Skip to content
Entertainment
Link copied to clipboard

Hang with Allen Iverson and his celeb buddies, plus 12 other ways to spend your weekend in Philly, August 5-7

Need something to do this weekend? Don't worry, we've got you covered.

Former Sixer Allen Iverson tries on a Sixers hat in the VIP tent at a draft party on the Parkway on Thursday, June 23, 2016.
Former Sixer Allen Iverson tries on a Sixers hat in the VIP tent at a draft party on the Parkway on Thursday, June 23, 2016.Read more(Steven M. Falk/Staff Photographer)

Need something to do this weekend? Don't worry, we've got you covered.

SPORTS

» READ MORE: Allen Iverson Celebrity Basketball Game

7:30 p.m. Friday, Liacouras Center, 1776 N. Broad St. $15-$100. 215-204-2400.

We talking 'bout charity? A.I. hosts producer Jahlil Beats, rapper Pusha T, and boxer Danny "Swift" Garcia in a celeb b-ball game. Proceeds will go to the Police Athletic League of Philadelphia and the iChooseLife Foundation. Iverson diehards, of course, will be wearing his new Stance sock line- Molly Eichel

» READ MORE: Battle at the Beach

10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Wildwoods Convention Center, 4501 Boardwalk, Wildwood. $100 registration fee for competitors; free for spectators. 860-295-0403.

You don't have to know an armbar from a half-nelson to enjoy this North American Grappling Association event at the Jersey Shore.

The mixed-martial-arts tournament features competitors using Greco-Roman wrestling, judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Japanese jujitsu, sambo, jeet kune do, and other disciplines in submission matches, across all skill levels, weights, and ages. There will be hundreds of matches, so the thrills should be nonstop. - Michael Harrington

» READ MORE: Cavanaugh's kickoff

7 to 11 p.m. Sunday, Cavanaugh's Rittenhouse, 1823 Sansom St. No cover. 215-665-9500.

Pro football returns at 8 p.m. Sunday with the traditional preseason opening Hall of Fame game, this year featuring a classic matchup of the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts.

Cavanaugh's Rittenhouse will offer a chance for grid fans to limber up for a season of cheering with a "Preseason Kick Off Tailgate," featuring food and drink specials, giveaways, and the game. See Aaron Rodgers vs. Andrew Luck - for one series, anyway.

(As for the Eagles, they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Linc at 8 p.m. Thursday. Birds fans will see a little of Sam Bradford, Chase Daniel, and Carson Wentz, along with, maybe, all of the mellifluously monikered McLeod Bethel-Thompson they are ever likely to get.) - M.H.

KIDS

» READ MORE: Beeaware

11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Morris Arboretum, 100 E. Northwestern Ave. $17; $15 seniors; $9 students and ages 3 to 17; ages under 3 admitted free (includes garden admission). 215-247-5777.

Get the buzz on bees with this sweet event at Morris Arboretum. Venture into little-known parts of the garden, find fascinating facts about the busy arthropods, learn how pollination happens, and maybe taste a bit of honey. - M.H.

THEATER

» READ MORE: On the Road Again

8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Ave., Ambler. Tickets are $31 and $36. 215-654-0200.

Two of the funniest folks around, Tony Braithwaite and Jennifer Childs, team up for a comedy review centered on travel and vacations. It features songs, skits, and "celebrity GPS," in which famous voices give you directions (that should absolutely be a thing). - M.H.

MOVIES

» READ MORE: Black Star Film Festival

Through Sunday, various venues. $12 general admission.

One of Philly's most exciting cinematic offerings is this five-year-old festival, bringing together movies that celebrate the African diaspora.

We're most excited about the local premiere of Namour (2:50 p.m. Sunday, International House), by Philadelphia's own Heidi Saman, set against the 2008 economic collapse, about an Los Angeles valet driver who has a nervous breakdown. Saman nabbed the LA Film Festival's LA Muse Award for the flick.

