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The Ibrahim Theater will screen more than 20 films over three days. (Photo courtesy International House)

In the 1960s, Andy Warhol’s iconic paintings of classic American products such as Campbell’s Soup cans and Marilyn Monroe sparked the U.S. craze over Pop Art, a British- and North American-born movement that interpreted the culture of mass consumption.

But Pop Art went beyond paintings and spilled into film — an exciting but little known fact explored by Pop Cinema, a first-of-its-kind program held at International House from April 28–30.

International House’s three-night cinema series prides itself on being the first to give Pop Film its due as a genre, showing an array of movies made by and about the artists who created Pop Art from the 1950s to the 1970s. Expect the kitsch and irony of Pop Art paintings, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the Pop Art movement during its development.

• April 28: The series kicks off with a focus on U.K. Pop Film, including the Ken Russell documentary “Pop Goes The Easel” and Lindsey Anderson’s “O, Dreamland.” 7pm. $8; $6 students and seniors.

• April 29: American films take the spotlight, including George and Mike Kuchar’s “I Was a Teenage Rumpot” and Stan VanDerBeek’s “Achoo Mr. Karrochev.” 7pm. $8; $6 students and seniors.

• April 30: Attend an expert-led panel discussion at 2 p.m. (free), followed by a showing of the feature-length film “Daddy” by Peter Whitehead and Niki de Saint Phalle at 7 p.m ($8; $6 students and seniors).

Insider tip: for modern-day Pop Art with local ties, also check out Philadelphia’s own John Stango. The artist’s paintings and specially priced silkscreen prints depicting icons such as Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” are for sale at the Center City gallery Absolute Abstract.

Discounted tickets to all three film nights can also be purchased for $20; $15 students and seniors. All tickets are available online.

Pop Cinema: Art and Film in the UK and US, 1950s–1970s
When: April 28-30
Where: International House, 3701 Chestnut Street
More info: www.ihousephilly.org

Don your British royal best for Royal Wedding celebrations at the Rittenhouse Hotel and Four Seasons. (Photo courtesy Rittenhouse Hotel)

In honor of Prince William’s pending nuptials to Kate Middleton, The Rittenhouse Hotel, Four Seasons Hotel and Davio’s Steakhouse are offering special ways to celebrate.

For starters, you can watch the ceremony live next Friday, April 29 at 5:30 a.m. in the Rittenhouse Hotel’s ballroom, which will host a Royal Wedding English Breakfast complete with crumpets, grilled tomatoes, English sausages, bacon, eggs and much more ($25). Because of the overwhelming amount of reservations, the event moved from Lacroix Restaurant to the ballroom, so it’s sure to be a fun-filled celebration, complete with people dressed as Beefeaters (the British guards).

Fun fact: Philadelphia’s Honorary British Consul Oliver St. Clair Franklin, O.B.E., just returned from Buckingham Palace, bringing greetings and best wishes from the royals whom he told about the Rittenhouse Hotel event. A pretty big deal!

In addition, the Four Seasons is offering multiple celebration options. The Swann Lounge is hosting a kid-friendly Royal Wedding Prince and Princess Afternoon Tea, 4-7 p.m. This family tea will include a taped broadcast of the wedding festivities and an English-inspired menu including Battenburg Sponge Marzipan Cake, Chocolate Cream Eclairs, Lemon Meringue Tartlets and more. For the real deal that morning (5:30 a.m.), adults can dress in their British wedding best for the Four Seasons’ English breakfast buffet and Royal Wedding viewing party ($50). Plus, Pastry Chef Eddie Hales has made a version of Prince Williams’ Grooms Cake (chocolate, biscuits, fruit and nuts).

Lastly, Davio’s is celebrating the nuptials with Pastry Chef Thomas Heck’s specially crafted Royal Dessert which will be available from the day of the royal wedding to the end of May (think bittersweet dark chocolate, McVities biscuits, almonds, currants and glazed cherries all covered in ganache).

