InLiquid’s Annual Auction/Benefit Going Down This Friday
If you’re not a fancy pants art collector, you probably wouldn’t normally consider attending an art auction. And chances are, you wouldn’t be able to afford a single thing at a normal art auction, anyway.
But InLiquid’s 13th Annual Silent Auction & Benefit isn’t just for fancy pants art collectors.
Going down this Friday from 6:30-9:30 p.m. in the Ice Box Project Space of the Crane Arts Building (1400 N. American St.), the annual reception and fundraiser seeks to offer exposure to the city’s emerging visual artists, connecting them to a diverse new audience—collectors and professionals as well as the general art-appreciating public.
Having received well over 150 submissions from local artisans and galleries this year, the array of artwork up for grabs includes everything from photography and paintings to sculpture and jewelry. And while the bids for most of the featured pieces start at $100, there’s also a decent selection of items well under $100.
Admission to the event is $40 in advance; $50 at the door. If this seems like a lot of money, keep in mind that not only will you be supporting the local art community, but you’re going to be fed a lavish lineup of food and drinks from top local purveyors like Ristorante Panorama, Philadelphia Brewing Co., Rustica and Soy Café. On top of that, all guests will get to go home with a special, limited edition print designed by three artists, chosen by a group of jurors from the Philly art world.
Still, if you’re totally broke, consider stopping by for Crane Arts’ Second Thursday art openings tomorrow night from 6-9 p.m when InLiquid will be simultaneously hosting a Young Professionals Preview Party/Valentine’s Day Mixer. While perusing all the new artwork and attempting to make a love connection, guests will be treated to drinks courtesy of Art in the Age and live entertainment from the RAW Artists and its crew of fashion models.
Find Some Holiday Cheer This Week
If all that holiday shopping over the weekend didn’t quite get you in the Christmas spirit, there happens to be several festivities going on this week that might do the trick.
The Pennsylvania Horticulture Society is temporarily taking over a 400 square foot storefront smack dab in the heart of Chestnut Hill offering exclusive, hand-selected holiday gifts not just for the green thumbs on your list, but design, culinary and Flower Show enthusiasts. More specifically, you can expect an array of unique home décor like vintage glass glitter ornaments and soy candle-ariums as well as a beautifully packaged tea set for two and advance tickets to the 2013 Flower Show, “Brilliant!” which will be bringing the gardens and landscapes of Great Britain here to Philly in March. The pop-up shop will also be hosting a series of special appearances, demos and on-site product samplings throughout December. In conjunction with Chestnut Hill’s “Stag & Doe Nights,” each Wednesday evening from 6-9pm, the shop will host a “Swag & Bow” event in which folks are invited to come and enjoy complimentary wine and cheese while taking part in some custom bow-making. Wednesday, 3-9pm. Open daily through Sun., Dec. 23. Free. Across from the Chestnut Hill Hotel at 8232 Germantown Ave.
Stop by Rittenhouse Square tomorrow night and join locals near the guard- house to watch their massive Christmas tree light up the entire park. Be sure to bring a new, unwrapped toy along with you as The Salvation Army will be there collecting donations for local children in need. You can also make a $10 donation by texting the word “JOY” to 80888. Wednesday, 5pm. Free. Rittenhouse Square.
The Gingerbread House Display/Fairmount Park Holiday Tours
Now on display inside the Shops at Liberty Place (Chestnut St. Entrance), ten local chefs have concocted elaborate gingerbread houses, each one representing a different Fairmount Park historic site including, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Mount Pleasant and The Please Touch Museum. The display is actually just a preview of the stunning, picturesque homes locals can see starting Dec. 1 when the Historic Houses of Fairmount Park Holiday Tours begin. Each of the mansions are decked out to the nines for Christmas and you have the option of touring them either alone by foot or via trolley. Display: Through Dec. 9. Tours: Dec. 1-9. Times, prices and locations vary.
Just in time for the holidays, InLiquid is offering a special preview of their annual Art For The Cash Poor event inside William Way all this weekend. Much like their signature summer event, an array of handmade arts and crafts will be on display for sale, with nothing priced higher than $199 and most items priced for less than $100. Got kids? Bring them along and send them over to the craft-making station. Can’t wrap a gift to save your life? There will be a station for that too. Fri., 5-8pm. Sat. & Sun., 12-5pm. Free. William Way Community Center, 1315 Spruce St.
