Fringe in the mainstream
2017 Fringe Festival: The festival brings unusual theatrical, improv, music, spoken word and dance offerings at multiple venues throughout Philadelphia Sept. 7-23. See www.fringearts.com for the complete schedule and ticket information.
Finale for summer
Allentown Fairgrounds: The fair continues noon to 11 p.m. through Sept. 3 and noon to 10 p.m. Labor Day Monday at 302 N. 17th St., Allentown. Grandstand highlights include Rascal Flatts Sept. 1; Pentatonix Sept. 2; Tito Nieves, Ivy Queen and Jose Alberto Sept. 3; and the J&J Demolition Derby Sept. 4. The fair is also home to the annual Lehigh County 4-H livestock sale. Additional outdoor attractions include the 4-H Petting Zoo, an antique tractor display and Lil’ Farm Hands – an activity center where kids can play and learn what it’s like to be a farmer. Inside the Agri-Plex is more than 9,000 entries competing for blue ribbons for things that are grown, sewn, cooked, created and collected. There will also be culinary and interactive contests for foodies and arts and crafts lovers. Other highlights include an Iron Chef Competition, “Grain to Glass” demonstrations of local, seasonal ingredients in distilled spirits, the Nerveless Nocks All-American Thrill Show, “America’s Got Talent” Season 6 quarter finalist Dan Mink performing stunt horse roping and knife throwing, Robinson’s Pig Paddling Porkers, food and craft beers, acoustic musicians, Scott’s Future of Magic, New Odyssey – 3 Guys 30 Instruments, the Marvelous Mutts Canine Spectacular, Blues Brotherhood, attractions commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Allentown Fairgrounds, a carnival midway and more. Admission is $8, free to children 12 and under and to all from noon to 2 p.m. Sept. 1. Parking is $10. All-day ride wristbands are $22. Visit www.allentownfair.com.
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology: The Summer Nights series wraps up Sept. 6 at 5 p.m. with Jordanian musical ambassadress Farah Siraj. She performs her original compositions, fusing influences of Middle Eastern music, flamenco, jazz, bossa nova and pop, with lyrics in Arabic, Spanish and English. Admission is $10.
Also, opening Sept. 9, and continuing through March is the exhibit “‘What in the World?’ Early Television Meets the World of Archaeology, 1950-1966,” which looks back at the CBS TV series that was hosted by Penn Museum director Froelich Rainey. Featuring photographs, letters, other documents and video clips from surviving episodes, the exhibition looks back at the game show that featured such famous people as actor Vincent Price, artist Jacques Lipschitz and anthropologist Carleton Coon. The museum is at 3260 South St., Philadelphia. Get hours and admission rates at www.penn.museum or (215) 898-4000.
Circus Week
Morris Arboretum: It’s Circus Week in the Garden Railway through Sept. 4. Watch as model railroad cars filled with elephants, clowns and bears navigate 15 rail lines with loops, tunnels and bridges. The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is at 100 E. Northwestern Ave., Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.morrisarboretum.org.
Parkway party
Moore College of Art and Design: Moore is joining its neighbors along Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway in launching the 100th anniversary celebration of the parkway 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 8 at 20th Street and the Parkway. Stroll The Galleries at Moore and go back to the time of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton and the jazz age greats with live music by Drew Nugent & The Midnight Society. Admission is free. For more on the parkway celebration, check www.parkway100.org.
Creature features
Norristown Farm Park: “The Eastern Coyote at Norristown Farm Park” explains how the Eastern Coyote has quietly colonized the city and suburbs of Philadelphia at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 3. The talk will be followed by a walk in the park. This free program is appropriate for adults and children ages 6 and older. Meet at the park office.
Learn about the diversity of insects’ form and function at 1 p.m. Sept. 6. Join the park’s staff in searching for insects in the meadow. Play a game and make an insect craft. This event is appropriate for children 3 and older with an adult. Cost is $5 per child. Meet at the pavilion.
Pre-registration is required by calling (610) 270-0215. The park is at Barley Sheaf Drive and Germantown Pike, East Norriton.
Get moving
King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company: The sixth annual KPVFC 9/11 Memorial 5K & 1 Mile Walk happens Sept. 9 at the firehouse, 170 Allendale Road, Upper Merion. Registration opens at 7:30 a.m. and the run begins at 9. Visit www.kpvfc.com for online registration and more information.