Royal Wedding Viewing Parties
Where: Rittenhouse Hotel (210 W. Rittenhouse Square) and Four Seasons Hotel (1 Logan Square)
When: Friday, April 29, 5:30 a.m. or 4-7 p.m.
Cost: Varies (see above)
More info: www.rittenhousehotel.com; www.fourseasons.com

Previously: The Rittenhouse Hotel Pays Tribute To The Royal Wedding With Special Afternoon Teas, Plus Watch The April 29 Ceremony Live

Check out the litter critters, installed throughout the South Street Headhouse District.
(Photo courtesy Mural Arts)

In honor of Earth Month, Mural Arts’ Big Picture art education program has made recycling and proper trash disposal more inspiring than ever.

In 2009-2010, as part of a city-wide initiative to reduce litter, the city rolled out 1,000 super efficient BigBelly solar-powered compacting trash cans that double as recycling bins. The BigBellies only need to be emptied once a day, unlike standard trash cans, plus they’ve helped the city reach an incredible recycling rate of more than 20 tons per day.

Starting in October 2010, Big Picture artists Ben Woodward and Thom Lessner, and their students, got their hands on some of the city’s BigBelly cans. They’ve decorated 50 BigBellies with impossible-to-miss fluorescent graphic vinyl wraps, turning each bin into playful “litter critters” that provide both kids and grownups with a fun incentive to properly dispose of their garbage.

Lessner and Woodward helped students imagine how they’d design their three-dimensional creatures using two-dimensional drawings. The final designs are almost entirely kid-created!

The installations can be seen along Headhouse Square and up South Street from 2nd to 10th Street.

The litter critters are an extension of Mural Arts’ Design in Motion recycling truck project completed in April 2010, wherein 20 city recycling trucks were decorated with artwork created by Big Picture students in response to their study of textiles; each vinyl wrap features elements drawn from The Design Center’s textile collection.

Stop by Headhouse Square on April 27 from 4-5 p.m. as Mural Arts officially dedicates the litter critters.

Mural Arts Litter Critters [Mural Arts]

Leafy green vegetables (photo by M. McClellan for GPTMC)

If you’ve ever come across the blog Ideas in Food, you’ll be familiar with the work that the chef/author team of Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot do. They experiment with emerging food technologies in order to create new ways to prepare some of the most common dishes and ingredients. Recent updates on their blog include fried risotto crisps, slowly cooked egg whites (I’m certain it’s better than it sounds) and Grilled Yogurt.

In addition to their blog, they recently published a book of the same name and run a culinary consulting business based out in Levittown, PA. In two weeks, their bringing their innovative show to Philadelphia. On Monday, May 2, they’ll be teaching two classes at Le Bec-Fin. The first class will focus on Hydrocolloids. Those are food additives that have the ability to change the consistency of food (common examples include gelatin, agar agar and pectin). That class runs from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

The second class will focus on ACTIVA. It’s a substance that helps bond proteins together and is frequently used commercially in the production of hot dogs and imitation crab meat. Aki and Alex will show their students how it can have applications in home kitchens and can improve the texture of such items as handmade pasta and yogurt. This class runs from 1:30 – 4 p.m. Both classes cost $100 per person and the fee must be paid with cash or check. To sign up call (215) 567-1000.

If you’re not free to take these classes, you still have an opportunity to try food prepared by these two inventive chefs. Le Bec-Fin is offering a nine-course tasting menu on Tuesday, May 3rd for $95 (plus tax and gratuity). Reservations are available between 5:30 – 6:15 pm. The menu for that evening is after the jump.

Ideas in Food Classes and Tasting Menu
Where: Le Bec-Fin
When: Monday, May 2 and Tuesday, May 3
Cost: $95-100
More info: blog.ideasinfood.com
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Philadanco is celebrated across the nation for its innovation, creativity and preservation of African-American traditions in dance. (Photo courtesy Philadanco)

On stage at the Perelman Theater in the Kimmel Center from May 6-8, Philadanco presents its spring performance including the Philadelphia premiere of acclaimed choreographer Ray Mercer’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, a whirling dance piece based on the controversial 1967 movie of the same name that shed light on interracial marriage.