There is also a whole host of other exciting panels and films to check out. - M.E.

FESTIVAL

» READ MORE: 2nd Street Festival

Noon to 10 p.m. Sunday, Second Street from Green Street to Germantown Avenue. Free, 215-627-6562.

The scenesters and restaurateurs of NoLibs have their big summer street fest. Vendors (the Art Star Craft Bazaar has a presence), beer gardens, and bands on multiple stages keep the party pumping for 10 hours. Bring the kids - crafts are available throughout. - M.E.

MUSIC

» READ MORE: Wiz Khalifa / Snoop Dogg

7 p.m. Friday, BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd, Camden. $52 to $181.50. 800-745-3000.

You might get a contact high just from reading about the two cannabis-loving rappers. It is called the High Road Tour, after all.

Snoop is an incredible live presence - all charisma and rhymes - while Khalifa, who hails from Pittsburgh, might have some local love for his Pennsylvania brethren. - M.E.

» READ MORE: Smooth Jazz Summer Series

7:30 p.m. Friday, RiverStage at the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing, Columbus Boulevard at Chestnut Street. Admission is free. 215-922-2386.

Smooth-jazz fans, go on with your mellow selves - fly your laid-back flags, raise your spritzers high, and get wrecked on romance. August's free Smooth Jazz Summer Nights series starts with Avery Sunshine, the luminous singer and pianist (a.k.a. Chester native Denise Nicole White) and her soaring, sultry neo-soul stylings. Coming up: Trumpeter Cindy Bradley (Aug. 12), guitarist Chieli Minucci (Aug. 19), and singer Peabo Bryson (Aug. 26). - M.H.

» READ MORE: Kandace Springs

8 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, South, 600 N. Broad St., $20. 215-600-0220.

On her excellent album Soul Eyes, Kandace Springs mines the seam between soul and jazz.

The 27-year-old Nashville singer and keyboardist was inspired by Norah Jones' debut album; she has covered songs by Sam Smith, 2Pac, Bonnie Raitt, and Prince (who mentored her between her 2014 EP and this year's debut full-length). That's quite a range, and Springs makes them cohere with her thoughtful and sensitive phrasing. Soul Eyes mixes seductive originals with covers, including War's "The World is a Ghetto" and two Shelby Lynne songs. - Steve Klinge

» READ MORE: Coldplay

7 p.m. Saturday, Lincoln Financial Field, One Lincoln Financial Way, $45.50-$175.50, 800-653-8000.

Coming off a Super Bowl performance - yes, Coldplay headlined, not Beyoncé - the uber-popular Chris Martin-led band will play Lincoln Financial Field before football starts. They're touring behind their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams- M.E.

» READ MORE: Deftones

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Festival Pier, Columbus Boulevard at Spring Garden Street. $43.75 & $50, 215-922-1011.

Hard to believe, but Chino Moreno's heavy rap-rock, aggro-electro-metal Deftones have been around nearly 30 years.

The band started as a Sacramento, Calif., high-school music project that is easily better than one of those science class baking-powder volcanoes. The Deftones' lyrics are now as scary as its music, with 2016's Gore a pulpy, bloodily violent, yet elegantly beautiful melee; an old grouchy sound of crushed metal-rap, "godless demons," and a "force divine" that shouldn't still sound relevant, but does. - A.D. Amorosi

» READ MORE: Counting Crows / Rob Thomas

Counting Crows' dreadlocked dreamer Adam Duritz and Matchbox Twenty crooner Rob Thomas have been pals for 20 years, but have rarely shared a stage until now.

Both acts will do their own sets during the 40-city run, but Thomas says he and Duritz will occasionally sing together, too. Counting Crows - known for wildly creative onstage interpretations of their own and others' songs - have always been taken seriously by fans and critics, Thomas perhaps not seriously enough, but both acts share a talent for catchy, highly emotive pop-rock. - Nicole Pensiero