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WHYY, in partnership with the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC), is celebrating Philadelphia’s arts and culture with a free two-day festival September 2 and 3 at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing.

The WHYY Connections Festival kicks off Friday evening with a preview screening of renowned documentary filmmaker Ken Burns’ latest film, Prohibition, which doesn’t air on PBS until October 2.

Accompanying the film will be live prohibition-era jazz by The Hot Club of Philadelphia, in addition to remarks from Prohibition co-director Lynn Novick.

On Saturday, WHYY and DRWC will host a concert headlined by Philadelphia indie-rock band Dr. Dog. Rounding out the concert lineup will be The Baseball Project, featuring R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck; Scott McCaughey of the Minus 5 and the Young Fresh Fellows; Steve Wynn of Dream Syndicate and Gutterball; and Linda Pitmon of Miracle Three and Golden Smog. Also performing will be hip-hop artist Kuf Knotz; singer-songwriter Birdie Busch; and roots-rockabilly group Toy Soldiers.

The concert will also feature live dance, painting and other art demos. Kids don’t miss out either; the Y Kids Club, open 3-6 p.m. on Saturday, will feature kid-friendly music and yoga lessons, a meet-and-greet with The Cat In the Hat and Clifford the Big Red Dog and balloon crafting.

Bonus: following the concert on Saturday, guests are invited to Yards Brewing Company for the official WHYY Connections Festival after-party!

Help celebrate the high-gloss creative scene in Philadelphia at this first-time (hopefully of many) celebration.

WHYY Connections Festival
When: September 2 and 3
Where: Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing
Cost: Free
More info: www.whyy.org/connectionsfestival

New York-based REV Theatre Company presents a particularly eerie 2011 Philly Fringe Festival production: Carthaginians, written by world-renowned Irish playwright Frank McGuinness.

The story is set in a cemetery in Derry, Northern Ireland, where three women gather to wait for a miracle: that their deceased loved ones will rise from the dead.

Fittingly, the show is staged in Philadelphia’s Laurel Hill Cemetery, surely making for a particularly hair-raising performance.

Even more spooky, the characters in Carthaginians are all survivors of the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre in which 14 unarmed Irish protestors were killed by British soldiers stationed in Derry.

Bring chairs and blankets. Tickets are available online.

REV Theatre Company’s Carthaginians for the Philly Fringe Festival
When: September 16 and 17, 6 p.m. (rain date September 18)
Where: Laurel Hill Cemetery, 3822 Ridge Avenue
Cost: $20
More info: www.thelaurelhillcemetery.org

Live outdoor concerts on the lawn are a summer staple; don't miss out on these last two in University City.
(Photo courtesy University City District)

Mark your calendar for the final two 40th Street University City District Summer Series concerts: Saturday, August 27 and Saturday, September 24.

Having kicked off in June with an intergalactic jazz journey thanks to Philadelphia’s Sun Ra Arkestra, the Summer Series is free and held on the green space behind the Walnut Street Free Library at 40th and Walnut Streets.

The final two concerts in the lineup:

• Saturday, August 27, 6 p.m.: Vieux Farka Touré + Kyo Daiko. Vieux is a Malian singer/guitarist and son of Grammy-winning Malian musician Ali Farka Touré, one of the trailblazers of African music. Opening the event will be a heart-pounding performance from Kyo Daiko, Philadelphia’s only Japanese-style drumming crew.

• Saturday, September 24, 6 p.m.: Billy Martin & Friends + Jay Sand. T dynamic percussionist Billy Martin of Medeski Martin and Wood, one of the most popular modern instrumental ensembles that have performed to packed houses from Budokan to Bonnaroo, will be joined by Philadelphia’s Jay Sand, opening with a kid-friendly performance focused on global music and movement.

Bonus: complimentary (first come, first served) Rita’s Water Ice is given out during the performances.

UPDATE: August 27 concert cancelled due to inclement weather.

40th Street Summer Series
When: August 27 And September 24, 6-8 p.m.
Where: 40th and Walnut Streets
Cost: Free
More info: www.universitycity.org

Previously: University City District Presents The 40th Street Summer Series, Free Outdoor Concerts On Fourth Saturdays All Summer Long

Exciting news! We’re giving away two tickets to Feastival — presented by Stephen Starr, Michael Solomonov and Audrey Claire Taichman.

Feastival, now in its second year, is a star-studded gala featuring breathtaking performances and a feast of culinary samplings from the city’s top chefs, with the proceeds benefiting the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe. Philly’s best chefs will be there and we’re giving away two tickets to one lucky winner, valued at $250 each.

