Curio Theatre Company continues its reading series supporting emerging Philadelphia playwrights and invites everyone to tonight’s reading of Candy Candy by Chris Davis. The series is co-produced by Philadelphia Dramatists Center.

The peformance is directed by Liam Castellan and features Curio actors: Andrew Carroll, Joel Guerrero, Diana Rodriguez, Kelly Cova, Rachel Gluck, Brendan Norton, and Steve Carpenter. It will be held in the Curio Theatre Company Second Stage at 4740 Baltimore Avenue, starting at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, and light refreshments will be provided. And here’s some information about the play from Curio’s website:

“This high octane bilingual comedy follows the televisual fantasies of a young girl named Candy who dreams of escaping her quotidian life in Mexico.”

Visit curiotheatre.org for more information.

This weekend’s events list includes an outdoor music concert (free and family-friendly), a tool sale, a flea market, and more awesome events. Our roundup is below.

This Friday, local indie band The Chairman Dances (Facebook page) is inviting folks to a release show for their new record, Samantha Says. The show will be held at The Rotunda (40th and Walnut), from 8 to 9:30 p.m. (doors open at 7:30 p.m.). Tickets at the door are $10. Click here for more information.

This Friday and Saturday are the last two days when you can see Curio Theatre‘s comedy Noises Off before the theater closes its 2014-2015 season. Shows begin at 8 p.m. For more information and tickets ($25) go here.

University City District’s 40th Street Summer Series returns this Saturday, at 6 p.m., with a free outdoor concert by Philadelphia’s experimental cabaret group The Bearded Ladies. In addition, local group Tapestry Tribal will present Middle Eastern music and belly dancing. The popular concert series takes place on the last Saturday of every month, from May to September, on the green space behind Walnut Street West Library at 40th and Walnut and also includes family-friendly activities: balloon art, face painting, jugglers and more. This Saturday, you can also enjoy free ice cream served by Ben & Jerry’s.

Also on Saturday, West Philly Tool Library invites neighbors to their Spring Tool Sale. The sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and will include a wide selection of hand and power tools at affordable prices, as well as West Philly Tool Library T-Shirts, bibs, and carpenter’s pencils. Tax-deductible donations are also encouraged. Coffee Market (AKA Earth Cup) will be serving their delicious cold brew coffee. West Philly Tool Library is located at 1314 S. 47th St. (between Woodland and Grays Ferry). For more information, visit: www.westphillytools.org.

On Saturday at 7 p.m., FloByFaith Productions and local Boy Scout troop 152 will present The Soul of a Woman, a musical that tackles various issues such as homelessness, mental health and self worth. Proceeds will benefit the troop’s scholarship fund, helping create young leaders from West Philadelphia. Tickets: $35 in advance and $40 at the door (St. Francis de Sales Auditorium, 917 S. 47th St.).

For more upcoming events, including West Philly Flea Market, Women’s Day of Wellness, and film screenings at International House Philadelphia, visit our Events Calendar.

UPDATE (5/27/2015): Due to rain in the forecast for this Thursday, the show has been postponed until next Thursday, June 4. 

Tangle Movement Arts, a West Philly-based acrobatics company known to many by their Tiny Circus performances at Go West! Craft Fest at The Woodlands and other venues, is bringing an all-new, free and family-friendly show, Intersections, to Clark Park this Thursday on Thursday, June 4.

Intersections celebrates the broad communities that gather in the park and the dynamics of daily life. The acrobats will be disguised as normal visitors to the Clark Park Farmers Market, from vegetable shoppers to playground-visiting children to commuters on their way home. The show also celebrates the chance meetings that happen in our public spaces.

Tangle Movement Arts is a circus arts company with an interdisciplinary focus; its work integrates traditional circus like aerial acrobatics with dance, theater, and live music, with an emphasis on queer and female experiences. Tangle has been thrilling audiences with dynamic circus-theater since its inception in 2011.

Intersections premieres at the park near 43rd and Baltimore on Thursday, May 28 June 4 at 6 p.m. The show is part of the City of Philadelphia’s Performances in Public Spaces program, managed by the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy.

(Photos courtesy of Tangle Movement Arts)

Here are a couple of nice opportunities for local artists and artisans, businesses and non-profit organizations. Vendors are sought for the upcoming West Philly Flea Market (May 30) and West Park Arts Festival (June 13).

Here is more information from the organizers:

Philadelphia vendors are invited to sell at West Philly Flea Market, held outdoors in the parking lot of West Catholic Prep High School at 46th and Chestnut Streets on May 30, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Spaces may be rented for $15 for a single space (16.5’ x 14’) or $25 for a double space (33’ X 14’). Vendors must supply their own tables and displays. To reserve a space, go to http://www.citychurchphilly.com/fleamarket. Vendor registration deadline is May 27. Walk-ins taken as space allows.

Vendors are invited for West Park Arts Festival to be held on Saturday, June 13, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. in Fairmount Park at 4021 Parkside Avenue (on the campus of the School of The Future). Arts & Craft vendor spaces are $40, direct sellers and non handmade items – $60.00, corporate vendors – $200 per space, food vendors – $100 per space (food spaces are limited). The festival organizers are looking for culturally diverse food (Chinese, Thai, Mexican, etc.), as well as vegetarian and sweets. For more information or to apply please visit www.westparkcultural.org/westparkartsfest. If you need further assistance, feel free to email info@westparkcultural.org

Lancaster Mews (photo from Lancastermewsapts.com).

Neighbors and all interested parties are invited this evening to learn more about the proposed demolition of Lancaster Mews, the redbrick apartment buildings and storefronts on the 3600 block of Lancaster Avenue, and discuss the future development of the block. This is a great opportunity to share your concerns about the proposed development. The meeting is hosted by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and will take place starting at 6 p.m. at Community Education Center’s Meeting House Theatre (3500 Lancaster Ave).

In addition to apartments, Lancaster Mews also houses several businesses and a day care center. According to an article by The Philadelphia Inquirer published earlier this month, the block-long row of houses built in the late 1870’s may be demolished and replaced by apartment buildings aimed mostly at students.

Photo from bicyclecoalition.org

Philly bicyclists will get together this Wednesday (May 20) for the Ride of Silence, the annual international event that honors the cyclists killed or injured by motorists. The ride also raises awareness of cyclists’s right to share the road.

The 8-mile ride will start at 7 p.m. at the foot of the front steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum and will go through parts of West Philadelphia before returning to the starting point. A brief pre-ride dedication ceremony will begin at 6:45 p.m.

Last year about 175 bicyclists participated in the ride and this year the organizers are hoping to attract at least 400 riders.

Here are more details about the Ride of Silence route from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia:

From the Philadelphia Art Museum the ride will proceed down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, circle City Hall, continue to Independence Hall, and head over to West Philly via the Walnut St. Bridge. The ride will return to the front of the Art Museum over the Spring Garden Street Bridge.

Riders are asked to gather at 6:30 p.m. The duration of the ride is expected to be one hour. Helmets are required and bicycle lights are encouraged.