Food, wine, beer
Plymouth Country Club: Greater Norristown Police Athletic League sponsors the 17th annual Food and Wine Festival and Craft Beer Garden event 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 7 at 888 Plymouth Road, Plymouth Township. The event includes entertainment and advance tickets are $60 ($65 at the door). Go to www.greaternorristownpal.org.
Car show
Norristown Maenner-Chor Club: The fifth annual Norristown Police Thomas Barone Memorial Car Show will be held Sept. 3 at the club, 920 Haws Ave., Norristown. Proceeds support the Thomas Barone Scholarship Fund Fraternal Order of Police No. 31. “Good Day Philadelphia” traffic anchor Bob Kelly will be making a personal appearance. All cars, motorcycles and trucks are welcome. Registration is $20. Registration is from 9 to 11 a.m. with the show beginning at 11 and ending at 3. This is a free event and open to the public. Professional judging will determine awards for Excellence, Top 40 and Best in Class. Breakfast sandwiches, coffee and donuts will be offered beginning at 8 a.m. There will also be lunch, beverages, music and raffle baskets. Contact Rich at (610) 585-7115 or raceitch3@verizon.net. Also, visit www.norristownmaennerchor.com or www.everycarshow.com.
Time to learn
Philadelphia Honey Festival: How important are honey bees to our environment, food supply and our economy? The eighth Philadelphia Honey Festival is held Sept. 7, 9 and 10 at three historic sites – Glen Foerd on the Delaware, Grant Avenue and Milnor Street, Philadelphia; Wyck Historic House, 6026 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia; and Bartram’s Garden, 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard, Philadelphia. Activities include open hive demonstrations, honey extractions, children’s activities, honey tastings, mead tastings, a presentation by the Philadelphia Insectarium and a bee-bearding demonstration. Each venue will also have additional activities, such as a live G-town radio broadcast from the Wyck Historic House, a Philly Farm Truck at Glen Foerd, and Parks on Tap Jr. at Bartram’s Garden. Admission to the festival venues, educational activities and demonstrations is free. Learn more at www.phillyhoneyfest.com.
Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation: Back to School Science Day runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (last admission at 3) Sept. 2. Colonial American used science daily, from baking, to getting water from the well, to dyeing clothes. Conduct your own scientific experiments – such as dyeing a handkerchief using indigo and madder root, churning butter , using simple machines to perform chores, using a tape measure to calculate the weight of our oxen, and more. To find the plantation, please use GPS address 3900 North Sandy Flash Drive, Newtown Square. Admission is $10, $6 for children 4-12. Visit www.colonialplantation.org.
Museum of the American Revolution: Over Labor Day weekend, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 2-4, children 12 and under will receive free admission to the museum at 101 S. Third St., Philadelphia. Every child also will receive a free back-to-school packet, including colored pencils, an eraser, a mini history-themed coloring book and a pocket-sized Declaration of Independence. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. special activities and storytelling that explores the role of children in the Revolution will take place in the first-floor Patriots Gallery. Activity sheets will examine what schooling was like in the 18th century. Also from 11 to 4 p.m. kids of all ages can try on Revolutionary-inspired clothing, design a flag, decode secret messages, make a sash like General George Washington’s to take home and practice drilling like a Revolutionary soldier. On the outdoor plaza, kids can decide if they would enlist as a summer soldier or sailor. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at a mobile Discovery Cart, visitors are invited to choose a branch of service and sign their name to a takeaway card that features a privateer ship letter of marque or soldier’s enlistment notice. Visitors can also hold replica objects representing the two most common choices for military service in the Revolutionary War. Kids can then learn more about their newly assigned role at the Battlefield Theater and privateer ship inside the museum. See www.amrevmuseum.org.
Go on an art-venture
Rosemont College: Lawrence Gallery presents a new exhibit featuring the paintings of Alice Oh, titled “Adaptation/Equilibrium.” Check it out Sept. 7-Oct. 12. An opening reception will take place 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 7, with an informal gallery talk at 4:30. The college is at 1400 Montgomery Ave., Rosemont. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays.
GoggleWorks Center for the Arts: “Retrospective,” an exhibition by John Elder will be in the Irvin & Louis Cohen Gallery from Sept. 1-Oct. 15. An opening reception will be held in the Cohen Gallery 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 1. The evening will also include a fall course preview, where guests can meet several of the artist instructors. Visit several teaching studios, watch them demonstrate their technique and get your questions answered. The GoggleWorks is at 201 Washington St., Reading. It’s open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free. Plan your visit at www.goggleworks.org.
