Spring is finally here and The Porch, once a congested parking lot and now an animated public space adjacent to the second busiest train station in the country, is getting ready to start its 2013 season programming. Beginning this Wednesday, April 3, all are welcome to stop by The Porch between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on most weekdays and enjoy gourmet food trucks, live music, street performers, fitness bootcamps, and a beer garden. Here’s more information on what’s coming up this month.

Lunchtime Accordion Serenade, Mondays & Fridays, Noon – 1 p.m.

Experience the beauty of solo accordion, from Eastern European to South American, Polka to American Jazz.

WXPN Philly Local Wednesdays, Wednesdays, Noon

Live music every Wednesday from Philly’s rising stars.
April 3 – Dante Bucci
April 10 – The Fleeting Ends
April 17 – Christie Lenée
April 24 – The Splashing Pearls

Gourmet Food Trucks

Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
The Cow and the Curd
Cupcake Carnival
Lucky Old Souls
The Sunflower Truck Stop

Fridays, 11:30 a.m. -2:30 p.m.
Just Jackie’s Food Truck
Say Cheese
Spot Burger
Sweetbox Cupcakes

Bodyrock Fitness, Thursdays, 6 p.m.

Put your lunch break to work for you with fitness programming from University City’s BodyRock Bootcamp.

April 4 – Bootcamp
April 11 – Bokwa
April 18 – Zumba
April 25 – Bootcamp

Give And Take street performers and The Little Circus

The Give and Take Jugglers and Little Circus shows feature juggling, comedy, vaudeville, circus arts and theater.

Wednesday, April 3, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Street Performers

Friday, April 12, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Little Circus

Backpack Gallery, Friday, April 5, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Combining contemporary visual art and performance, the Backpack Gallery brings the art to you.

The Porch Beer Garden, Thursday, April 18, 3-8 p.m.; Friday, April 19, 3-8 p.m.

Experience the Outdoor Beer Garden at The Porch at 30th Street Station. Bridgewater’s Pub will offer German and craft beers. Enjoy the fresh air and live music.

For more information about events at The Porch at 30th Street Station visit http://universitycity.org/porch-events

Photo by Kyle Cassidy.

Starting this Wednesday, Curio Theatre will begin showing Madville, a new play written by West Philly playwright and Curio’s Artistic Director Paul Kuhn. This is his first original work produced by Curio since co-writing 2009’s A Funeral Farce.

Madville is the world created by children living in the Canadian woods who return as adults and struggle with memories of surviving in this remote location. They share stories from their experience trying to connect with or understand their shared past and disagreements arise over whose memories are more accurate. The audience will face this puzzle along with the characters.

“For me, it’s about madness,” says Kuhn. “It’s that time that you look back on your past and how crazy it was, that you weren’t even realizing you were steeped in madness at the time… Hopefully the audience will see something in their own childhood, that moment of, ‘Oh my God, why didn’t we die?’”

Madville is directed by Rosemary Fox who is making her directorial debut at Curio Theatre. The cast includes Jennifer Summerfield, Paul Kuhn, Rachel Gluck and Harry Slack of West Philadelphia.

Paul Kuhn’s “Madville”

March 20-April 13, 2013 
at the Calvary Center, 4740 Baltimore Avenue
Tickets: $15-20 ($5 off for preview tickets: March 20-21)
Thursday’s, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

S. Epatha Merkerson.

Law and Order and Lincoln star S. Epatha Merkerson will be in West Philly on Tuesday, March 12, to present her first feature film, The Contradictions of Fair Hope, at International House. Ms. Merkerson is an executive producer and co-director of the film. The event is part of Scribe’s Producer’s Forum Series, which brings distinguished independent filmmakers to Philadelphia.

The documentary, narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, covers a little-known aspect of American history; it examines how newly-freed slaves throughout the South formed “benevolent societies” to respond to hunger, illness, and the fear of a pauper’s grave. The film traces the development, struggles, and contributions of one of the last remaining African-American benevolent societies, known as “The Fair Hope Benevolent Society,” in Uniontown, Alabama.

The Contradictions of Fair Hope was released in 2012 and won Best Documentary awards at several film festivals, including the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival and the Festival International du Film PanAfricain in Cannes. S. Epatha Merkerson and writer Rockell Metcalf who will also participate in Tuesday’s event, believe that the film is, “an incredibly important teaching tool and a powerful call to action to return to a community of benevolence, mutual care and concern in America.”

Screening of The Contradictions of Fair Hope (2012, USA, 78 min) with Co-Directors S. Epatha Merkerson and Rockell Metcalf
Tuesday, March 12, 7 p.m.
International House (3701 Chestnut St)
Tickets: $10, $8 students/seniors, $5 for Scribe and IHP members
For more information and tickets click here.

Photo from last year’s Fun-A-Day show at Studio 34.

Some of your friends and neighbors worked hard to create a piece of art every day during the month of January, as part of the annual Fun-A-Day project and this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 15 & 16) all are invited to see the results of their work. Studio 34 (4522 Baltimore Ave) is hosting the Fun-A-Day art show from 7 to 11 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights and a Reading event from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Saturday. The event is free and open to the public.

The ArtClash Collective, a Philadelphia based group who has organized Fun-A-Day for nine years, invites community members of all ages to the show, hoping that it serves as an inspiration for those who attend. “We hope we can inspire you to make art!” reads a message on their website.

The Saturday event will include performances by Allison Polans, Gina Renee Fontana, and Second Opinion, beginning at 8:15 p.m. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.

Because of the heavy snowfall expected in our area this weekend, the inaugural 30th Street Craft Market has been postponed for two weeks and will take place on Saturday, Feb. 23 (see new flyer below). Read more about this event here.

This is an exciting week for local kids, teens and adults who love theatre and are interested in acting, with a few new educational programs and events launching in the area. Here are the details:

New Drama/Acting Classes

The Community Arts program at the Woodland Presbyterian Church located at 401 S. 42nd Street is starting an eight-week (Feb. 7 – March 27) drama class on Thursday afternoons, 4:00-5:00 p.m. and children ages 5-14 are welcome to participate. Kids will play drama games, learn acting techniques and perform in a culminating production. A donation of $20/participant is suggested to help cover program costs. To register or for more details, please contact Carol Shih at carol.shih@woodlandpres.net.

Theatre and Me, LLC (Facebook page), a new company providing training and development for kids, teens and adults in the performing and creative arts, i.e. theatre, dance, voice, etc., is holding an Open House/Information Session about their upcoming classes on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2:30-3:30 p.m., at Dreaming Tree Music (4721 Pine St.). For more information, contact Marcus Siler at theatreandmewithmarcus@gmail.com.

New Kids Show at Curio

Curio Theatre has prepared an exciting new show for kids: Hansel and Gretel, the beloved fairy-tale by The Grimm Brothers was adapted for the stage by Rosemary Fox and will run on Saturdays at 2 p.m. on Feb. 9, 16, 23 and March 2. Tickets ($10) are available here.