As many of you already know, a partial Solar Eclipse (about 75% in the Philadelphia area) will take place on Monday, Aug. 21, so if you’re into it don’t forget to go outside shortly before 2:44 p.m. to view it. If you have special Solar viewing glasses make sure to bring them as it is not recommended to look at the sun with the naked eye. If you’re really into the Solar Eclipse, you can join other sky-watchers at a Solar Eclipse viewing party.

In Philadelphia, the Franklin Institute and Seaport Museum will host Solar Eclipse viewing parties from 12 to 4 p.m. You can find more information here. There will also be a Solar Eclipse viewing party in West Philly, at the Science Center (3711 Market St.) and Innovation Plaza at 37th and Market. You can even pick up free solar glasses (first come, first served). Here’s the event flyer with more information (click to enlarge):

The School District of Philadelphia is inviting families and community members to the School of the Future (4021 Parkside Ave.) for an annual Back to School Education Day on Friday, Aug. 18.

The event, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature on-site student registration, dental screenings, free book bags and supplies while materials last, important educational information sessions to help prepare families for next school year, and live entertainment.

Highlights of the event include a Family Engagement Pavilion and a Kids Zone with fun and educational games for students.

For more information, please visit http://www.philasd.org/face/backtoschool

In response to the recent protest and tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia, Philadelphia religious organizations will be holding the following events this week:

On Wednesday, Aug. 16, a march and rally under the banner of “Unmasking White Supremacy in Philadelphia” will take place beginning at 7 p.m. The following agenda has been scheduled, according to the event organizer “POWER”, an interfaith organization:

7:00 p.m. – Gather outside Congregation Rodeph Shalom Synagogue (615 N. Broad Street)
7:15 p.m. – March down Broad Street as “we unmask white supremacy in Philadelphia institutions”
8:00 p.m. – Rally and action inside Arch Street United Methodist Church (55 N. Broad Street)  Continue Reading

Scribe Video Center’s Street Movies! program returns this month for its 20th season with free outdoor film screenings and live performances. All events are family-friendly and take place in neighborhoods across Philadelphia, including in West Philly.

Scribe Video Center partners with local organizations for Street Movies! to guide the selection process and choose the best film programs for their communities. This August, the traveling series will feature a range of short films, from internationally recognized award-winning fiction, documentary, and animation to local community- and youth-produced works.  Continue Reading

Photos West Philly Local.

Theatre in the X last night staged the premiere of Running Numbers, the tale of a graduating high school senior trying to navigate his way through obstacles in his neighborhood and his family to get his way into college and, just as importantly, pay for it.

In our decidedly unsophisticated opinion, it is really, really good.

The play follows CJ, a brilliant student, as he tries to figure out how he is going to pay for a Penn education. He could get student loans, but his mom doesn’t want to sign the forms (she wants to hide her under-the-table earnings) nor does she want him saddled in debt for the rest of his life. Or, he could go work for the local pimp and drug dealer and make fast cash. Both options weigh heavily on CJ, but he takes the second option and we find him in the opening scene undergoing police interrogation after his arrest.  Continue Reading

Some of the best – and probably the most intimate – theatre in the city gets underway in Malcolm X. Park (51st and Pine) next week when Theatre in the X opens the world premiere of Running Numbers.

Running Numbers is a drama about a high school senior “whose dreams and desperation of going to college and overcoming his environment lead him to fast cash and dangerous situations.” The work is inspired by  “Financial Aid”, an incredible spoken work piece by Carvens Lissaint.

Cheyenne Barboza wrote Running Numbers and Christina May directs. The cast includes Abdul Sesay, Jarrett McCreary, Khadijah Davis, Iman Aaliyah, Aurica Hurst, Angelica Jackson-Thomas, Carlo Campbell, Walter DeShields, Niya Colbert, Brandon A. Drummond and Dwayne Alistair Thomas.  Continue Reading