What to do in Philadelphia from March 29 to April 4

As you soak up the breezy Opening Day weather today, it’s time to look to the season to come. Carolyn Wyman wryly outlines the Phillies’ schedule for theme nights and giveaway promos, including dollar dogs and mystery bobbleheads. If hot dogs and trinkets don’t speak to you (maybe you’re classier than all that), you might like Grace Dickinson’s list of the best bargains of Philly Wine Week, which runs April 1-7. And if you need some self-care to get you back in tip-top spring shape, Josh Rosenblatt has you covered with tips for getting a better haircut.

As always, Philly abounds with things to do. Mariah Carey and Kiss are coming to town (separately). You can taste 10 tomato sauces at East Passyunk’s annual red gravy cookoff. Or spend your Sunday afternoon browsing local wares at Cherry Street Pier, where the latest Art Star Pop Up Market will be held.

Until next week. — Jenn Ladd (@jrladd, jladd@philly.com)

Celebrate Nowruz — the ancient Persian festival that marks the beginning of spring — at the Penn Museum this Saturday. The event brings an afternoon of tours, cultural performances, storytelling, and shopping (at a Persian bazaar). Once evening falls, the festivities continue with live music, cocktails, and other activities presented in partnership with the Middle East Center and the Shabahang Iranian Cultural Society of America. — Grace Dickinson

1 to 8 p.m., Saturday, 3260 South St., free with admission until 5 p.m., $15 after 5 p.m., penn.museum

This Saturday marks the seasonal grand opening of Fairmount Park’s Smith Memorial Playground, home to over 6 acres of play space, including a plethora of swings, climbing materials, and a 40-foot-long slide. For the kickoff celebration Play-A-Palooza, live performances, games, and organized soccer activities will add to the fun. — G.D.

Noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, 3500 Reservoir Dr., $10 per child, smithplayground.org

The East Passyunk Crossing Civic Association established this tradition in 2015, and like clockwork, it brings out sauce purists and interpreters alike. Previous years have seen vegan entries, as well as gravies doctored with tomato puree and lamb parts. Ten homemade sauces will compete for recognition. Gravy-goers will get to try them all, ladling them over home-cooked macaroni and vegan meatballs from Triangle Tavern. Bread, salad, coffee, and dessert are included with the ticket. — Jenn Ladd

4 to 6 p.m., Sunday, SS. Neumann and Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St., $20, free for children under 12, epcrossing.org

Chow down on street food from a lineup of women-owned food trucks dishing out beef brisket sammies, vegan eats, wood-fired pizza, gelato, and more. The two-day festival takes place at Chaddsford Winery, meaning there will be plenty of wine (and craft beer, wine cocktails, and cold brew) to taste, as well as tour-and-tasting opportunities. Visitors can also enjoy live music both afternoons. — G.D.

11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, also 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, 632 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, pay as you go, chaddsford.com

Allow yourself to be surprised by this comedy show, which keeps location and comedians a close-held secret until the day of the event, Diner en Blanc-style. Though a mystery, Don’t Tell Comedy promises a great show in an unexpected locale; previous venues have included rooftops, storefronts, and more. — Thea Applebaum Licht

7:30 to 9:30 p.m., Friday, somewhere in Center City, $20, $30 VIP, 18+, donttellcomedy.com

Head to Cherry Street Pier this Sunday to shop from 30 local vendors selling everything from bath bombs to handmade lamp shades to succulents. While you’re there, enjoy eats and drinks from the venue’s resident food vendors, like Little Baby’s Ice Cream and Hardena, amid the Delaware waterfront views. City Planter will host a make-and-take terrarium workshop, too. — G.D.

11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, Cherry Street Pier, 121 N. Columbus Blvd., pay as you go, artstarcraftbazaar.com

Peruse works of art valued from $3,000 to more than $1 million at the inaugural Philadelphia Fine Arts Fair. A curated selection of galleries from four different countries and eight different states will showcase contemporary pieces at the 23rd Street Armory. The four-day affair also features panel discussions, a Jamie Wyeth documentary screening, book signings, and the opportunity to meet established artists. — G.D.

