African American Museum zine party, Grand Ole Opry, Ill Doots, drag queen cabaret and more things to do this weekend
Plus a comedy double-feature, a Pat Martino tribute, and more ways to keep busy in Philadelphia for the next seven days.
Here’s what you need to know to keep busy for the next seven days.
FRIDAY
🎶 Drive-In Concert: Split Decision at Oxford Valley Mall (Concert / In-Person) A concert gets the drive-in treatment at an outdoor show featuring Split Decision, DJs, local entertainers and plenty of socially distant dancing. ($50-$125, Aug. 7, 5 p.m. - 10 p.m., Oxford Valley Mall, map, add to calendar)
💄 Martha Graham Cracker’s 15th Anniversary Cabaret (Theater / Virtual) Celebrate 15 years of Philly’s favorite and hairiest drag queen at a high-energy and uber-entertaining virtual cabaret. Event proceeds benefit Philabundance, the Philadelphia area’s largest hunger relief organization. (Donations encouraged, Aug. 7, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m., Martha Graham Cracker, add to calendar)
🎨 The African American Museum Presents Escape Artist Mixtape: Parable of Coronas (Launch Party / Virtual / Free) This virtual zine release party celebrates the art of survival with interactive and thematic experiences — this edition is inspired by Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower and promises engaging content created by a range of changemakers. (Free, Aug. 7, 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., www.aampmuseum.org, add to calendar)
🚗 Reels on Wheels: Comedy Double Feature Weekend at Mount Hope Estate and Winery (Movie / In-Person / Day trip) Two times the laughs for a drive-in double feature of Tommy Boy and Wayne’s World. ($25 per car, Aug. 7 and 8 at 8 p.m., www.parenfaire.com, map, add to calendar)
🎭 Bristol Riverside Theatre Presents A Night at the Movies (Show / Virtual / Musical) The virtual show closes with two more performances of favorite movie melodies. ($35, Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. and Aug. 9 at 3 p.m., Bristol Riverside Theatre, add to calendar)
🍅 The Secret Garden (Movie / Virtual) Every generation, it seems, gets a new visual version of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel. In this retelling, Colin Firth is Lord Archibald Craven, Julie Walters is Mrs. Medlock, and Dixie Egerickx is the orphan who finds the magical garden. From the producers of the Harry Potter series. (Available Aug. 7, video on demand everywhere)
💃 Work It (Movie / Virtual) The Lehigh Valley’s Sabrina Carpenter stars in a dance comedy about a teen whose college admission is hinged on her ability to throw it down in a competition. The one small problem is that she can’t dance. Take a bit of “Bring It On,” add a pinch of “Pitch Perfect” and a touch of “World of Dance,” and voila! (Available Aug. 7 on Netflix)
🎨 The Burnt Orange Heresy (Movie / theaters) Mick Jagger plays an art dealer who desires a work by a reclusive painter (Donald Sutherland) and hires an art critic (Claes Bang) to steal it for him. With Elizabeth Debicki. (Opening Aug. 7 at the Cinema Art in Lewes, Del., Aug. 14 at the Colonial in Phoenixville)
🎥 The Tax Collector (Movie / Virtual) Even A-List filmmakers like David Ayer (writer of “Training Day,” director of “End of Watch,” “Suicide Squad,” “Fury”) are seeing their movies go straight to VOD. Here, Ayer returns to the world of gritty, gangland, L.A. crime with stars Bobby Soto and Shia LaBeouf as bag men for a crime boss. (Available Aug. 7 on Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple TV and more)
🎥 Creem: America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine (Movie / Virtual) Scott Crawford’s documentary chronicles the rise and fall of Creem, the much loved 1970s Detroit-based music magazine that featured critics Lester Bangs, Dave Marsh and Jaan Uhelszki and served as a rude, irreverent alternative to Rolling Stone. With Michael Stipe, Alice Cooper and Joan Jett. ($9.99, starts streaming Friday at filmadelphia.org, add to calendar)
