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PrideFest, FirstGlance Film Festival, Dancing Divas, and more
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, May 15-21, 2025
Kyle V. Hiller
This week is a chance to touch base with a variety of communities in innovative ways. An HBCU Festival pops up at the Mann, bringing together dozens of Historically Black Colleges and Universities for an afternoon showcase. Then, no need to wait until June for Pride as a festival in New Hope celebrates this weekend. One of Philly’s longest running film festivals returns, and the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus closes out its 43rd season. A conversation previews a groundbreaking exhibition (or perhaps “grounding” makes more sense here), and ArtYard and DelArt innovate on the outskirts of the city.
Stay dry, Philly!
PrideFest 2025
May 16-18
Various locations, New Hope, PA
New Hope Celebrates (NHC) brings the annual celebration back to the area this weekend, connecting two towns in two different states by way of New Hope and Lambertville Bridge. With a grand parade, marching bands, vendors and organizations, the festival this year leans onto the theme of “Together, We Rise! Defying Fear, Embracing Hope,” a rallying cry in a world where progress is not guaranteed but fiercely fought for.
FirstGlance Film Festival
May 16-18
Film Society Bourse, 400 Ranstead Street
Philly’s longest running indie film festival is back for its 28th run, featuring 35 new independent films by local, national, and international filmmakers. Take a sneak peek at the movie trailers on FirstGlance’s YouTube channel.
Dancing Divas
May 16-17
Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 South Broad Street
The Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus will perform its final concert of its 43rd season this weekend, bringing dance inducing jams from the 1940s to today. You’re encouraged to pick a decade, dress to impress, and bring your dancing shoes if you go to the concert!
HBCU Festival
Saturday, May 17, 11am-5pm
Mann Center for the Performing Arts, 5201 Parkside Avenue
The Mann Center hosts a free festival showcasing the experience and pathways for Historically Black Colleges and Universities for curious students and families in the Philly area. The festival features a variety of representatives from 25 HBCUs, performances by drumlines, choirs, and cheer squads, wellness workshops and resources, and much more.
bodies & territories: ecofeminist legacy
Saturday, May 17, 4-6pm
Taller Puertorriqueño, 2600 North 5th Street
Choreographer Silvana Cardell, filmmaker Raquel Cecilia Mendieta, and art historian Mey-Yen Moriuchi come together for a screening and conversation that reflects on and reimagines ecofeminist artistic practice. Coming ahead of Cardell’s new production TERRA: Bodies & Territories which premieres in June by way of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education in Northwest Philly, the conversation looks at the production through the lens of artist Ana Mendieta, whose performative practice embedded her own body into the land. Screening two short films by Ana Mendieta, Moriuchi will bridge the works of both Medietas to explore the legacy of ecofeminist artistic practice and its relevance today.
ArtYard's Hatch Festival
Saturday, May 17. 2pm
ArtYard, 13 Front Street, Frenchtown, NJ
The Hatch is back for an afternoon of free, family-friendly activities including costumes, a parade, musical performances, and a community procession. The biennial festival starts at ArtYard’s riverside courtyard with colorful flocks of human birds, giant bird puppets, a marching band, mariachi, and a 25-person Brazilian drum corps will lead the way to Sunbeam Lenape Park, through to downtown Frenchtown, and ending with a dance party back at ArtYard.
Art.Song.
Sunday, May 18, 6pm
Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington
Tour the Delaware Art Museum in style and song with an evening featuring hits from the art collection, opera, R&B, and the Great American Songbook. The event pairs the art pieces with complimentary small ensemble performances for an innovative museum experience.
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