A piece from a past show.

Every year since 2003 the folks at Neighborhood Bike Parts put out a call to local artists to come and scrounge around in their used parts bins. Tonight we get a chance to see (and buy) what they’ve created from all those chain rings, cranksets and pedals. The annual Bike Part Art Show runs 7-10 p.m. tonight at Studio 34 (4522 Baltimore Ave).

Proceeds from the silent auction and raffle that will run during the show benefit the Neighborhood Bike Works’ free after-school programs and summer camp scholarships. The show will also include beer and snacks. A $5 donation at the door would be greatly appreciated.

A sampling of stuff happening around the area today/tonight. See happenings for information on other events.

Photo by Carlos Beltrán

• Barrios, Volume 1 • 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. • The Rotunda • 4014 Walnut St. • Free

Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice presents a photo exhibition on Venezuelan slums. Carlos Beltrán, a journalist, documented the everyday lives of children and families in the poorest neighborhoods in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, for six months. The exhibit will also include a panel presentation featuring Beltrán and others.

Five Dimensions – Photon Dynamo and The Shiny Pieces from Anna Burgueño on Vimeo.

I know … it seems like just last week it was summer. Get over it. In fact, a good way to get over it – if you’re so inclined – is to pick up a holiday wreath or swag. We can help you out with that. Well, actually Lauren Leatherbarrow can help you out. The West Philly gardener extraordinaire is once again selling holiday greenery. Lauren advises everyone to pre-order and pre-pay for wreaths. The pre-order deadline for poinsettia plants is long gone. She will have some wreaths for sale on spec on Dec. 4 at 517 Woodland Terrace from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and that’s also where and when the pick-up is for pre-ordered stuff.

Proceeds from sales will go to the Boy Scout Troop 152 at St. Francies De Sales Parish, the University City Garden Club and UC Green, the youth choirs of St. Peter’s Church (3rd and Pine Streets) and the local chapter of the Habitat for Humanity.

A price list and order form is available below. For more information, call 215-386-3905.

plant-sale-winter2010-1

If you have ever had a tinge of regret after hearing about a show at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts that you would love to see but couldn’t afford, then you should read on.

The West Philly Rush Hour program makes a limited number of $10 tickets available two hours before every show (except the Dance Celebration performances) to West Philadelphians. The tickets will be available at the Center’s box office two hours before each show for one hour. So, for example, if a show starts 8 p.m., then tickets will be on sale from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are available on a first come-first serve basis and they only can be purchased in person. There is a two-ticket maximum. Seating will be located throughout the venue, subject to management discretion.

To get the tickets you must show proof of residency (valid driver’s license or non-driver’s license photo ID) in one of the following zip codes: 19104, 19131, 19139, 19142, 19143, 19151 and 19153.

The program does not currently offer tickets for the Dance Celebration performances, but will offer $5 tickets for Philadelphia International Children’s Festival events in April.

Here’s the Center’s schedule.

Civic Life

• Garden Court Community Association general meeting • 7 p.m. • Community College of Philadelphia West Regional Center (4725 Chestnut St.)

The main item on the agenda is a discussion about “aging in place” – how to assist senior members of the community to stay in their homes. Several guest speakers will be on hand to talk about everything from housing plans to simple repair and maintenance assistance.

Arts and Music

• Luis Bravo’s Forever Tango • Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (3680 Walnut St.) • 7:30 p.m. • Tickets: $38-$58.

For tango lovers, or even tango likers. This show features all the extravagance that is tango and Argentina.

• Flat Mary Road/Charles Latham/Sour Mash • Green Line Cafe (4426 Locust St.) • 7 p.m. • Cover: $5-$10 sliding scale • All ages.

• Camerata Philadelphia • University City Series at West Catholic Conservatory Recital Hall and Auditorium (4501 Chestnut St.) • 8 p.m. • Tickets: $20 general admission, $10 students/seniors.

The orchestra will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Quintet in E-flat for Horn & Strings, K. 407, Dmitri Shostakovich Chamber Symphony in C minor, Op. 110a, Franz Joseph Haydn Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major, Op. 101, Hob. VIIb:2.

Food and Drink

• Malt Enthusiast Lew Bryson • Pennsylvania Breweries update book signing • Dock Street Brewery (701 South 50th St.) • 7 p.m. • Free

The beer and whiskey man will be signing updated copies of his literary beer tour of the Commonwealth. Dock Street and Four Worlds Bakery will also debut a new bread, Dock Street Beer Bread, which will be available for tasting during the signing.

The seventh piece in a documentary series on South African and the global apartheid movement will screen Nov. 16 at 7:30 at the International House (3701 Chestnut St.). Free At Last, the final piece in the seven-part series Have You Heard From Johannesburg, tells the story of the movement in the 1980s: “the alliance that brought together freedom fighters in South Africa as never before.” Director Connie Field will be on hand for the screening. She will also teach a documentary master class on her work before the screening at the Scribe Video Center (4212 Chestnut, 3rd floor). If you attend the master class, you get into the screening for free.

See map: Google Maps

Have You Heard Trailer