It’s going to be an incredible evening that you won’t want to miss, so remember to return daily to increase your odds of winning!

For more information, check out our event preview post.

The contest runs through September 6, 2011 and you may submit one entry per day per email address for the duration of the sweepstakes.

Click here for the Official Rules.

Feastival 2011
When: Wednesday, September 14, 6-9 p.m.
Where: Pier 9, 121 N. Columbus Boulevard
Cost: $250-350
More info: www.phillyfeastival.com

Enter below for your chance to win.

The contest period has ended.

Claes Oldenburg's Paint Torch will be the crowning design feature of PAFA's new Lenfest Plaza, opening to the public on October 1 with a full day of festivities. (Photo by Sean Tucker courtesy PAFA)

It’s here! The Paint Torch sculpture, the crowning design element of PAFA’s Lenfest Plaza, made by renowned sculptor Claes Oldenburg, arrived in town this weekend and was installed this past Saturday, August 20.

The 51-foot Paint Torch sculpture was shipped to Philly via truck beds, piece by piece. (Photo by Sean Tucker courtesy PAFA)

The piece is Oldenburg’s first large-scale work to incorporate light sources, and it makes Philadelphia home to four large-scale public sculptures by Oldenburg, more than any other city in the whole world.

Oldenburg titled the work Paint Torch in order to merge two ideas in this project: the paintbrush and the torch. He stated that the paintbrush is a good fit for PAFA to “celebrate a place where painting with a brush is really practiced.”

See below for more images.

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Theatre Exile will launch their 2011/2012 season with the Philadelphia premiere of The Aliens by one of America’s fastest rising playwright stars, Annie Baker.

The three-man play is set on a summer night behind a coffee shop, where two ex-band members lure a lonely teenager into their world of alienation (hence, the show title).

Winner of the 2010 Obie Award for Best American Play, the New York Times hailed The Aliens as “a gentle and extraordinarily beautiful new play.”

The show runs during the Philly Fringe Festival at Exile’s intimate Studio X.

Tickets are available online.

Theatre Exile’s The Aliens
Where: Studio X, 1340 S. 13th Street
When: September 1-18
Cost: $20
More info: www.theatreexile.org

Swing into the Philadelphia Zoo this weekend for a two-day celebration of all things ape. (Photo courtesy Philadelphia Zoo)

The Philadelphia Zoo is teaming up with PECO to host “Primate Jungle Days” this weekend, August 27-28, two days of animal-themed, family-friendly fun.

Guests can swing into PECO Primate Reserve and meet some of the zoo’s most fascinating primates. In addition, Jungle Days will feature primate talks, training demonstrations, a gorilla feeding, arts and more.

Games include “matching the primate habitat” and “Pin the Tail on the primate,” plus you can craft Aye-Aye masks, monkey door hangers, get a PECO temporary tattoo and more. You’ll also hear from representatives from PECO about energy efficiency tips, something the zoo takes very seriously.

Remember, too, that the zoo just unveiled its latest exhibit, Treetop Trail, a system of elevated passageways and lookouts situated among the zoo’s treetops for primates to travel and explore.

The weekend fun is free with zoo admission!

PECO Primate Jungle Days at the Philadelphia Zoo
Where: 3400 W. Girard Avenue
When: August 27-28, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Cost: Free with zoo admission; Adults $18, Kids 2-11 $15, Kids under 2 Free
More info: www.philadelphiazoo.org

Movement Brigade will revive its sold-out 2010 Fringe show CONSTANTS this year, performed Wednesday, August 24 through Sunday, September 4.

The show is “a performance journey in history along the Schuylkill River,” an interactive piece exploring how the Schuylkill has been a constant factor in the lives of Philadelphians since the inception of the city.

Audience members travel with performers on land and in canoes, witnessing first-hand stories from the river’s past. You’ll experience the Lenape People’s Story of the Four Crows, become immersed in the history of Philadelphia’s drinking water, meet a runaway slave traveling along the Underground Railroad, see the Shadfish’s story of renewal and more.

CONSTANTS brings life to hidden histories from the river’s past. Crafted with the fusion of dance, music, theater and sculpture, the performance is one not to be missed.

Get tickets online.

CONSTANTS at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival
When: August 24-September 4, 8:15 and 10:30 p.m. on select nights
Where: The show begins at the Green Boat House Parking Lot, just south of Black Road and West River Drive in West Fairmount Park
Cost: $20 for weekend, $15 for weekday and 10:30 p.m. shows
More info: www.movementbrigade.org

Cyclists of all skill levels can engage in Bike Philly, a once-a-year opportunity to see Philadelphia as it would appear if the streets belonged to bikes. (Photos courtesy Bike Philly)

Bike Philly, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s annual community bike ride, returns Sunday, September 11.

