We celebrate it.

Moments that were once overlooked or bypassed because a person didn’t have a camera, can now be captured and shared because of emergence of phone technology. It’s these moments that nurture relevance regardless of whether the person who captured it considers themselves to be an artist.”

MMS Gallery is hosting an opening party tonight, sponsored by Sly Fox and Di Bruno Bros.

You can preview some of the submissions on their Flickr page.

The MMS Gallery Opening Gallery Show
Friday, July 23, 6-9pm
1000 N. Hancock Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Sponsors: O3 World, DiBruno Bros, Sly Fox, Tiger Printing