Check out the above video to meet Mark Kehres, Public Programs Trainer at the National Constitution Center, and learn what he wishes more people knew about in Philadelphia.
National Constitution Center
525 Arch Street
www.constitutioncenter.org
Historic Germantown
Germantown Avenue
www.freedomsbackyard.com
Check out the above video to meet Mark Kehres, Public Programs Trainer at the National Constitution Center, and learn what he wishes more people knew about in Philadelphia. National Constitution Center 525 Arch Street www.constitutioncenter.org Historic Germantown Germantown Avenue www.freedomsbackyard.com
Read more»May 1, 2012
The Please Touch Museum will transport visitors to a galaxy far, far away during “May the 4th Be With You,” a celebration of all things Star Wars this Friday, May 4.
Attendees are encouraged to dress as their favorite Star Wars characters and enjoy space- and Star Wars-themed activities and programming, including visits from beloved (and despised) characters.
Events include a Far Far Out Dance Party in Hamilton Hall, End of the Day Imperial March led by Star Wars villains, black light art activity and more.
Re-live childhood memories, or make them, with the museum’s collections cases full of antique and contemporary Star Wars paraphernalia.
“May the 4th Be With You” at the Please Touch Museum
When: May 4, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: 4231 Avenue of the Republic
Cost: Admission is $15 for adults and children age one and over
More info: www.blog.pleasetouchmuseum.org
May 1, 2012
Take the new tour of the Wyeth House and Studio, and see still life paintings by N.C. and his children Henriette, Carolyn and Andrew. (Photo by Carlos Alejandro courtesy Brandywine River Museum)
The Chadds Ford studio where Andrew Wyeth, one America’s most acclaimed artists, created many of his masterworks, will open for tours this summer.
Now part of the Brandywine River Museum, the studio has undergone careful restoration to to look just like it did when Wyeth worked there. His library, photos, fencing gear, military miniatures collection, costumes and props are among the many fascinating objects that offer insight into his life and work.
The artist painted in this studio from 1940 until 2008, including his most famous paintings that depict the farms and picturesque countryside of the Brandywine Valley.
Originally built as a schoolhouse in 1875, the building also served as Wyeth’s home for two decades, as well as being the first studio for Jamie Wyeth, Andrew’s son.
The tour can fill you in on all those details and more. It’s a fascinating look into the private life of a famous artist.
Tours officially begin on June 3; however, a few lucky folks can be among the first to enter the Andrew Wyeth Studio on special tours offered May 1, 5 and 10. The special tour lasts from 9:45 a.m.-4:15 p.m. and costs $100 (Brandywine Conservancy members, $70).
Regular studio tours will cost $8 per person in addition to museum admission. Studio tours will be offered at scheduled times from Tuesday through Sunday, through November 18.
Brandywine River Museum Tours of Wyeth’s Studio
When: June 3; previews May 1, 5, 10
Where: 100 Creek Rd U.S. Route 1 and PA 100, Chadds Ford
Cost: $8 per person in addition to Brandywine River Museum admission (previews $100)
More info: www.brandywinemuseum.org
May 1, 2012
Artists are at work recreating an ancient Mayan sculpture out of sand outside 30th Street Station as a fun lead-up to the Penn Museum's Maya exhibition opening May 5. (Photo courtesy Penn Museum)
UPDATE: We just received word that the sculpture project has been halted. After the sand arrived, concerns developed because the sculpture was being created on a PennDOT bridge structure.
In honor of the world premiere opening of MAYA 2012: Lords of Time, the Penn Museum, in partnership with the University City District, has invited California sand sculpture artists Greg and Brandi Glenn to re-create a famous ancient Maya monument known as Altar Q at the new Porch at 30th Street Station.
The artists began working yesterday to complete the massive sculpture by May 5, as MAYA 2012 opens to the public at the Penn Museum. All are welcome to watch the artists at work.
This 25-ton recreation of the famous monument celebrates the spirit of friendship with Honduras. In fact, on Thursday, May 3 at 5 p.m. you can meet the Ambassador of Honduras, His Excellency Jorge Ramon Hernández-Alcerro, alongside several of his Attachés and museum curators.
Found at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Copan in Honduras, Altar Q was carved from stone during the reign of King Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat in AD 776. The 16 Kings of Copan — the “Lords of Time” in the Penn Museum’s world premiere exhibition — are all depicted, four to a side. Each ruler is seated on a Maya hieroglyph that bears his name or title.
Read more about the exhibition in our previous post.
Maya.2012: Lords of Time at the Penn Museum
When: May 5-January 13
Where: 3260 South Street
Cost: Tickets start at $16.50
More info: www.penn.museum
Check out the video above to meet Carol Riddick, a South Philly native “soulstress,” a favorite on the Philadelphia music scene and Philly 360 Creative Ambassador.
We filmed her at Ms. Tootsie’s on South Street, one of her favorite restaurants, to find out what she wishes more people knew about in Philadelphia. Hint: she considers herself a kid at heart.
Carol got her start touring with Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff, and has since been featured on tracks with Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild and Anthony Hamilton, to name just a few. Meet her for yourself, above.
Carol Riddick
www.carolriddick.net
Please Touch Museum
4231 Avenue of the Republic
www.pleasetouchmuseum.org
Check out the video above to meet Carol Riddick, a South Philly native “soulstress,” a favorite on the Philadelphia music scene and Philly 360 Creative Ambassador. We filmed her at Ms. Tootsie’s on South Street, one of her favorite restaurants, to find out what she wishes more people knew about in Philadelphia. Hint: she considers [...]
