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College football is officially back in action in Philadelphia!

For the third consecutive year, Lincoln Financial Field will host the region’s fastest-growing college sports rivalry when Temple and Villanova square off during the third annual Mayor’s Cup on Thursday, September 1.

Thursday’s game is the series’ rubber match after Temple avenged their 2009 loss to Villanova in an exciting finish last year that saw the Owls score nine points in the last three seconds.

Both schools are returning from winning seasons and would love to take the upper-hand in this series, so this year’s game should be another one to remember.

The two rivals have a storied history beyond the Mayor’s Cup, facing each other 30 times throughout the years, including Temple’s first ever game at it’s current home, Lincoln Financial Field. All time, Nova holds a 16-12-2 series advantage.

The 2011 Mayor’s Cup will be the season opener for both schools and fans’ first opportunity to see their teams compete in real game action. Currently, the weather forecast for Thursday night calls for clear skies, a perfect opportunity for tailgaiting!

Tickets are on sale now and available at ticketmaster.com.

The 2011 Mayor’s Cup – Temple vs. Villanova
When: Thursday, September 1, 7 p.m.
Where: Lincoln Financial Field
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com

Enter for your chance to win exclusive VIP access to the Popped! Music Festival in FDR Park. (Photo credits: top by M. Kennedy for GPTMC, bottom left by R. Kennedy for GPTMC)

UPDATE: Due to forecasted weather conditions and possible flooding at FDR Park, the Popped Music Festival has been moved to Temple’s Liacouras Center. The Food Bazaar will now take place at the Piazza from 3-9 p.m. on Saturday. More info here.

The annual Popped! Music Festival heads to FDR Park for two days of music, food and fun, September 23-24, and we’re giving away VIP tickets!

More than 30 acts will take the stage over the course of two-days, including acts like The Shins, Foster the People, The Roots’ Black Thought and many more artists, spanning several genres of music. This year’s festival is not just about the music, the Popped! Food Bazaar, curated in part by Philly Homegrown, is an outdoor community food celebration offering a selection of Philadelphia food and drink as eclectic as the musical lineup.

Excited yet? Well, we’ve got good news: we’re giving you the chance to attend the entire two-day festival in style with free VIP passes (valued at $200 each).

One lucky Grand Prize winner will receive:

• Two VIP, 2-Day passes to Popped! Music Festival

The VIP experience includes access to:

• A VIP lounge with shade, seating and more
• Special VIP food concessions; including the debut of ?uestlove’s Korean/soul food inspired “The ? Drumstick”
• Special beer and wine services.

We’re also giving away a first place prize to one lucky winner and a friend.

One First Prize winner will receive:

• Two General Admission, 1-Day Passes to Popped! Music Festival

Not bad, huh?

The contest runs through September 15, and you may enter once per day, per e-mail address — so remember to return daily. Click here for the official rules. Good luck!

POPPED! Music Festival
When: Friday, September 23 at 2 p.m.-Saturday, September 24 at 10 p.m.; Food Bazaar Saturday, 3-9 p.m. at the Piazza at Schmidts
Where: NEW LOCATION: Temple’s Liacouras Center, 1776 N. Broad Street
Cost: 1-day passes start at $59.50
More info: www.poppedphiladelphia.org

The contest period has ended. We will contact the winners soon.

Companies like Miro Dance Theatre take to train track underpasses, graveyards, street corners, art galleries and more unusual locations for Fringe performances. (Photo © Matthew Hollerbush for Fringe Festival)

The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe is now just a matter of days away, and we want to make sure you’re fully prepared for the 16 days of artistic madness.

We’ve been helping you out with a series of guides to events, plus spotlights on some of our particular favorites, to assist you in choosing what to attend.

First up was our guide to free events. Second, family-friendly performances. Third, our guide to international artists’ shows.

Now, we’ve cherry-picked the best of the quirkiest Fringe shows in terms of locale, an aspect which lends the Fringe much of its whimsy.

Our top picks for Fringe performances in unusual locations, in order by date:

• Dancing Dead: September 2-17, Sub-Basement at 444 Lofts, 444 N. 4th Street. It’s the latest dance-theater work from Brian Sanders. Last year’s Sanctuary was described by the Inquirer as “nonstop, exhilarating, wondering-what’s-next action.” This year, Sanders goes underground. Expect a tractor, bodies, grass, dirt, digging, stone, grit, ash, John Denver, ten dead, darkness, candlelight, dancing and more.