This powerful piece features a large table center stage that adds dynamic levels. After the performance on May 6, Philadanco will host an Artist Chat moderated by Joan Myers Brown, the founder of The Philadelphia Dance Company (a.k.a Philadanco) and The Philadelphia School of Dance Arts.

The program also includes Milton Myers’s Violin Concerto, Christopher Huggins’ Cottonwool and Rennie Harris’ Philadelphia Experiment.

Philadanco is a nonprofit dance organization that is known nationally for its innovation and commitment to celebrating African American traditions in dance. New York Magazine calls Philadanco’s style “fierce and sensuous by turns” and “elegant and ingratiating.” Don’t miss them live at the Kimmel Center!

Tickets are available online.

Philadanco’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
When: May 6-8
Where: Kimmel Center
Cost: Tickets range from $34-$46
More info: www.kimmelcenter.org

 
The Philadelphia Flyers return home tonight for Game Five of their first round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres, which is tied 2-2 after they split two games in Buffalo. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Appropriately enough, on last night’s episode of 30 Rock, Jack Donaghy tries to get on his new boss’s good side by wearing a Flyers tie. (In the show, Kabletown from Philadelphia, now owns NBC.) The ingratiating tactic kind of works. Clip is above.

If you’re going to the game tonight, be advised that there will be a giant outdoor Bud Light Playoff Block Party outside the Wells Fargo Center on the 11th street side starting at 4:30. Tickets for the game are required for entry into the Block Party.

And if you’re not going to the game, you can watch it on Comcast Sportsnet.

Philadelphia Flyers [Official Site]

PIFA is going strong day and night all weekend long.
(Photo by E. Taylor courtesy Kimmel Center)

What with PIFA and the Philadelphia Science Festival still going strong, plus lots of Philadelphia sports and a gorgeous new springtime exhibition at Longwood Gardens, you won’t be at a loss for what to do this weekend.

Fill up at foodie events like the Four Seasons Chocolate Class and Seafood 101 at Oyster House, and save room for Wolfgang Puck’s Italian food at the Penn Museum’s Gladiator Day.

The rest of our picks for the weekend, below:

Friday, April 22

Earth Day: our guide to where to celebrate

Flyers vs. Sabres, 7:30 p.m.

Phillies vs. Padres, 10:05 p.m.

Art After 5: Philadelphia Freedom Jazz Orchestra at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre’s Hamlet

Seine-suous Strings at Woodmere Art Museum **PIFA

Trees, Glorious Trees at Longwood Gardens — Opening Day!

“PIFA After Dark” at the Kimmel Center’s Commonwealth Plaza **PIFA

Plays & Players PIFA New Play Festival **PIFA

Saturday, April 23

Fishtown Shad Fest

“Gladiator Day” at the Penn Museum

So Percussion’s Imaginary City at the Kimmel Center **PIFA

Four Seasons Chocolate Class

Seafood 101 at Oyster House

Phillies vs. Padres, 8:35 p.m.

“How ‘ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree?” at PAFA **PIFA

Memphis Taproom’s Beer Garden and Hot Dog Truck Official Opening

Sunday, April 24

Easter Egg Hunt at the Kimmel Center **PIFA

Local dining options for Easter and Passover

Sixers vs. Heat, 1 p.m.

South Street Headhouse District’s 80th Annual Easter Parade

Drawn To The Water at the Independence Seaport Museum

Spies, Traitors And Saboteurs Spring Break Programming at the National Constitution Center

Phillies vs. Padres, 4:05 p.m.

Wanamaker’s Pursuit at the Arden Theatre

Paris Through The Window: Marc Chagall And His Circle at the Perelman Building **PIFA

Proliferation of the Imagination at the Wilma Theater — Closing Day!

Philadelphia added 150,000 square feet of green roofs in 2010, helping it climb four spots in the annual Top 10 U.S. city list.
(Photo of the Free Library's green roof courtesy the Mayor's Office of Sustainability)

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), a national non-profit promoting the green roof industry, has announced the results of its 2011 Annual Industry Survey of Corporate Members which found that green roofs grew by 28.5% over the course of 2010, up significantly from 16% growth recorded in 2009; plus, Philadelphia came in at #4 on the annual list of top 10 U.S. Green Roof Cities.

