February = Black History Month + More
Feb 16, 2023 10:00AM ● By FunTimes Staff
FunTimes Fun Events: Culture, Education & Entertainment!
February has just 28 days, but packs a powerful punch of entertainment, education and celebration. Here is a bucket full of events focusing on music, dance, food, art and African-American history. But before venturing out to these in-person activities, please respect the ongoing pandemic safety protocols, and check individual event-attending instructions with the organizers. As a general rule: If you feel unwell, please do not attend in person.
Important stories of dark past find the light of day
February 23, 2023. Tune into A Salute to the Past, Present, a special Black History Month presentation by CBS 3 TV and the Johnson House. FunTimes also is a partner with the Johnson House in Philadelphia’s Germantown area. The telecast highlighting the seldom-told stories of African-Americans, is hosted by news anchors Ukee Washington and Natasha Brown. Built in 1768, the Johnson family lived in the Johnson House until 1908. During the 1800s, the historic home played a key role in the Underground Railroad movement. Freedom fighter Harriet Tubman found shelter and refuge there with enslaved Africans whom she later led to safety at a nearby home in her journey to liberty. CBS3 is presenting a series of features including streaming specials about the untold stories of African Americans during February.
Young American Hard Cider also is donating a portion of proceeds from its sales to the Johnson House in recognition of the unheralded contributions of enslaved peoples “whose backs the cider industry is built on.” The history of cider-making in the United States is connected to slavery. Jupiter Evans, Thomas Jefferson’s personal servant, stapler and stonecutter, was a integral part of Jefferson’s household. He managed cider-making operations at Monticello plantation. Young American Hard Cider created a cider called Jupiter for the month of February. A portion of proceeds from every cup of the new "Jupiter" cider sold will go to the Johnson House Historic Site. Free, 7 p.m., televised on CBS3 Philadelphia TV, cbsnews.com/Philadelphia, Johnson House Historic Site, 6306 Germantown Ave., 215-438-1768, Johnsonhouse.org or cbsnews.com/Philadelphia.
Black Superhero celebration
February 21, 2023. Kids of all ages can celebrate Black superheroes and learn what it takes to be a superhero through feats of strength, agility and creativity. Free, 4 p.m., Free Library of Philadelphia--Walnut Street West, 201 S. 40th St., 215-685-7671 or freelibrary.org.
King’s daughter presents ‘The Beloved Community’
February 26, 2023. Black History Month hits full stride with An Evening Conversation with Dr. Bernice A. King, “The Beloved Community.” The Rev.Dr. Mark Tyler, of Mother Bethel AME Church in South Philadelphia, will be the moderator-host pastor. Dr. King is a minister, lawyer and daughter of the late Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King. As CEO of The King Center, she is on a mission to ensure a society of justice, and equality inspired by her crusading patriarch. Presented by the African American Museum in Philadelphia and Wells Fargo. $50, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Mother Bethel AME Church, 416 South Sixth St., 215-574-0380 or aampmuseum.org.
Feeling the organ vibes on stageAn organ-ized event
February 25, 2023. Is giving the organ its due respect just a pipe dream? Come see Organ Day – a six-and-a-half-hour marathon celebrating organ music performed on the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, dubbed as the United States’ “largest mechanical pipe organ in a concert venue.” The Philadelphia Orchestra will open up Organ Day with a performance that blends the organ with its signature Philadelphia Sound. The timeless works of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach are among the selections. Slip back in cinematic time and see vintage silent films shown with the soundtrack of a live organ. The Philadelphia Ballet and Opera Philadelphia also will perform. Part of the experience includes “Organ Pumps,” a fun exercise in which audience members can go on the venue’s Verizon Hall stage and feel the organ’s powerful vibrations first-hand. Event is presented by the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Free tickets are required for The Philadelphia Orchestra’s 11:30 a.m. performance. The following performances, from noon to 6 p.m., are non-ticketed. See the day-long schedule online. Free, 11:30 a.m. Kimmel Center/Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999 or kimmelculturalcampus.org.
From hot funk to cool blues…
Through February 28, 2023. Tune in weekdays for music from amazing artists during Black History Month on WXPN radio (88.5 FM). Explore the legends of soul, funk, hip-hop, blues, jazz and R&B. Prince, Tracy Chapman, The Roots, Marvin Gaye, Janet Jackson, Tina Turner are just a few of the entertainers highlighted. The lives, careers and music of these famous artists are celebrated. xpn.org or https://xpn.org/2023/01/30/black-history-month-2023/.
A dance celebration of Black music old and new
Eat on ‘The Avenue’ at Restaurant Week
February 27, 2023 to March 10, 2023. Enjoy lunch or dinner at a price that that will be kind to your wallet on “The Avenue” – formally known as Passyunk Avenue -- a mecca for some of the Philadelphia’s most celebrated restaurants. The occasion is East Passyunk Restaurant Week in South Philly featuring a diverse array of cuisines from Italian to Vietnamese. Whet your palate on this restaurant row at more than two dozen eateries offering familiar favorites and limited specialty dishes. Prix-fixe lunch and/or dinner menus will be priced at $20, $30, $40, and $55. Passyunk Avenue, east side of Broad Street, eastpassyunkrestaurantweek.com.
Blanche A. Nixon/ Cobbs Creek LibraryArtists needed to create art at a community jewel
Through March 10, 2023. Philly has one of biggest public art collections in the United States. The City of Philadelphia government is the gatekeeper of this art, and its Percent for Art Program and Rebuild have an open call to artists to create a site-specific public art piece for the Blanche A. Nixon/ Cobbs Creek Library. The library in Southwest Philadelphia is undergoing interior and exterior renovations. This public art project will be an outdoor sculptural representation of the life and legacy of community activist Blanche A. Nixon on the library grounds. According to promotional material: “The purpose of this Percent for Art opportunity is to create an enduring work of public art that is permanent, site-specific, and reflects the culture, values, and diversity of the Cobbs Creek community.
Artists are encouraged to interpret Blanche A. Nixon’s story and the history and culture of Cobbs Creek in an engaging way, using durable materials. The library is a late Carnegie-era library constructed in the1920s. The branch was renamed in 1990 to honor Blanche A. Nixon, a local resident and library volunteer, who helped add a garden and mural. Blanche co-chaired the Southwest Philadelphia Interracial Mothers Council and Safe Street Advisory Board. Artists or artist teams reflecting the diverse Cobbs Creek community, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and female artists or artist teams are strongly encouraged to apply. Apply by March 10, 2023 by 5 p.m. Blanche A. Nixon/Cobbs Creek Library, 5800 Cobbs Creek Parkway. (near the Cobbs Creek Parkway and Baltimore Ave. corner), Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Philadelphia City Hall, 215-686-8446 or creativephl.org.