SATURDAY
🎥 Grand Ole Opry (Music / Virtual) This week’s socially distanced show from the stage of the Grand Ole Opry is a quality folk-country-bluegrass quadruple bill, with Nashville string band Old Crow Medicine Show, old timey multi-instrumentalist Dom Flemons, bluegrass picker Billy Strings and ace guitarist Molly Tuttle. (Free. 7:30 p.m., Aug. 8, on YouTube, add to calendar)
🚗 Ill Doots (Music / In-person / Drive-in) The drive-in concert series at the People’s Light Theater in Malvern will continue for at least three more weeks. Saturday, it’s Ill Doots, the Philly hip-hop collective that draws on funk, R&B and soul. Their new album is The Mess. The series continues on Aug. 14 with Colebrook Road and Greg Sover Band with Great Time on Aug. 21. ($75 per carload, Aug. 8, 6:30 p.m., peopleslight.org, add to calendar)
🎶 Pat Martino Tribute (Music / Virtual) Jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein and his quartet pay tribute to South Philly jazz giant Pat Martino performing live on stage at Chris’ Jazz Cafe. Martino famously relearned how to play guitar in the 1980s after suffering an aneurysm, and he’s been unable to play of late due to various health problems. (Free, with donations going to Martino’s GoFundMe. Aug. 8, 8 p.m. at chrisjazzcafe.com, add to calendar)
» READ MORE: How to summer in Philly: Our 2020 summer guide
SUNDAY
🎥 Street Movies 2020 (Movie / In-Person + Virtual / Free) The Scribe Video Center continues its community movie nights, featuring independent works ranging from documentaries to animated films. Each screening is complete with live music and performances. (Free, Aug. 9, 12, 13 at 8 p.m., Street Movies 2020, add to calendar)
» READ MORE: Our kids calendar has ways to keep your kids busy while you try to work
MONDAY
📢 Philadelphia Virtual StorySLAM (Theater / Virtual / Story Slam) The Moth, a New York-based organization dedicated to the art of storytelling, presents a virtual — but Philadelphia-based — evening of tales. Guests can choose to listen to the stories through the virtual link or sign up for a chance to tell a story of their own around the theme of enthusiasm. ($10, Aug. 10, 7:15 p.m to 9:15 p.m., The Moth, add to calendar)
» READ MORE: What's open right now? Here are the museums and attractions that have reopened in the Philly area
TUESDAY
📖 The Mütter Museum Presents Radiation Evangelists (Book Release / Virtual) A release party for the Philly-based historian and writer Jeffrey Womack’s latest book, Radiation Evangelists: Technology, Therapy, and Uncertainty at the Turn of the Century, with a pre-recorded virtual discussion and live chat-based Q&A with the author. (Donations encouraged, Aug. 11, 6 p.m to 7 p.m., www.muttermuseum.org, add to calendar)
THURSDAY
🎥 Barnes Presents Film Club and Community Chat with Reelblack (Movie / Virtual / Free) Mike Dennis of Reelblack Inc., an organization dedicated to teaching and empowering through Black film, teams up with Barnes @ LoLa 38 to screen two of his early films, both centering on Black love and a coming-of-age storyline. Following the virtual screening, guests can join a community chat about the independent films. (Free, Aug. 13, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Film Club and Community Chat, add to calendar)
🎶 Philadelphia Folk Fest (Music / Virtual / Multi-day) The Philadelphia Folk Fest virtual experience kicks off Thursday night with a Campfire Open Mic night and access to the PFF archives, and then the fest gets going in earnest with over 150 acts playing Friday through Sunday. (Aug. 13 programming is only available with a $75 full-festival pass. One-day admission Friday through Sunday is $25. folkfest.org, add to calendar)
Calendar contributors include staff writer Dan DeLuca (music), Howard Gensler (movies), and Jane M. Von Bergen (theater).