SoLow Fest, pride in film, Juneteenth, and more this weekend in Philly

While everything might be starting to slow down a bit as we get settled into the summer months, a handful of festivals and performances are here to keep you buzzing. The DIY theater scene proves yet again just how strong and fierce it is with SoLow Fest in its 10th year, and xoxo moongirl brings genre-defying magic to the stage once again. Pride Month screens its colors with Lightbox's Queering the Lens nonfiction film festival. The Second City visits Philadelphia with an all-woman production, and Juneteenth commemorates emancipation.

Radical DIY with SoLow Fest

SoLow Fest is back for its 10th year this weekend, launching 11 days of experimental and boundary-pushing performances. The art at hand comes from all corners of the city, taking place in living rooms, traditional theaters, and outdoors. All shows in the festival, in support of independent theater artists, are pay-what-you-can. The multigenre, DIY celebration begins Thursday, June 13, 2019, and runs until June 23. Check out the full schedule of performances online.

Queering the Lens film series

Lightbox Film Center will present a selection of groundbreaking nonfiction films to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Starting Thursday, June 13, and running until June 27, the program includes a preview screening of local filmmaker Chet Catherine Pancake’s Queer Genius, along with works from Su Friedrich, Barbara Hammer, and Marlon Riggs. See the list of screenings and additional events online.

She the People

She the People: Girlfriends’ Guide to Sisters Doing It for Themselves is a sketch show created, designed, and performed by the women of the Second City, and debuts on Thursday, June 13, at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater, 300 South Broad Street. The brand-new performance roasts the patriarchy throughout its run to June 22nd, and tickets can be found online.

xoxo moongirl

Okay, so I’m reviewing xoxo moongirl, and it’ll be the second time I’ve seen it, but I can’t encourage you enough to go see this performance! The solo show by Nicole Burgio is an enchanting, heartbreaking, sobering piece of magic, with aerial circus, dance, and more. It’s a complex story that wrestles with domestic abuse, defies genre, and amplifies the female voice. Tickets are available online, and the show debuts Friday, June 14, at 8pm and glides through to Sunday, June 23, at Funicular Station, 416 West Coulter Street.

Organ Day at the Kimmel Center

On Saturday, June 15, at 11am, the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus will present its 9th annual free Organ Day. A roster of family-friendly programming and performances from Opera Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Ballet accompanies a six-hour marathon of organ music performed on the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ. It’s the largest mechanical pipe organ in a concert venue in the US, with 6,938 pipes, 4 blowers, 300 levels of memory, 111 stops, and a total weight of about 32 tons. This is literally going to be huge.

Juneteenth Festival at Johnson House

Come out to celebrate Juneteenth, which marks the passage and ratification of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution. To commemorate the end of slavery, family-friendly activities, panel discussions, reenactments, food trucks, performance arts, exhibits, and historic tours will come to the Johnson House, 6306 Germantown Ave. Check it out on Saturday, June 15, from 12pm to 7pm.