• Bodies of Text III: September 3, 4 and 7 p.m. Shows start at Clark Park, Corner of Woodland Avenue and 43rd Street. Bodies of Text is rooted in the French idea of “Art à la Rue,” bringing art to the street in West Philadelphia. Stone Depot Dance Lab and Melissa Diane interpret artist books by Center for the Book artists in collaborative outdoor dance performances. Performances are accompanied by exhibits of artist books.

• We the People: September 4-5, 2, 2:30 and 3 p.m. Washington Square Park, 210 W. Washington Square. Traveling through Washington Square Park where hundreds of Revolutionary War soldiers rest, this dance piece reflects on political polarization and the struggle for democratic ideals. Game-like improvisation moves between conflict and cooperation, making creative use of the terrain and including some optional audience participation. The event is free but donations are welcome.

More, below.

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Gunners Run at the Piazza at Schmidts will host a special fundraising event benefiting New Leash on Life USA, a new generation dog-training program, on September 1 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

The event, aptly titled “Dog Days of Summer,” will feature a load of fun dog-centric activities including a Puppy Kissing Booth, a 50/50 Raffle and Chinese Auction.

Awesome food and drink specials will be provided by Gunners Run with a portion of the proceeds benefiting New Leash on Life. Choose from any of the following drink/food combos for only $5:

• 1 pint of Allagash & the Trio of Bean Spread
• 1 pint of Victory Lager & Buffalo Wings
• 1 pint of Victory Summer Love & Quesadillas

Naturally at an event such as this, you’re encouraged to bring your pooch! Gunners Run is a dog-friendly establishment that offers, believe it or not, a menu of assorted dog foods.

New Leash on Life is a non-profit whose mission is to improve the lives of prison inmates and save the lives of dogs. The program’s goal is to train and socialize the dogs in order to enhance their adoptability, while helping inmates learn to train and care for dogs. The shelter dogs become well trained, healthy, and available for adoption and inmates learn a sense of responsibility and unconditional love by caring for the canines.

Come out to Gunners Run on September 1 to help out man and his best friend.

“Dog Days of Summer” at Gunners Run
Where: 1001 N. 2nd Street
When: Thursday, September 1, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Cost: Pay as you go
More info: www.gunnersrun.com

Fall has almost fallen; the scarecrow festivities at Peddler's Village are one of the most highly anticipated events of the season. (Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC)

Peddler’s Village, located in charming Bucks County, offers fine dining, boutique shopping, gourmet delights and artful galleries. The village also holds several super popular annual festivals: the Strawberry Festival in spring, the Christmas Lighting in early winter and the Scarecrow Festival in the fall, coming up on September 17-18.

The 33rd Annual Scarecrow Display commences on September 5, and runs through Halloween. Starting September 5, Peddler’s Village will be adorned with more than 100 creative scarecrows, all vying for the top prize, which will be awarded October 30.

Though the scarecrows will be on display for two months, the fun really gets underway the weekend of September 17-18 with the official Scarecrow Festival. Special events and attractions, such as pumpkin painting, live music, scarecrow making, children’s activities and pie eating contests, encourage families to enjoy fall to the fullest extent. The whole festival calendar is online.

Peddler’s Village is an easy hour drive from Philadelphia; don’t miss out on this hotly anticipated annual event!

Peddler’s Village Scarecrow Festival
Where: Peddler’s Village Road (Routes 202 and 263), Lahaska
When: Saturday, September 17-Sunday, September 18, 10 a.m.06 p.m.
Cost: Free
More info: www.peddlersvillage.com

Obie Award-winning Pig Iron Theatre Company is bringing its quintessential physical quirkiness to a Shakespearean classic with Twelfth Night, Or What You Will, on stage at the venerable Suzanne Roberts Theatre from September 1-17.

The show welcomes you to an “uproarious world of drunkards and wine-drenched parties, depressive noblemen and dueling musicians, idiots and veteran jesters, religious zealots and erotic misunderstandings, all set to a live gypsy-rock score.”

The show breathes new life into one of Shakespeare’s ancient manuscripts, while still respecting the quality of the work. It’s absurd, it’s heartfelt, it’s wicked, it’s alive.

