The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, August 20-26, 2026

Editor’s note: Kyle has been writing our Weekly Roundups for years, but he finished his BSR run in July. Til a new associate editor takes up the mantle in October, you’ll see other BSR writers curating a variety of event roundups.

Arts on Center Stage: PHILADANCO!
Thursday, August 20, 6-7pm
Dilworth Plaza

PHILADANCO! performs a free show as the sun starts to set and people are getting out of work. It’s free, with seating on the Greenfield Lawn. BYO blanket and chair.

National Treasure Weekend
August 20–22

Even if you’ve avoided the movies, you still know about Nicholas Cage tracking down secrets hidden in the Declaration of Independence. Aubrey Paris and Emily Black, the hosts of the National Treasure Hunt podcast, have put together a full weekend of activities. Thursday is Heist Night at Carpenters’ Hall (320 Chestnut Street), where “you’ll test your skills in history, science, logic, trivia, and more as you work together to solve a series of written and escape room-style puzzles in a character-driven quest.” On Friday, August 21, there’s an open-air screening of National Treasure on Independence Mall. Finish up on Saturday with a walking tour, a second Heist Night, and finally a screening of National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets.

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
August 20-23, 7pm (Thursday-Friday) 5pm (Saturday-Sunday)
Malcolm X Park (Pine between 51st and 52nd)

Theatre in the X’s production of Ntozake Shange’s 1974 classic, directed by Cheyenne Barboza, is free. Bring your own chair. Look out for a review by BSR critic An Nichols.

JAWNTS Tour of South Broad Street

Take a free bus tour of South Broad Street, highlighting the musical legacy of that stretch. Learn the history of the Academy of Music and the Kimmel Center, get inside information on the Union League and the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, and discover three major murals you’ve probably driven by. Limited seating available.

Summer Film Series: Melancholia
Friday, August 21 at 7pm and Friday, August 28 at 7:30pm
Film Society Center, 1412 Chestnut Street

Lars Van Trier’s 2011 film about the end of the world is screening for a relaxing late-summer night.

Bizarre @ Clark Park
Saturday, August 22, 10am-3pm
Clark Park, 4300 Chester Ave.

More than 50 local artists, makers, and entrepreneurs set up for the annual open-air bazaar.

Philly Bookstore Crawl
Saturday, August 22
Throughout the greater Philadelphia area

Founded by Philly author, agent, and all-around literary community-builder Eric Smith, the Philly Bookstore Crawl is back for a fourth year and bigger than ever. Dozens of bookstores throughout the city and the Philly burbs are offering special discounts, giveaways, and events. Get the full story in this week’s preview by Elijah Fischer.

Milestone Mashup
Saturday, August 22, 11am-5pm
Highmark Mann, 5201 Parkside Avenue

Listed as “A Free Community Expo Celebrating Music, History, Family, and Fun,” the mashup is a family day of concerts, demonstrations, and hands-on family activities, marking 1776, the 1876 Centennial, and the opening of the Mann Center in 1976. It’s free, but registration is required.

Urban Art Fest 52
Saturday, August 22, 12-6pm
200 Block of South 52nd Street (52nd between Walnut and Locust)

More than 50 visual artists plus Big Daddy Kane and Chubb Rock celebrate local arts at this annual festival.

Ukrainian Independence Folk Festival
Sunday, August 23, noon-8pm
Ukrainian American Sports Center, Lower State & County Line Roads., Horsham, PA

Marking the 35th year of Ukrainian independence and America’s 250th, this fest features food, crafts, and performers including the Hromovytsia Ukrainian Dance Company of Chicago, Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, the Vox Ethnika Orchestra, Violinist Innesa Tymochko Dekajlo, and singer/songwriter Shanis.

Becoming Vegan: A Musical Comedy
Sunday, August 23, 7pm
SideQuest Theater at The Adrienne Theatre, 2030 Sansom St.

Can a vegan and a lying carnivore find true love? It’s the final performance of this run of Sarah Clemency’s musical comedy.

Stop by City Hall
There are two Philadelphia City Hall sites worth catching before they wrap up this fall. It was just announced the Portal will be leaving the City Hall courtyard just after Halloween. While you’re there, catch a worthwhile exhibition.

A Federal Job in the Arts: CETA and Philadelphia in the 1970s
On view through October 2, 2026
Monday-Thursday, 10am-4pm; Friday noon-4pm
Creative Philadelphia Art Gallery at City Hall (Room 116; sign-in at northeast corner entry)

The Nixon-era Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) used the model of the 1930’s WPA program to support artists during a tough time for arts funding (sound familiar?), including many projects that took place here in Philly. Thirteen Philadelphia artists are represented in this show, co-curated by CETA artists Virginia Maksymowicz and Blaise Tobia. (Note that the gallery will be closed on Friday, August 21 for a special event.) Below, see Mural Arts Philadelphia's longtime executive director Jane Golden and an assistant at work on a mural titled Muir Woods in Santa Monica as part of a CETA arts project.

Possession: Body, Memory, Home
On view through September 12, 2026
Scribe Video Center, 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia

Scribe hosts a multidisciplinary art exhibition curated by Tamara J. Mason, featuring the work of Jihan Thomas, Sherry Shine, DeJeonge Reese, and Linda Fernandez. It’s an exploration of “healing, identity, and self-possession through deeply personal visual language” in several genres of visual art, tackling grief, motherhood, migration, mental health, and cultural memory to consider home “not only as a physical place, but as something carried within the body, memory, and spirit.”

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