Finally, there’s always of course Christmas Village in Love Park.
What To Do This Weekend
E. Passyunk Avenue’s 7th Annual Car Show & Street Festival
Personally, this is at the top of my weekend “To Do” list. In addition to 140+ super awesome antique/show/custom cars, the avenue will be lined with circus performers, a moon bounce, all the food and drinks you can imagine and DJs at each corner. To top it all off, over at the Singing Fountain, nice things handmade will be hosting the Bang! Boom! CRAFT! Show, featuring a plethora of handmade items from 30 crafters and artists. Note: this is in addition to the street vendors who you’ll find scattered about selling jewelry, sunglasses, Italian clothing and other products. Oh, and did I mention that Ms. Goody Cupcakes will be handing out free samples? Sunday, 12-8pm. Free. @ E. Passyunk Ave. between Broad & Dickinson Sts.
Kembrel’s Philly Designer Trunk Show Vol. 4
Haven’t been to the last three trunk shows? What the fuck are you waiting for?? As always, shoppers will be treated to appetizers and wine while perusing the one-of-a-kind goods of four local indie designers—from the geometric, 80s-fab creations of Abigrl, Couture Vulture and the high-concept nail art service Nail Tite to the clever, Philly-centric fashions of Phreedom and Philly Phaithful. Sunday, 4-8pm. Free. @ Kembrel (1822 Chestnut St.)
Retrograde Presents: Swingin’ Sirens
Wanna feel super glamorous for a night? Of course you do. I mean, who doesn’t? So get all dolled up in your finest vintage/vintage-inspired attire and check out this 1940s themed event celebrating the era’s biggest sirens—from the Hollywood starlets to the femme fatales and even Rosie The Riveter. There will be live swing music and performances throughout the evening. Should you want to spruce up your outfit, Itzy Bitzy’s Hats will also be selling their retro-inspired tiny hats and embellished stunners. Saturday, 9pm. $10. @ HeadHouse (122 Lombard St.)
If, like me, you can’t walk down the street at night without trying to sneak a peak inside every house with their blinds open, then this might be the sightseeing tour of your dreams. Here’s how it works: for $25 you’ll have access to six of the coolest modern homes in the Philly area (two of which are in the city) and because this is a self-guided driving tour, you are welcome to tour the homes in any order at your own pace. In other words: a mini road trip! And if the exterior shots of these houses are any indication, the interiors are going to blow you away. Check the site for more deets. Saturday, 11am-5pm. $25. @ Various locations
Fourth Friday on Fourth Street
After checking out the opening receptions apart of Arts on South, be sure to meander over to Fabric Row. As we mentioned earlier this week, BUS STOP (727 S. 4th St.) is celebrating the start of the London Summer Olympics with an all-day “GOLD FOR THE GOLD Sale.” Customers who come appropriately adorned in some gold bling (no, silver isn’t good enough) will be awarded 15 percent off all shoe purchases. The boutique will also be serving ice-cold lemonade and setting up a podium where you can proudly showcase your footwear. Just a few doors down, Urban Princess Boutique (750 S. 4th St.) will be offering 15 percent off all summer clothing, accessories, soaps and other gifts from noon-8 p.m.
Ballet, hip-hop, belly dancing, tango, Zumba, pole dancing…you can do it all this Saturday. Even better: you can do it entire for free. Several studios across the city will be hosting back-to-back dance workshops, mostly catering to beginners–even those very unfortunate individuals born with two left feet. To wrap up the event, a huge dance party will be held at the Ethical Society at Rittenhouse Square where every is welcome to come and cut a rug however they so choose. Check the site for a complete schedule of events. Saturday, 10am-11:30pm. $0-$5. @ Various locations
Photo: Monica Manlang
Just in case you’re unfamiliar with this annual street fair, basically it’s an explosion of creativity that consumes an entire city block. In a nutshell: live music, fire arts, dance, food and drink vendors, hands-on activities and more than 20 arts vendors showcasing/selling everything from jewelry, clothing and furniture to stationary, books and paintings. There will also be roughly 14 different organizations in attendance offering their products/services and hosting activities including, The Clay Studio, InLiquid and Neighborhood Bike Works. Judging by the entire line-up of festivities contained in their three page press release, I can say with confidence it’s gonna be a pretty dang good time. Saturday, 12-10pm. Free. @ Philly Magic Gardens (1000 block of South St.)
