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.
As the specs disappear and the weather continues to please, why not spend more time outside, exploring Fairmount Park or wandering around our very own arboretum? This is the second week of the Cherry Blossom Festival in Philadelphia but you can celebrate in any number of ways, such as spending the afternoon in the President’s Garden on campus or attending a Japanese Tea ceremony at the Shofuso House in Fairmount Park.
“Glengarry Glenn Ross” (see preview) will be showing in Olde Club this weekend, while Neal Dandade’s ‘06 original play, “Mango Chutney on Mesa Street” will be performed in Upper Tarble at 8 pm on Saturday. A favorite when he premiered it at Swarthmore two years ago, the autobiographically inspired coming of age story is sure to please again. Tonight at 7 pm you can catch International Week’s Culture Show in Upper Tarble for Bollywood Dancing, a fashion show, Korean fan dancing, and many other events.
You can also enjoy the work of fellow students at the List Gallery this weekend, featuring the senior exhibits of Emmanuelle Wambach and Rachel Turner, or at Cara Arcuni ’09 and Henry Clapp’s ’09 joint student recital in Lang tonight at 8. The Gil and Mary Roelofs Stott Program Concert, featuring chamber music by Mozart, Haydn, Patitucci, and the premiere of David Ludwig’s “Divertimento,” will be Sunday at 7:30 in Lang Concert Hall.
For those thinking of escaping into the city, the thrifty can catch a free concert of popular British singer-songwriter Kate Nash at World Café Live today at noon and tonight is your last chance to see Bellini’s “Norma” at the Academy of Music. Meanwhile, this year’s Shakespeare Festival brings “Pericles” which will be performed on Friday and Sunday evening, one of the less performed plays on “love, loss, and restoration” to Philadelphia.
Fans of ballet can catch the comic “Coppelia” at the Merriam Theater. It tells the story of a somewhat mad inventor who creates a beautiful, life sized dancing doll, Coppelia. The doll is so beautiful, that it steals the heart of a village boy who had formerly been the love of Swanhilda. Swanhilda, a wily protagonist, sets about fixing this problem with comical results in this twist on the Pygmalion myth.
Finally, for those of you who have always dreamed of having your very own Rocky moment, why not sign up for one of the many dashes and relays in Philadelphia over the next two months? This Sunday, runners (and walkers) will be dashing up the art museum steps for the annual Organ Donor Awareness Dash which raises money to increase education on organ and tissue donation.