Our favorite quote, from Steven W. Peck, Founder and President of GRHC:

“Government investment in green roofs for their stormwater, air quality, green space and city cooling benefits largely fuels the growth of our industry. Cities such as Chicago, Washington, New York, Portland, Seattle and Philadelphia continue to lead the way with incentives and regulations that recognize the many benefits from green roofs, including much needed green jobs in their communities.”

Notable green roofs in Philadelphia include the Free Library (seen above), PECO headquarters, the Comcast Center, Friends Center of Philadelphia and Morris Arboretum’s Horticulture Center.

Note: PECO and the Philadelphia Horticultural Society have teamed up to once again offer tours of PECO’s giant “living roof” on the third Tuesday of every month at 5 p.m. starting in April and ending in October. The fee is $5 for Pennsylvania Horticultural Society members and $10 for nonmembers. Space is limited and pre-registration at least two business days before the tour is required.

Read the full survey report here (PDF).

Happy Earth Day — keep up the great green work, Philadelphia!

Green Roof Industry Grows 28.5 Percent in 2010 [Green Roofs For Healthy Cities]
Green Buildings Philadelphia [Mayor's Office of Sustainability]

SundayOUT! at the Piazza at Schmidts is the region’s largest LGBT street festival, just one of a jam-packed week's worth of Equality Forum events. (Photo courtesy Equality Forum)

The 19th annual Equality Forum, the largest national and international LGBT civil rights summit, returns in Philadelphia beginning April 25, featuring a week’s worth of parties, discussions and special programs designed to promote LGBT civil rights.

There are 25 panels, 9 parties and 7 special events on the docket.

Some highlights:

• International Equality Dinner: Saturday, April 30, 7-10 p.m. $200. National Constitution Center. The event honors Lt. Dan Choi and Patrick Murphy with the 16th annual International Role Model Award, and Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants with the 9th annual International Business Leadership Award.

• SundayOUT! at The Piazza at Schmidts: Sunday, May 1, noon-7 p.m. $10 adults, $5 students. This is the entire region’s largest LGBT street festival. More than 150 vendors, artisans, galleries, bars, boutiques, cafés and restaurants fill this Italian inspired open-air plaza. SundayOUT! includes music, live entertainment, SundayOUT! Drag Brunch at Darling’s Diner, RETRO Party and SundayOUT! Absolut Tea Dance.

• Zane Booker Dance Tribute: Friday, April 29, 7 p.m. $5 students, $10 general admission. The Merriam Theater. Dancers from The University of the Arts perform locally bred Booker’s work (he’s also artist-in-residence with Philadanco), a master dancer/choreographer who has danced with and choreographed for leading companies in the U.S and Europe.

• 12th Annual Gay & Lesbian Art Exhibit: April 25-May 1. FREE. The University of the Arts. Click here for the rundown on artists exhibiting all week long.

A comprehensive schedule of events is available online.

Equality Forum
When: April 25-May 1
Where: Sites throughout the city
Cost: Varies
More info: www.equalityforum.com

Try Chef Solomonov's award-winning food yourself; Zahav's special Passover menu is available through Tuesday. (Photo by M. Regan courtesy Zahav)

This past Monday, President and Mrs. Obama hosted a special White House Passover seder, the menu for which was comprised of recipes from eight Jewish chefs around the country including Philadelphia’s own Michael Solomonov.

Chef Solomonov provided his Carrot and Apple Salad with Pine Nuts recipe, a dish deemed “healthy” and “satisfying,” worthy of the Obama seder. The dinner is a tradition that started in Pennsylvania in 2008, when after a long day on the campaign trail then-Senator Obama gathered a group of staffers — Jewish and non-Jewish alike — for an impromptu seder.

Dishes similar to this one are available as part of Zahav’s Passover Feast prix-fixe menu, available now through April 26. Solomonov also makes fresh matzoh in Zahav’s wood burning oven to use as an accompaniment for an assortment of salads.

Whip up the chef’s Carrot and Apple Salad with Pine Nuts yourself, with the recipe below. And click here for the rest of the dishes served on the Obama seder menu.

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