Art For The Cash Poor = Gold Mine
Hopefully you all had a chance to experience the affordable art extravaganza that was Art For The Cash Poor 13 this weekend. If not, you should be kicking yourself right now as you missed out on a lot of cool shit.
Despite having gotten only a sampling of the 200 or so vendors during Friday night’s preview party on Friday night, I was pleasantly surprised by the selection. Considering how many local art festivals/craft shows I’ve attended the past few months, it was refreshing to see so many new faces. Plus, having spent my entire weekend allowance in just two hours, it’s probably best that I wasn’t exposed to the full shebang (you can never have too much handmade jewelry, right?). Fortunately, as per the beauty of the event, I got a lot of bang for my buck.
Here were a few of my favorite vendors and some of the awesome accessories I scored…
It took incredible self-restraint to walk away from Rhoda Crawford’s table of Steampunk treasures with only two items, especially since, with the exception of a few pieces, most of her jewelry was priced under $20. Even better: Crawford donates a portion of all of her sales to an animal rescue service. After deciding that I wanted a necklace, I was then left to choose from the array of ornaments—everything from monocles and compasses to hourglasses and deconstructed clock parts. I wound up going with this Sherlock Holmes solid brass magnifying glass necklace for just $15. I also got a wall hook rack adorned with super creepy wooden cut outs of vintage baby dolls (which apparently, I’m the only person that appreciates).
Although I was familiar Stitch Prism, it was great to finally meet KellyAnne Mifflin in the flesh. As it turns out, she is a gal of many talents. In addition to her jewelry, her tiny table showcased several hanging aerium gardens and a few pieces of embroidery work. Despite my newfound obsession with aerium gardens, I decided to go with something more practical that didn’t require any maintenance whatsoever: these bangin’ geometric gold earrings.
Penelope was actually one of my favorite vendors at last month’s Art Star Craft Bazaar. And while I didn’t remember her name, I most certainly remembered her stunning jewelry. Marked by unique, colorful glass murrini patterns, it’s hard to explain exactly what her pieces look like, but I assure you photos don’t do them justice. Although most of her jewelry is a bit too expensive for me, for the AFTCP preview event, Penelope was offering her “reject” stones for just $2-$5. Still perfectly amazing as far as I could tell, I rummaged through the collection for nearly an hour before finally settling on the best three I could find (which are not pictured here since they may or may not be a gift for someone).
Somewhere between goth and Steampunk, trendy and feminine, literally Sultana had something for every type of gal in her little corner. While it may seem odd that one designer would produce such a varied collection of jewelry–let alone one that includes a domino ring–after talking to Sultana for a few minutes, it all starts to make sense. Once again, I’m not sure how many people would really appreciate this ring, but having grown up playing Mexican dominoes, I was sold the moment I laid eyes on it.
PW’s Senior Editor, Nina Hoffmann also went home with a few goodies for her “little peanut-to-be”…
Whether its a stuffed animal, onesie, t-shirt, mug or pillow, everything designer Diane Koss makes is freakin’ ADORABLE. I’m not even expecting a kid anytime soon and I still considered getting one of her uber-cute monster hoodies (they come in adult sizes too!)
What To Do This Weekend
Much to the excitement of pretty much every secondhand-loving local, Philly AIDS Thrift will soon be getting even bigger and even better. To help raise money for their impending expansion, the store is inviting folks to join them for a summertime bash featuring delicious food and drink, prizes and a silent auction as well as live music from Dangerous Ponies and DJ TransAM. Though the event will be held inside the magnificent work of art that is Philly Magic Gardens, tickets are on sale at PAT (710 S. 5th St.) for $25. Pay an extra $25 guests and you’ll have access to an open bar. Friday, 5-9pm. $25-$50. @ Philadelphia Magic Gardens (1020 South St.)