The New York Times itself calls Pig Iron “one of the few groups successfully taking theatre in new directions.” You don’t want to miss this one.

Tickets are available online.

Pig Iron Theatre Company’s Twelfth Night, Or What You Will for the Philly Fringe Festival
When: September 1-17
Where: Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad Street
Cost: Tickets start at $15
More info: www.pigiron.org

Indulge in an evening of delicious beer and cheese at Jose Garces' chic Washington Square West eatery. (Photo courtesy Garces Trading Company)

Join the Garces Trading Company experts on Tuesday, September 6 for another great beer and cheese class, this one locally sourced.

The event costs $65, plus tax and gratuity, and is limited to only 12 students, so it’s sure to be an intimate experience.

You’ll enjoy four courses of luscious, creamy cheese paired with delicious local beers, from breweries like Sly Fox and Stoudt’s. Each course comes with tasty bites as well, like chocolate hazelnut crepes and house-made pastrami reubens.

Garces Trading Company is an all-in-one culinary destination and wine boutique, boasting some of the freshest cheese in the city. You’ll be in good hands.

Make reservations by calling (215) 574-1099.

Full menu, below.

Garces Trading Company Beer & Cheese Class
Where: 1111 Locust Street
When: Tuesday, September 6, 6:30 p.m.
Cost: $65
More info: www.garcestradingcompany.com

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Tryst, the chic new cocktail lounge version of Bar Lyonnais, is officially open.
(Photo courtesy Le Bec-Fin)

What was, until recently, Bar Lyonnais, is now Tryst, a bar in its own right serving modern French fare in the underbelly of Georges Perrier’s classic Le Bec-Fin.

Chef-partner Nicholas Elmi will dish up a small plates menu priced from $5-$21. There will be nine beers on tap, and a European-dominated wine list.

The Tryst menu will include truffle and foie gras arancini, jumbo lump crab cocktail with mustard and malt vinegar and other plates alongside Le Bec’s signature caviar. That’s in addition to small bites like spiced nuts and homemade baby pickles.

There will also be house-made patisseries, from a delectable grand marnier souffle, to wicked creme brulee. You can order a single dessert for $6 or a a three-piece-sampler for $12.

It’s the perfect spot to soak up all the French swank you wish, but for a fraction of the usual (albeit, worth it) cost.

The full menu is below.

Tryst
1523 Walnut Street
www.trystlebar.com

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The Prince Music Theater stage is due for one of its most unusual performances yet. (Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC)

Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental theater company presents WHaLE OPTICS for the Philly Fringe Festival, directed and designed by the acclaimed Thaddeus Phillips.

The show is billed as “a mysterious theatrical epic that connects worldwide communications systems, humpback whale songs, Carl Sagan and dinner at Applebee’s.” Sounds pretty Fringe-y to us.

To wit: “It’s a big, epic piece,” he told Philadelphia Magazine back in March.

Audiences sit on both sides of a long stage the size of a humpback whale. At either end is a mini proscenium, with the action moving between them. As objects float above and in front of them, and sound swirls around and beneath them, audience members will experience intimate contact with a major theatrical spectacle.

Tickets are available online.

WHaLE OPTICS at the Philly Fringe Festival
Where: Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut Street
When: September 1-11
Cost: $30
More info: www.ticketing.theatrealliance.org

Save this date: tickets go on sale this Monday, August 29 at 10 a.m. for a one-time, can’t-miss hilarious performance of Jerry Seinfeld stand-up in Philadelphia.

He’ll be on stage at the Academy of Music on Saturday, January 14 with two shows, 7 and 9:30 p.m. He’s making a special Philadelphia stop on a national 2012 tour. And you do not want to miss it.

Seinfeld was recently hailed as “the master stand-up comic of his generation” by the Washington Post.

He’s actually shown Philadelphia love multiple times recently, including directing Colin Quinn in the popular Broadway show Long Story Short which appeared at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre; and headlining the grand opening of the National Museum of American Jewish History last November.

Tickets for Jerry Seinfeld range from $65 to $80, and you can reserve your seat by calling (215) 893-1999, stopping by the Kimmel Center box office, which is open daily from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., or heading online.

Jerry Seinfeld at the Academy of Music
Where: 1420 Locust Street
When: Saturday, January 14, 7 and 9:30 p.m.
Cost: Tickets range from $65 to $80
More info: www.kimmelcenter.org