Almost everything is ready for the 6th annual installment of Shakespeare in Clark Park. Yesterday the technical crew set up the equipment and actors began rehearsing in the park.

This year Shakespeare in Clark Park company presents “Much Ado About Nothing,” which is set in a post-war town. Alex Torres will direct the performance. You can learn more about the show here.

The performances will take place July 20 through July 24 (Wed-Sun) at 7 p.m. If it rains on the day of a performance it will be relocated to Curio Theatre (48th Street and Baltimore Avenue). For more information go here.

And finally, don’t forget to bring blankets, chairs and picnic food.

The University City Arts League (4226 Spruce Street) is offering 28 classes, including some new, in its second summer session.

Session II will run from August 1 through August 28 and will feature a variety of classes for adults and children alike. There will be some novelties, such as three new Capoeira Angola classes – one for adults, one for toddlers and one for parents and children together. The Capoeira Angola classes will focus on the traditional and slower roots of the exercise.

The new session also will offer a new creative dance class for 3-year-olds and a family pottery class. In addition to the new classes, the old favorites will be available as well, including Spanish conversation, yoga, Argentine tango, salsa, Flamenco, creative ballet, tai chi, modern contemporary dance, workouts, plein air drawing and ceramic jewelry.

The full class schedule, including pricing, is available here. Registration deadline is August 1. A 5 percent discount is offered if you register before July 25. For more information call 215-382-7811.

If you have been around Philly for a while you have probably seen Suzanne Francis’ work. But even if you have been here only a short spell you have most definitely seen the subject of her work. Francis, who lives in the West Philly neighborhood of Parkside, has a wonderful eye for architecture and landscapes that define Philadelphia and she captures them on handmade prints.

Francis will be at VIX Emporium (5009 Baltimore Ave.) tonight from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to talk about her work and how she makes it. One of the great things about her stuff is that she makes it affordable, so you can take a piece home tonight as well. Tonight’s event will include light refreshments and Francis will bring along some of her tools to provide folks a glimpse into how she produces such memorable pieces.

If you can’t make it tonight, stop by VIX anytime to check out her stuff.

Scribe Video Center (4212 Chestnut Street 3rd Floor) presents a special Storyville screening of short films about Arab and Muslim communities in the U.S. tonight at 7 p.m. The films Arab American Road Movie (2005, 14 min), Tales from Arab Detroit (1995, 45 min), I, Too, Sing America and 9-11 Moments (2002) are produced by Detroit-based filmmaker Joan Mandell who will be at the screening in person.

Tickets are $5 for general public, free for Scribe members, Muslim Voices participants and Al Bustan Seeds of Culture staff, students and members.

Mandell will also present a workshop on oral history tomorrow, July 9, at 11 a.m. You can register online here or by calling 215-222-4201. Tickets for this event are $20 for general public, $10 for Scribe members and free for Muslim Voices participants.

To read more about both events click here.
 

Erik Ruin, the current 40th Street Artist-in-Resident, invites neighbors to the opening of his new exhibition tonight, from 7 to 9 p.m., at a temporary storefront gallery at 4212 Chestnut Street (below the Scribe Video Center).

The exhibition, titled “Staring at the Cracks,” features a combination of prints, projections and sound to tell stories of solitary confinement. Ruin managed to construct a unique environment to share the emotions and experiences of formerly incarcerated people.

Some rooms are populated with wall-size print installations, other rooms – by shadow-puppet and video projections by Ruin and award-winning Toronto filmmaker Brett Story.

Along with the installations speakers throughout the space will play snippets of audio interviews with men and women describing their experiences in solitary confinement. Finally, innovative klezmer and jazz trombonist Dan Blacksberg will play a unique and haunting bed of sound to enhance the dramatic atmosphere.

The exhibition will run until July 23 and will be the last in a series of exhibitions presented by Ruin as a 40th Street Artist-in-Resident. On July 23, Ruin will be bidding farewell with an all-day studio sale, live music, and closing reception (3 p.m.  to 11 p.m.).

To read more about the 40th Street Artist-in-Residence program click here.

Here are two super cool events happening in West Philly this weekend.

To mark the longest day of the year, the annual Summer Solstice Music and Art Festival will take place in Clark Park (43rd & Chester) tomorrow, June 25, beginning at noon.

The festival has been a West Philly tradition since 1970. This year the organizers are bringing over 40 vendors and nine bands, along with the arts and crafts vending, dance and theater and fun activities for kids.

Here’s a full band lineup with starting times.

12:30 – 1 p.m. – Lion Versus (Stage 1)
1:15 – 1:45 p.m. – Mount Joy (Stage 2)
2 – 2:30 p.m. – Early Ape (Stage 1)
2:45 – 3:25 p.m. – Bedroom Problems (Stage 2)
3:40 – 4:20 p.m. – Arrah and the Ferns (Stage 1)
4:40 – 5:20 p.m. – Psychic Teens (Stage 2)
5:35 – 6:05 p.m. – Serpent Throne (Stage 1)
6:20 – 7 p.m. – Samsara (Stage 2)
7:15 – 8 p.m.- Dangerbird (Stage 1)

Also on Saturday, world-renowned Philly-based band The Sun Ra Arkestra will kick off the 40th Street Summer Series – a series of free outdoor live music performances organized by the University City District and The Rotunda. The series will feature concerts by internationally-acclaimed artists every fourth Saturday in June through September, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The opening act for tomorrow’s performance by The Sun Ra Arkestra will be the West Philly drill team, the Elegant Cavaliers.

All concerts will take place at the 40th and Walnut Street field (behind the Walnut Street West Library). If you get there early enough you can also enjoy complimentary (first come, first served) Rita’s Water Ice which will be given out during the performances.