Stephen Silver
Although plenty of area residents will head down the shore or to other vacation destinations this summer, there’s plenty to do if you stick around.
Here’s a sampling, including a couple of events that may have already passed, depending on when you read this:
On June 15, the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History will host a live event on “Pink Triangle Legacies: Coming Out in the Shadow of the Holocaust,” named for the book of the same name by W. Jake Newsome. Newsome will moderate a panel featuring Galia Godel of J.Proud Philly, Jazmyn Henderson of ACT UP Philadelphia and Mark Segal of Philadelphia Gay News.
Also on June 15, the Dead and Co. — featuring several former members of the Grateful Dead — hits Citizens Bank Park for what’s billed as the band’s final tour. A lot of Jews have attended shows by different incarnations of the Dead since the band formed in 1965, but this appears to be the end of the (Golden) road.
Bring your bottle of red (and bottle of white) because the following night is another big stadium concert, as Billy Joel (a Jew!) and Stevie Nicks co-headline Lincoln Financial Field on June 16.
Perhaps no artist was more popular around Jewish summer camp campfires of a certain vintage than the Indigo Girls. That folk duo is having a bit of a moment, with both a new documentary and their song “Closer to Fine” being featured in the trailer for the upcoming “Barbie” movie. The Indigo Girls will appear on June 16 at Parx Casino in Bensalem.
Jewish comedian Rachel Feinstein, a veteran of three Comedy Central specials, brings her stand-up stylings to the Punchline Philly on June 20.
The Phillies will host the 14th annual Jewish Heritage Celebration on June 21, as the team takes on the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. In past years, the Phillie Phanatic has danced the hora, donned a kippah, waved an Israeli flag and was lifted in a chair bar mitzvah-style.
Artist Jonathan Horowitz will visit the Weitzman on June 25 for a “Meet the Artist” event, in connection with his continuing exhibit “The Future Will Follow the Past: An Exhibition by Jonathan Horowitz.”
The Katz JCC in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, will host a Cherry Hill Comedy Night on June 28 featuring comics Gianmarco Soresi and Ariel Elias. Elias is the comedian who, last October, had a beer can thrown at her during a set at the shore, then picked up the beer and chugged it. Hey Alma called her “the Jewish Comedian Going Viral for Beautifully Handling a Heckler.”
Another Jewish campfire perennial, James Taylor, comes to TD Pavilion at the Mann Center, along with All-Star Band, on July 1.
The annual Wawa Welcome America festival is set for the days leading to July 4, with this year’s concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway headlined by Demi Lovato and Ludacris.
On July 8, the Jewish actor and comedian Ben Schwartz — best known as Jean-Ralphio from “Parks & Recreation,” will host his Ben Schwartz & Friends show at the Xcite Center at Parx Casino in Bensalem.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper, the Jewish Philadelphia native, returns to his hometown on July 11 for an author event at the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Parkway Center Library. Promoting his new novel “All the Demons Are Here: A Thriller,” Tapper will speak with one of the only Philadelphians more famous than he is: retired Action News anchor Jim Gardner.
Also on July 11, the one and only Kenny G will appear for a concert at the Keswick Theater. Despite appearing on a recent album with Kanye West, the saxophonist (real name Kenny Gorelick) is, in fact, Jewish.
In what’s probably the biggest concert of the summer, at least now that Taylor Swift has left town, Beyonce brings her Renaissance World Tour to Lincoln Financial Field on July 12.
Another group with a huge Jewish following, Phish, heads to the Mann Center on July 25 and 26.
Regina Spektor, described as a “Russian-Jewish-American singer,” brings her latest tour to the Keswick Theater in Glenside on Aug. 2.
Baylen Levine, the young social media star, is bringing his live show to the TLA on South Street on Aug. 8.
The Boss is coming to town, with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band headed to Citizens Bank Park on Aug. 16 and 18.
Another bestselling author who is Jewish and from Philadelphia, Jennifer Weiner, will appear at the Free Library on Aug. 30 for a talk on her latest novel, “The Breakaway.”
And finally, the Made in America festival, also on the Parkway, is set for Sept. 2 and 3, although headliners have yet to be announced.
Stephen Silver is a freelance writer.
