Weekend roundup: Katrina benefits and more Fringe Festival fun
Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Major musical acts such as Eve, Musiq, Floetry, Freeway, and many others will give a benefit concert for hurricane refugees at East Fairmont Park on Saturday. It’s a great chance for fans who want to contribute to relief effort to get off campus and have a good time; all the proceeds of the $15 tickets will go to the American Red Cross. The concert runs from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and the park is located on 33rd St. near Ridge Avenue. Some of the 600 refugees who arrived in Philly late this week will be guests. Promoter and producer Charles Alston told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “It wasn’t a hard thing to think about. It seemed the right thing to do.”
The Live Arts and Philly Fringe Festival continues this weekend. One of the more amusing offerings is “The Teachings of Chairman Rick: A Musical Filibuster.” The Rick in question is, of course, none other than our very own Senator, Rick Santorum. Like most Fringe offerings, it is not for the easily offended or, well, conservative. Songs include “Err on the Side of Life,” a Terri Schiavo number. The words of Santorum are set to the music of Tom Weinberg. It plays every night this weekend at 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. at the William Way Community Center on Spruce Street. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. (If you prefer your theater big and shiny, go see the touring production of “Hairspray,” a fun, feel-good show now in its last weekend at the Academy of Music.)
OK, it’s not technically a weekend event but since some of us don’t have many classes on Monday (relax, freshmen, your time will come) we felt compelled to mention this. Cornel West will read from and discuss his most recent book, “Democracy Matters”, at the National Constitution on Arch Street at 6:30 on Monday. He’s very popular, so you might want to buy a ticket in advance ($6 for students). The iconoclastic Princeton professor/occasional rapper’s new work discusses the Current Situation and why the American democracy is, in his view, going to hell in a handbasket.