5th Annual Old City Sidewalk Sale & Stroll
With the weekend forecast calling for sunny skies and temps into the 80s, you’re definitely going to want to meander over to Old City at some point this weekend where over 50 stores, restaurants and galleries will be showcasing and selling their wares out into the streets. Several businesses will also be hosting special events such as exhibits, trunk shows, food and demonstrations. For instance, over at Three Sirens Boutique (134 N. 3rd St.), they’ll be offering shoppers treats and tasty margaritas for the adults (or lemonade for the kids) as well as a special clearance sale, 10-20 percent off select summer styles, jewelry and scarves and a buy-one-get-one-half-off deal on Mink summer dresses. Sat. & Sun., 12-5pm. Free. @ Various locations around Old City.
By now, most of you are probably familiar with InLiquid’s annual art extravaganza (or at least you should be if you’ve read PW’s art column this week). But regardless of whether you’ve attended the much-anticipated summer event the past 13 years straight or are a total AFTCP virgin, this year’s edition is not to be missed. Besides food and live music, each day, there will be at least a 100 or so arts and craft vendors in attendance selling all sorts of affordable, one-of-a-kind items—from prints, paintings and sculpture to clothing, accessories and housewares. Having gone through the list of vendors, I can assure you AFTCP is the best possible thing you can do this weekend—and probably the cheapest. Sat. & Sun., 12-6pm. Free. @ InLiquid, Crane Arts Bldg. (1400 N. American St.)
Also Tomorrow: Shopping Party & Fundraiser at SA VA
Wow, your Wednesday night sure is filling up quickly. Before heading over to The Trestle Inn to drool over BUS STOP boutique’s sexy shoe showcase, stop by SA VA in Center City (1700 Sansom St.) where they will be holding a special shopping party and fundraiser from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
While enjoying complimentary beverages, guests can shop the SA VA spring collection which is centered around eternal bloom and features ultra feminine pieces marked by soft shapes and wispy fabrics.
A portion of the party’s proceeds will be donated to InLiquid to help support their mission to create opportunities and exposure for emerging artists while making art more attainable to the general public with programming such as the upcoming Art for the Cash Poor and CAFe.
You’ll also be simultaneously helping SA VA in its mission to create a new kind of fashion community through local living wage creation, community partnerships and socially conscious clothing and accessories. If you didn’t already know, 90 percent of the garments the Philly-based brand sells are made in their adjacent garment center, always with fair-trade and often eco-friendly materials.
Certainly beats heading straight home after work and spending the rest of the night watching American Idol.
What to do this weekend
Secretly everyone loves a good sing-a-long. And secretly most folks know more of the words to songs from musicals than they will ever admit publicly. Indulge your inner theater dork today at Love Park with the 11th Hour Theatre Company in a love-filled flash-mob-esque group chorus of “Seasons of Love,” from their upcoming musical, Rent, which will be on stage November 5-21. The invite notes that it’s going to be quick but fun nonetheless. Stretch those vocal chords and tell your boss you’re going for a quick walk, the singing starts at 1 p.m.
Get your glow on along the Schuylkill River tonight through Sunday with Light Drift, an interactive installation that’s happening all weekend long as [art of Design Philadelphia. Play with glowing orbs (don’t worry they are non-toxic and recyclable) on the Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Markets Sts from dusk until dawn.
Blocktoberfest will be happening all day on Saturday on the 2000 block of Christian Street. The event will include live music, artwork, representatives from local businesses and most importantly eats from your favorite Philly food trucks and craft beers from all over the country! A $12 Beer Pass will get you a beer stein and three drink tickets and after that beverages are $4 each. Proceeds will benefit the restoration of the Shiloh Baptist Church. The party starts at noon and continues until 8 p.m.
Last night the Philadelphia Film Festival kicked off with a showing of Black Swan, complete with members of the Philadelphia Ballet who were featured in the film and a post-screening discussion with director Darren Aronofsky. The festival continue through October 24 and screenings of films will take place at venues across the city. Film tickets, times and locations can be found on the official Philadelphia Film Festival web site.
InLiquid brings CAFe Community Arts Festival to the Crane Arts Building on Sunday. Local arts and environmental groups will be at the festival to raise money for youth arts organizations in addition to supporting the environment. We also hear that the Buttercream Cupcake Truck will be there!