Read more»May 1, 2012
The University City District’s newest public space, the Porch at 30th Street Station, got a nod from Dwell Magazine this month. It’s #98 in “The Now 99 – Ideas, People, Products and Plans defining today’s design landscape.” The 40-foot wide, block-long pedestrian plaza is a great green addition to a key urban junction connecting Center City and University City, where you can eat lunch, read a book or enjoy free programming like concerts and a farmers’ market. Check out a schedule here. [The Porch in Dwell Magazine]
April 30, 2012
This is your last week to see the acclaimed Van Gogh exhibition at the PMA. (Photo courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art)
The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s latest headlining exhibition, Van Gogh Up Close, closes this Sunday, May 6.
Make sure you check it out if you haven’t already. More than 200,000 visitors have seen the exhibition as of last week.
It has welcomed art lovers from 44 countries and 48 states plus Puerto Rico and D.C. Philadelphia is the only U.S. venue for the exhibition, so if you don’t see it here, chances are you won’t see it at all.
As the Philadelphia Inquirer observed, “[T]his exhibition…brings viewers closer to the essential van Gogh than anything that has come before.”
Van Gogh Up Close at The Philadelphia Museum Of Art
When: Through May 6
Where: 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Cost: Tickets are $25 for adults, $23 for seniors, ages 13-18 $20, 5-12 $12, kids under 4 Free
More info: www.philamuseum.org
April 30, 2012
America’s birthplace of gardening has a brand new Green Room, nursery and orchard opening this weekend. (Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC)
Bartram’s Garden, home to America’s first great native botanist John Bartram, a National Historic Landmark and Philadelphia’s largest public riverfront green space, will celebrate spring with a grand opening weekend, May 4-6.
The brand new Green Room will awaken the curiosity of visitors and nature lovers while providing them with binoculars for bird watching and watercolors for painting.
Visitors can also witness the unveiling of the new community garden, a 1.5-acre patch in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania’s Agaston Urban Nutrition Initiative, the City of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which now covers previously unused tennis courts and baseball fields. The farm is being operated with help from John Bartram High School Students while a portion of the food is donated to PHS’s City Harvest Program for needy families.
There’s also a new nursery and a new orchard. In partnership with the Philadelphia Orchard Project, Bartram’s has planted more than 40 heirloom fruit trees in the new orchard, adjacent to the new community garden.
The garden will be open to the public for free on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The weekend will also be chock-full of goings-on like spring planting tips, kids’ activities, live music, the plant sale (which will include the Garden’s signature Franklinia trees, named after Bartram’s close friend Benjamin Franklin), guided tours and more.
Look for more new and innovative programs this summer like a science festival and a bicycle trail that will eventually lead to Valley Forge and points beyond.
Bartram’s Garden Spring Opening
When: Friday, May 4 to Sunday, May 6
Where: 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard
Cost: Free
More info: www.bartramsgarden.org
Watch the Philly 101 video above to meet Kevin Sbraga, winner of Top Chef Season 7 and Chef/Owner of Sbraga Restaurant on Broad Street, and learn what he wishes more people knew about in Philadelphia.
Before his season-winning stint on Top Chef, Burlington County, New Jersey native Sbraga created menus for Stephen Starr (Washington Square, Rat’s Restaurant at the Grounds for Sculpture) and Jose Garces (Tinto, Chifa, Distrito), plus the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia. He also won acclaim at La Mas Perrier, the Main Line restaurant of Chef Georges Perrier.
Sbraga
440 S. Broad Street
www.sbraga.com
Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum
6825-31 Norwitch Drive
www.simeonemuseum.org
Watch the Philly 101 video above to meet Kevin Sbraga, winner of Top Chef Season 7 and Chef/Owner of Sbraga Restaurant on Broad Street, and learn what he wishes more people knew about in Philadelphia. Before his season-winning stint on Top Chef, Burlington County, New Jersey native Sbraga created menus for Stephen Starr (Washington Square, [...]
Read more»April 27, 2012
The Center City District celebrates the grand opening of its newest public space, Sister Cities Park, on Thursday, May 10 at 1 p.m.
Mayor Nutter, City Council President Darrell Clarke, Deputy Mayor Michael DiBerardinis, PA Secretary of Transportation Barry Schoch, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Deputy Secretary John Giordano will join together to cut the ribbon on this lush new $4.9 million park on Logan Square.
There will be a Grand Opening on May 12 with family-friendly activities and entertainment as part of Love Your Park Week.
Open seven days a week, 6 a.m.–1 a.m., Sister Cities commemorates Philadelphia’s special relationship with Tel-Aviv and Florence.
The newly richly planted and well-illuminated space has turned vacant land into a public park with a variety of amenities for people of all ages 365 days a year, from a children’s discovery garden and boat pond to a café (an offshoot of Milk & Honey Cafe in West Philadelphia, serving locally grown and produced foods) and visitor center and a plaza with a gorgeous fountain.
You’ll be able to grab a cup of La Colombe coffee, a South Street Philly bagel or BT brownie and relax by the fountain beneath a canopy of green.
Sister Cities Park
Logan Square, 18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
www.centercityphila.org
