FESTIVALS
El Rey Cinco de Mayo Street Festival
May 5, 1-11 p.m.
Ranstead Street
Between 20th and 21st streets
Pay as you go
elreyrestaurant.com
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo all day Friday at El Rey’s third annual block party that spans 10 hours and a whole block on Ranstead Street. The bash features a spread of authentic Mexican cuisine and margaritas, as well as a day full of entertainment from a mariachi band headlined by Pedro Villaseñor and a dance floor presided over by DJ Guns Garcia.
Philadelphia Art Book Fair
May 5-6
Twelve 27
1227 N. Fourth St.
Pay as you go
phlartbookfair.com
The Philadelphia Art Book Fair brings two days of art book browsing and page-flipping to Kensington. The annual event features artists, authors and publishers from Philly and beyond showcasing the latest in photography and art book releases. It’s the perfect opportunity to snag a gorgeous new coffee table read for your living room.
South Street Spring Festival
May 6, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Headhouse Plaza
South Street between Front and Eighth streets
Pay as you go
southstreet.com
Taking up 12 city blocks, the South Street Spring Festival is billed as the largest spring block party in Philadelphia. This year’s party brings a whopping 125 vendors, 35 restaurants, 40 bands, three stages and more to Headhouse Square and beyond. Other activities and to-dos include a kids’ zone, a taco-eating contest, a twirl around the maypole at Brauhaus Schmitz and a comic book festival outside Atomic City Comics.
Laughter Day Celebration
May 7, 2-3:30 p.m.
Rose Tree Amphitheater
1671 N. Providence Road
Free
eventbrite.com
Sunday is International World Laughter Day — a movement created to encourage peace and unity through the act of giggling. Area laughter yoga coach Alexa Drubay gets the Delaware Valley region in on the fun with a celebration in Media that includes an hourlong laughter session — something everyone should try at least once —and a guided meditation on world peace. Water, light snacks and funny faces provided.
MUSIC
Dwight Yoakam
May 5, 8 p.m.
Keswick Theatre
291 N. Keswick Ave.
$39.50-$69.50
keswicktheatre.com
Dwight Yoakam is one of country music’s highest-selling artists, with a cool 25 million albums sold worldwide. Most of those hits came during the ’80s and ’90s, when tunes like “Guitars, Cadillacs” and “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere” were burning up country airwaves. Hear those and some of his bluegrass-tinged latest ditties when he saunters onto the stage at the Keswick Friday night.
Shaed
May 5, 8 p.m.
Union Transfer
1026 Spring Garden St.
$17-$20
utphilly.com
Rising-star D.C. pop project Shaed comprises twin brothers Max and Spencer Ernst and powerhouse vocalist Chelsea Lee. Their debut EP “Just Wanna See” is a collection of lush, soulful electro-pop that complemented the sound of recent tour mates, Philly’s own Marian Hill. Catch them this weekend at Union Transfer when they open for British songstress Bishop Briggs.
Bombay Rickey
May 6, 8 p.m.
Painted Bride Art Center
230 Vine St.
paintedbride.org
For a truly unique live music experience, pop by Painted Bride this weekend to hear Bombay Rickey, a five-piece band fronted by coloratura soprano opera singer Kamala Sankaram. Together, the outfit creates a rich cinematic sound that all at once evokes Bollywood, Mozart and spaghetti Western tunes that would make Quentin Tarantino squeal.
Andre Hommen
May 6, 9 p.m.
Underground Arts
1200 Callowhill St.
$10-$15
undergroundarts.org
German DJ Andre Hommen comes to town to give Philly a taste of the steady stream of dance-centric EPs he’s released over the past couple years. His latest, “These Eyes,” is a sexy blend of thumping beats and haunting vocals that should be sure to light up the Underground Arts dance floor this weekend.
PERFORMING ARTS
“White”
Through May 21
Theatre Horizon
401 DeKalb St.
$20-$35
theatrehorizon.org
Theatre Horizon closes its 12th season with the world premiere of “White,” a new work by Barrymore- and Terrence McNally New Play Award-winning actor, director and playwright James Ijames. The play concerns a writer named Gus who attempts to reach a more diverse audience by hiring a black actress to pretend that she wrote his latest play. Things just get all haywire — and hilarious — from there.
“Sense of Human”
May 4-7
Suzanne Roberts Theatre
480 S. Broad St.
$20-$40
koreshdance.org
Fresh off a 17-city season tour, Philly’s Koresh Dance Company is finally back on home turf. Welcome back the dancers this weekend when they present a four-night reprise of “Sense of Human.” The provocative work utilizes contemporary dance to explore the experience of self-discovery and the masks we often wear when interacting with the world.
