Tickets available for Southern Class of 1976 reunion
The South Philadelphia High School Class of 1976 will hold its 45th reunion on March 18 at the Lazaretto Ballroom, located at 99 Wanamaker Ave. in Essington, from 7-11 p.m. All are welcome. For more information, contact the Class of 1976 reunion coordinators Michele T. at impizazz143@gmail.com or 267-971-4386 or contact Maria S. at mshonesty747@aol.com or 215-463-3215. Tickets are $50 per person and the deadline to purchase tickets is Feb. 14.
Theatre Exile opens new play
Theatre Exile at 1430 S. 13th St. will present The Motherf**ker with the Hat by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis through Feb. 27 with Theatre Exile’s new theater limited-capacity audience of 60 guests, reduced from the usual 125-seat capacity.
After his release from prison, Jackie moves in with his childhood sweetheart Veronica as he tries to start his life anew. He’s working to overcome his addictions with the help of his sponsor, Ralph D, but is soon confronted by familiar demons when he discovers another man’s hat in his apartment. For more information, visit https://theatreexile.org/shows/the-mfer-with-the-hat/ or call 215-218-4022.
Apply for community council
The Office of the City Controller is seeking community leaders, religious leaders, business owners and residents to join the Community Advisory and Accountability Council that will support its review of the Philadelphia Police Department. The review will focus on the Police Department’s operational and resource deployment as well as how Philadelphia compares to other police departments across the country and best practices in policing.
The Community Council’s members will be determined through an application/nomination process. The application and nomination form is at https://controller.phila.gov/about/opportunity-join-our-community-council/.
Applications will be accepted through Feb. 16.
The review will be performed by Stout, an advisory firm. The review will be supported by the Center for Policing Equity. Horsey, Buckner & Heffler, a minority-controlled financial firm, will also provide assistance with interviews and budget and spending data analysis.
The final report is expected to be released publicly by summer 2022.
No voting by non-citizens
Jeff Bartos, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, opposes allowing non-citizens to vote in American elections.
Bartos wants a constitutional amendment prohibiting the practice.
“Many of you probably know that New York City now put into law, with the new mayor, legislation that allows 800,000 non-citizens to vote in municipal elections. We need a national, federal constitutional amendment to make it very clear that only United States citizens may vote in elections in the United States,” he said.
Barletta signs education pledge
Lou Barletta, Republican candidate for governor, signed the “1776 Pledge to Save Our Schools,” a promise to return to honest, patriotic education.
The pledge is sponsored by 1776 Action, an organization formed last year to combat anti-American indoctrination in K-12 schools with the assistance of Dr. Ben Carson and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
“All across Pennsylvania, parents are sick and tired of their tax dollars being used to fund anti-American indoctrination campaigns in K-12 classrooms that teach their children to hate their own country and each other through racist ideologies like Critical Race Theory,” Barletta said. “When I am governor, we will no longer teach children that they are either oppressed, or the oppressor, depending on the color of their skin. And we won’t teach them that they have no chance in life because of their skin color, either.”
Barletta wants refugee screenings, investigations
Keystone Job Corps Center in Luzerne County will reportedly soon be accepting refugees from Afghanistan, and Republican candidate for governor Lou Barletta said he does not trust the Biden administration to do what is necessary to screen the refugees and conduct a thorough background investigation to determine exactly who is being let into the country.
“We have already seen failures in screenings with disastrous results in other parts of the country, with refugees committing violent crimes once on American soil. And we know that the Taliban and other terrorist organizations will use our generosity against us and seek to infiltrate the refugee program. Once again, I must question how vigilant Gov. Tom Wolf and Attorney General Josh Shapiro have been in fulfilling their duties to protect the citizens of Pennsylvania. As we learned with the continuing secret relocation of illegal immigrants to the commonwealth, their default position is to throw up their hands and say, ‘It’s not our job.’ Well, it is their job, and the citizens deserve to know that every precaution is being taken to protect our communities,” Barletta said.
Flower show tickets available
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society announced that tickets are on sale for the Philadelphia Flower Show.
The theme is In Full Bloom. The show will take place at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park, 1500 Pattison Ave., from Saturday, June 11, through Sunday, June 19.
For tickets, go to PHSonline.org/the-flower-show.
Apply for scholarship
The deadline is March 1 to apply for the Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia.
Scholarships are available to income-eligible kids in kindergarten through eighth grade. They are awarded by random lottery.