Various times, April 4-7, 23rd Street Armory, 22 S. 23rd St, $25 for a day pass, philfineartfair.com

This superhero flick from last year features Jason Momoa (a.k.a. the guy who played Khal Drogo) as Aquaman, born of tryst between the queen of Atlantis and a (human) lighthouse keeper. Though the movie wasn’t a hit with the critics, this screening is worth attending, if only to enjoy the Trocadero while we still have time. Enjoy Movie Monday specials, including $3 PBR, $5 citywide specials, and free popcorn with your ticket. — J.L.

6:30 to 11 p.m., Monday, the Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., $3, thetroc.com

Starting Thursday, April 4, the historic Media Theatre will screen dozens of short films sourced from the world over. Book tickets for opening night to catch 10 festival selections, including multiple comedies and dramas, an animation and puppetry feature, and three documentary shorts. — G.D.

Various times, April 4-6, Media Theatre for the Performing Arts, 104 E. State St., $15, mediafilmfestival.org

Kiss has always put at least as much effort into being a brand as they have into being a band, so it’s a little hard to trust that they’re actually calling it quits. Knowing the band’s resident fire-breathing Barnum, Gene Simmons, there are probably already plans for hologram tours or franchise pizza joints with animatronic Demons and Starchildren cranking out “Rock and Roll All Nite” for the kiddies in the ball pit. Still, the band made its name on its live shows, and if the “End of the Road” title is to be believed, tonight’s show will be the last chance for Philly fans to see the full spectacle in all its glorious pyrotechnic excess. — Shaun Brady

7:30 p.m., Friday, Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St., $39.50-$1,000, wellsfargocenterphilly.com

Texas guitar-slinger Gary Clark Jr. has been this decade’s great blues hope since 2012’s Blak and Blu, and he continues his genre-fluid evolution on the new This Land. His third album commands attention with the proud, defiant, antiracist title track that builds off Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land,” and finds Clark showing off his many musical moves, moving up toward a falsetto range in “Pearl Cadillac,” and restlessly experimenting with electronic textures throughout. — Dan DeLuca

8 p.m., Friday, the Met Philadelphia, 858 N. Broad St., $64.95, 800-653-8000, themetphilly.com

Jazz has been inextricably intertwined with Cuban music from its very beginnings, so projects combining and recombining the two are nothing new. But pianist/composer Elio Villafranca has never approached those connection points in conventional ways. The Cuban native (and former Philadelphian) created his latest project, Cinque, with a dramatic narrative sweep and an epic scope of vision that earned him a Grammy nomination. The suite recounts the story of Joseph Cinque, who led the successful revolt aboard the slave ship Amistad while en route to a sugar plantation in Cuba. Performed by a vibrant 10-piece ensemble with members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the piece explores the sounds of the Caribbean islands. — S.B.

8 p.m., Saturday, Painted Bride, 230 Vine St., $20, paintedbride.org

Chestnut Hill-based chamber choir the Crossing performs a special concert this Saturday to honor the late Joseph Flummerfelt, the illustrious American choral conductor and one-time teacher of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The choir will sing works by Gavin Bryars, Herbert Howells, Ēriks Ešenvalds, Michael Gilbertson, and world Robert Convery, all written in memory of Flummerfelt. — G.D.

8 p.m., Saturday, Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Ave., $20-$35, crossingchoir.org

The last of the truly commanding divas makes her presence known and her multiple chart-toppers heard at the Met this week — on the very same night that the recently opened concert hot spot unveils its VIP cocktail lounge/dining space, the Grande Salle. Carey’s soaring yet songbird-like five-octave vocal range is intact, and her newest album, Caution, is as durable and decadent as her first. Bow down to greatness here. — A.D. Amorosi

8 p.m., Wednesday, the Met Philadelphia, 858 N. Broad St., $49-$499, 800-653-8000, themetphilly.com

Mary Timony can be an intricate guitarist, given to math-rock excursions (in Autoclave) and to mystical meditations (in Helium). And throughout her career, she’s been an intelligent, complex songwriter. But occasionally she wants to rock out, and that’s what Ex Hex — the trio she formed after the dissolution of the similar Wild Flag — is all about. The new It’s Real picks up where 2014’s aptly titled Rips left off: with loads of glam-rock swagger, some punky Blondie pop, plenty of sneering anger, and constant pithy, crunchy riffs. It’s loud and immediate, fun and smart, and it’s likely to sound even better from Union Transfer’s stage. — Steve Klinge

8:30 p.m., Wednesday, Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St., $20, 215-232-2100, utphilly.com