Bike Philly is Philadelphia’s largest annual bicycle ride, a family-friendly morning of relaxed biking on car-free city streets. You can opt for a 10- or 20-mile loop of car-free trails, or a challenging 35-mile loop on shared roads for more experienced riders.

Here’s everything else you need to know:

Registration

Registration is now open. You can get a team together, or else sign up as an individual. Early registration is encouraged, as the event can sell out.

Adult entry is $40, students are $15, kids 12 and under are $5, and T-shirts are $12. Your registration includes snacks and water at rest stops along the route; mechanics to help with bike problems; and music and food at the Finish Line Festival (see below).

All proceeds support the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s efforts to make the region more bicycle-friendly. Specifically, Bike Philly 2011 is supporting the Complete The Trail campaign to help make the Schuylkill River Trail a completed green transportation corridor of moer than 67 miles of trails.

The Routes

All Bike Philly routes start at Eakins Oval, in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps. All routes also finish there.

10 Mile Car-Free Route: Riders are taken along a closed, car-free route through Center City Philadelphia that passes through Chinatown and Old City. Riders pass by the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Gloria Dei “Old Swedes” Church and The Shambles at Headhouse Square. Riders then return to the Parkway before entering Fairmount Park and passing along the Philadelphia Zoo. You can then choose to continue on to 20 and 35 mile routes or return to the Finish Line Festival at the Art Museum Steps and Eakins Oval.

20 Mile Car-Free Route: Riders follow the Schuylkill River, cross the Strawberry Mansion Bridge and continue up to Mount Pleasant Mansion, where you can rest and enjoy refreshments. After leaving the Mount Pleasant rest stop, riders continue through Fairmount Park until Strawberry Mansion Bridge where the 35 mile loops break off to explore the Main Line on shared roads. The 20 mile riders continue on MLK Drive, before joining the festivities at the Finish Line Festival.

35 Mile Extension on Shared Roads: The 35 mile extension of Bike Philly takes you across the Strawberry Mansion Bridge and through Overbrook and into Wynnewood, Ardmore and Haverford. Along the way, you see the Chamounix Mansion, ride on City Line Avenue and pass the Barnes Foundation. The turnaround point, with rest stop, is at the Haverford School. On your return trip to Eakins Oval, riders will pass Saint Charles Seminary, the Please Touch Museum and Memorial Hall.

Ride Schedule

6:30 a.m.: Packet Pick-Up and Onsite Registration Opens
7:30 a.m.: Packet Pickup and Onsite Registration Closes.
8 a.m.: Bike Philly rolls! Please be in line by no later than 7:45!
9 a.m.-1 p.m: Finish Line Festival (see below)

More information, including a map, below.

Bike Philly
When: Sunday, September 11, beginning at 8 a.m.
Where: Starts and ends at Eakins Oval
Cost: Adult entry $40, Students $15, Kids 12 and under $5
More info: www.bicyclecoalition.org

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Over the years, FDR Park has played host to many an occasion from weddings to picnics, and even the 1876 Centennial Exposition.

More recently, for local Philadelphians who remember it as a place where they learned to ride bikes on the park’s busted paths and go swimming in its now non-existent pool, FDR is known lovingly as “The Lakes.”

It’s a place for tailgaters, golfers, skateboarders and BMX bikers — and, come September 23-4, the massive POPPED! Music Festival. But on Saturday, September 10, FDR will be a place for neighbors.

The Fairmount Park Conservancy, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, Friends of FDR Park and the Growing the Neighborhood project are coming together for the 8th Annual Growing the Neighborhood Volunteer Day at FDR Park, in order to help beautify this historical park.

Those interested in volunteering should arrive by 8 a.m. wearing long pants and closed toe shoes. A light breakfast will be served.

The clean-up is from 8:30–11 a.m., followed by a brief program with Mayor Nutter and other city representatives, in addition to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for FDR’s newest playground.

There will be activities for children throughout the day, including face painting, fire truck tours and fishing; plus, Sweetbox Truck Cupcakes will be on location to provide FREE treats to volunteers!

Don’t miss this chance to literally lend a helping hand in Philadelphia.

8th Annual Growing the Neighborhood Volunteer Day at FDR Park
When: Saturday, September 10, 8 a.m.-noon
Where: 1500 Pattison Avenue
Cost: Free
More info: www.myphillypark.org