Apply at CSFPhiladelphia.org.
Monster Jam at the Linc
Monster Jam returns to Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday, April 16.
The show starts at 7 p.m., with a pit party for fans going from 2:30 to 5:30.
At the pit party, fans can see the massive 12,000-pound trucks up close, meet their favorite drivers and crews, and take pictures.
Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com.
Activities at Academy of Natural Sciences
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, is hosting several current and upcoming exhibits.
Hidden Works of Nature: The Microscopic World in the Library & Archives will be on exhibit on the following Fridays, hourly from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Feb. 18 and March 4 and 18.
A junior scientist workshop, How Do Plants Communicate?, is set for Saturday, Feb. 12, from 10 a.m. to noon. The workshop is for kids in third to fifth grades. Register at https://bit.ly/3Da6brG.
The Pine Barrens Project will take place on Saturday, Feb. 12, from 3-9 p.m., featuring film and video that celebrate and reflect on the natural world. The project is curated by David Scott Kessler, whose feature-length film The Pine Barrens will be shown at 5 p.m., accompanied by a live score by The Ruins of Friendship Orchestra. Tickets are $35. Masks and proof of vaccination are required. For more information and to register, visit https://bit.ly/3IeXYph. The Pine Barrens will be available online Feb. 12-15. Tickets for the virtual screening are $10 and can be purchased at: https://watch.showandtell.film/watch/thepinebarrens_ans.
The discussion Growing Art from Science will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 6:30 p.m. Register at https://bit.ly/3rRiQOe.
A junior scientist workshop titled Water Bugs, geared to kids in third to fifth grades, is scheduled for Saturday, March 19, from 10 a.m. to noon. Register at https://bit.ly/3pbrMLq.
Extreme Deep: Mission to the Abyss will run from April 2 to July 24.
Invisible World of Water runs through May 1.
Sea Change is running indefinitely.
Ocean Bound will run from Aug. 20 to Jan. 15, 2023.
Water exhibit opens
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, is presenting Invisible World of Water, on view through May 1 and free with general admission.
The exhibit coincides with “Water Year,” an initiative of the Academy of Natural Sciences and Drexel University aimed to increase public attention of the resource.
For more information, visit ansp.org.
Explore ocean depths
A new exhibition opening this spring at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, reveals the mysteries of the ocean’s greatest depths.
Extreme Deep: Mission to the Abyss, opening April 2, invites museum visitors to explore newly discovered life forms, thermal vents, deep-sea research submersibles and shipwrecks including the Titanic.
Museum visitors will observe firsthand the technology that only recently has allowed scientists to travel to the ocean floor and discover the creatures that thrive in total darkness. They can test their skill at manipulating a robotic arm of a replica of the submersible Alvin to pick up lava rocks and clams similar to what scientists do to gather samples of creatures from the ocean floor.
Visitors can also fly a remotely operated vehicle over a model of the Titanic’s deck and, in another display, see how currents created by superheated water erupting from thermal vents carry nutrients that support life forms few ever dreamed existed.
Extreme Deep: Mission to the Abyss will be on view through July 24.
Kimmel schedule
The Kimmel Cultural Campus has returned to live Broadway programming.
Here is the schedule through next summer: Hadestown (Feb. 9-20, Academy of Music); Beautiful – The Carole King Musical (Feb. 22-27, Academy of Music); Rent: 25th Anniversary Farewell Tour (March 4-6, Merriam Theater); Oklahoma! (March 8-20, Forrest Theatre); Waitress (March 29 to April 3, Academy of Music); Hairspray (May 16-22, Merriam Theater); To Kill A Mockingbird (July 12-24, Academy of Music); and Dear Evan Hansen (Aug. 16-28, Forrest Theatre).
For more information, call 215-893-1955 or visit kimmelcenter.org.
Upcoming cruises
The Bristol Cultural and Historical Foundation is sponsoring a cruise to Charleston and Bermuda, June 2-12, 2022, on the Celebrity Summit, sailing from Cape Liberty, in North Jersey. Rates range from $1,577 to $2,387 per person, double occupancy.
Meanwhile, a fully escorted Holy Lands & Aegean Majesty cruise will sail Oct. 6-17, 2023, featuring 10 ports-of-call. Rates, including airfare, range from $4,198 to $7,998 per person, double occupancy.
Call 215-788-9408 for information and reservations.
