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Hollow Apple, The Naked Show, West Chester Film Fest, BalletX, and more
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, April 25-May 1, 2024
Kyle V. Hiller
Coming up in Philly this week as the April showers wane, a variety of festivals hit the streets. The West Chester Film Festival invites the area to a weekend of curated short films local and international, PAFA hosts its annual Spring Family Fest, and the BalletX spring series festival blossoms into something more. The largest—and hungriest—draw on East Passyunk pops up, an integral site for the American Revolution considers preservation with its community, and performances from Hedgerow Theater, Curio Theatre Company, and Koresh illuminate the stage. And as spring continues to warm up, why not get more in touch with InLiquid for what’s skin deep?
Beginners
April 18-May 5, 2024
Hedgerow Theater, 64 Rose Valley Road, Media
Beginners, the play by Obie Award-winning theater artist Tim Crouch, tells the story of a group of friends and their families who have gathered for their yearly vacation in a remote coastal town in Maine that takes a turn. Exploring themes around the “wafer-thin divide between childhood and adulthood," Beginners sees its US premiere now through May.
West Chester Film Festival
April 24-26, 2024
Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, 226 North High Street, West Chester
Additional events at various locations
The 18th annual West Chester Film Festival arrives this weekend with over 50 short films, all 30 minutes or less, from around the world. An opening night party is in tow to kick off the festival, and pop-up film blocks, workshops, a filmmaker meet-and-greet, and more add to the long-running fest.
PAFA Spring Family Fest
Sunday, April 28, 1-3pm
Lenfest Plaza, 118-128 North Broad Street, Philadelphia
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts hosts its annual free Spring Family Festival this weekend. This year features art-making stations—printmaking, community sculpture, cyanotypes, tie-dye, and collage—all inspired by PAFA’s current exhibits. Registration isn’t required, but it is encouraged.
Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story
April 24-May 11, 2024
Calvary Center for Culture and Community, 4740 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia
Curio Theatre Company brings the Philadelphia premiere of Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story to the stage. The music theater performance is inspired by the true story of two Jewish Romanian refugees finding love after arriving on the shores of Canada in 1908.
Hollow Apple
April 25-April 28, 2024
Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 South Broad Street, Philadelphia
Ronen Koresh’s latest is a new work inspired by the endless desire to be liked and loved by strangers, only to reveal our fears of unworthiness.
BalletX Festival
April 26-27, 2024
TD Pavilion at the Mann Center, 5201 Parkside Avenue, Philadelphia
Now more than just a spring performance series, the BalletX Festival at the Mann promises a full slate of festivities in celebration of the power of dance and community. With dance, live music, and art from local organizations and celebrated choreographers, this year’s edition promises immersive experiences.
InLiquid’s The Naked Show
April 26-June 1, 2024
Crane Arts Building, 1400 North American Street, Philadelphia
This new exhibit, composed of 15 InLiquid member artists, takes an even closer look at the many meanings of exposed human skin. Evoking intimacy, sensuality, beauty, rawness, voyeurism, censorship, vulnerability, and innocence through paintings, photography, and sculpture, every artist expresses and addresses the many unique perspectives, experiences, and limitations of varied human bodies. The exhibit opens this weekend, and a free opening night reception is set for Thursday, May 9, from 6 to 9pm.
Preserving Our Past at Brandywine Battlefield Park
Saturday, April 27, 10am-3pm
Brandywine Battlefield Park, 1491 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford
The Brandywine Battlefield Park and Brandywine Valley present an immersive community day dedicated to the preservation of the park itself—a national historical landmark situated on 52 acres in Chadds Ford that is part of the site of the Battle of Brandywine fought in September 1777.
Flavors on the Avenue Festival
Sunday, April 28, 11am-5pm
East Passyunk Avenue from Broad Street to Dickinson Street
The Flavors on the Avenue Festival returns to East Passyunk, with dozens of restaurants, bars, and cafes serving up street food, signature dishes, sips, and more. Accompanied by live music, sidewalk sales, arts and crafts, children’s activities, and games, the festival is free and open to the public and extends along five blocks.
At top: Hollow Apple from Koresh Dance Company opens this weekend. (Photo by Shannon Bramham.)
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