Hanukkah at the Art Museum, 'A Very Philly Christmas,' and more this weekend

Happy Hanukkah! We’ve got a festive Philly weekend on the way.

On Friday night, December 7, from 5pm to 8:45pm, the Philadelphia Museum of Art hosts a Hanukkah party in the Great Stair Hall, free after admission. It’s an all-ages dance jam for people of all backgrounds, featuring Philly-born klezmer trombonist Dan Blacksberg (whose repertoire also spans jazz, heavy metal, and country) and Freilachs Music. The evening is presented in partnership with the Feinstein Center for American Jewish History at Temple University.

A Very Philly Christmas

The mansions of Fairmount Park are ready for the holidays, and invite you to chill out, literally, with the first-ever Ice Bar at Lemon Hill Mansion. It’s open on Friday from 5pm to 9pm; and Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 9pm (admission is a suggested $5 donation). There’ll be fire pits and ice art from Ice Philly Sculpture, and the bar (serving Original XIII Ciderworks and Evil Genius) is actually made of ice, all illuminated by lighting designer Drew Billiau. A new guest DJ every night tops things off.

Fairmount Park’s historic homes (Cedar Grove, Laurel Hill, Lemon Hill, Historic Strawberry Mansion, and Woodford) are all part of A Very Philly Christmas, from Philly Parks & Rec and the Fairmount Park Conservancy. These beautiful houses are decked out for the holidays and open for visitors.

On Saturday, from 10am to 4pm, it’s Neighbors' Day, featuring a great roster of live entertainment from Fairmount Park area residents. On Sunday from 10am to 4pm, it’s Flavors of the Season, featuring (you guessed it) tasty holiday snacks. Entry to the individual houses is $8 each (free for kids 12 and under); but $30 gets you entry to all five houses, plus transportation between them on a special PHLASH loop.

The Eighth Fish of Christmas

If you’re feeling some authentic Philly theatricals, head to Connie’s Ric Rac, a bar and venue deep in the Italian Market, for the premiere of Gianna Lozzi Wolf’s The Eighth Fish of Christmas ($20). Wolf’s brother Freddie Lozzi directs. The pair launched their Philly theater dreams with Right Behind (also at Connie’s), which dramatized the hectic lives of restaurant staff.

The Eighth Fish, set in the ‘80s and inspired by the Lozzis’ real-life South Philly Italian Christmases, follows Anita DeSanto, a 29-year-old recently divorced Roman Catholic (Wolf). She spends a few months in Europe, and then comes home with a Jewish New Yorker on her arm, but she’s not the only one in the family with an announcement. It’s Christmas Eve, so break out the divorce papers, the FBI, and some gefilte fish. The show runs December 7 through 15.

Philly’s Asian-American holiday craft fair

On Saturday afternoon from 12pm-4pm, check out Asian Arts Initiative’s fourth annual Community Craft Fair, the only Asian-American-focused holiday fair in Philly. It’s free and open to the public. There’ll be jewelry, accessories, and other handicrafts from local artisans, plus a showcase of works from the Asian Arts Youth Arts Workshop’s after-school program, live music, and other activities. Asian Arts is an ADA-accessible venue.

Songs of justice

On Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 4pm, at Chestnut Street’s Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion in Philadelphia, catch ANNA Crusis Women’s Choir (America’s oldest feminist choir), for its winter concert, Declaration of Interdependence ($10 to $35). The performance is inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s words: “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”

ANNA gives special voice to justice for immigrants, refugees, young people, women, and the LGBTQ community. Empowerment and social justice are on the musical agenda this weekend, including tunes from Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

For even more music, LiveConnections at World Café Live brings Philly jazz vocalist Joanna Pascale together with the Sister Cities Girlchoir for an “empowering, woman-centered jazz/choral extravaganza” on Sunday ($22 to $27; doors at 2pm and show at 3pm). The show also features members of the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, an all-woman jazz ensemble, playing Great American Songbook works by woman composers and lyricists. You can also hear the world premiere of a choral arrangement based on Pascale’s Language of Flowers and her recent jazz residency at the Kimmel, developed in partnership with Girlchoir youth. World Café Live is an ADA-accessible venue. For advance help with any of your needs, call 215-222-1400 or email [email protected].