Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival Where: Saunders Park in Powelton Village When: July 20, 12 p.m.-7 p.m. Cost: Free!
Spend the day in West Philly's Powelton Village listening to live jazz performances and enjoying local art at Saunders Park. The Festival will also surrounded by a number of yummy food trucks, so you can pretend like you're at a jazz café-- for free! Classy stuff.
University City Dining Days When: July 18-August 1 Where: Wherever you choose! Cost: Depends on where you go but $15-$35
With a selection of 28 restaurants in the UCity area participating, UC Dining Days is looking to make it affordable for the broke college kid population to check out all the nice restaurant offerings on and around campus. Depending on what you get and where you go, you'll be paying $15, $25, or $35 for a three course meal. The promotion is going on for two weeks, so you don't have that "oh I'm too busy this week" excuse you normally have for Restaurant Week. Go check out some good eats.
VoCAL Nation: CAL A Capella Showcase When: July 19, 7:30 p.m. Where: First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut Cost: $12
Locust Walk simply isn't the same without some a capella group or other throwing flyers in your face about their performance that weekend. The CAL A Capella showcase, presented by the Contemporary A Capella Society of America, is hoping to fill that void for a weekend as they bring a three showcases to the First Unitarian Church. Friday night's show features 7 a capella groups from all over the country, so you can finally turn off Pitch Perfect and put an end to your a capella withdrawal.
Serrano Street Fare When: July 5-20, 5 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. Where: Serrano, 20 S. 2nd St Cost: All depends on you
Serrano, a well-known American-style restaurant in Old City, usually takes a vacation in July. This year, though, they decided to try something different and present what they call "Serrano Street Fare." Diners sit outside and enjoy live musical entertainment while sipping on $4 draft beers and ordering from their summer street fare menu. Entrées, which are all just about ten bucks, include fish tacos, hot dogs and a rainbow of unhealthy goodness, and when else is a dinner in Old City going to be so affordable? Say it with me: four dollar (not Bud Light) beer.
Pop Up Philly Public Space (w/ Beer Garden) Opening When: Technically yesterday, but... Where: Benjamin Franklin Parkway Cost: That doesn't really apply here
Now through October, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is spending their third year turning a vacant Philly space into what is termed a "lanscaped, community space." What does all that mean? Basically, PHS has created a space with a lovely little picnic restaurant and Beer Garden to serve the Philly community for the next three months. Officially termed the Pop Up Garden, you can get lunch from 11-2 Monday through Friday and the Beer Garden is open every night during the week and all afternoon into the night on weekends. There's also promises of impromptu musical and art entertainment from UArts students.
