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.
There are so many events happening on campus this weekend, even I’m getting overwhelmed, and it’s my job to stay on top of this kind of stuff! Get ready for one of the most jam-packed, info-stuffed, and awesome Weekend Roundups you’ve ever read. Warning: this may or may not blow your mind. And with the weather so beautiful, it’s not like you’ll be getting that much studying done anyway, so you might as well get out there and experience it all. Don’t lie to me—you’re not focusing that hard.
Ah, where to begin? With comedy. It’s Comedy Weekend, folks. Several comedy groups on campus joined forces to put together this awesome weekend, and you should really go and laugh at their efforts. Tonight at 8PM in Sci 101, Boy Meets Tractor, Leo Callahan, and Vertigo-go will start your weekend off right. At tomorrow night, same time, same place, look forward to performances from Boy Meets Tractor, Rhythm ‘N Motion, Haverford’s Lighted Fools, and New York based sketch comedy group Audience of Two! For more information, you can check out the Facebook event page here (must be logged into Facebook).
Swat’s all-female a capella group Grapevine will be hosting its Spring Concert tonight at 8:00PM in Alice Paul Lounge. It will feature songs by artists like the Dixie Chicks, Katy Perry, Jay Sean, and more, and it’s sure to be a fun time. If you’re into Swattie music, you should definitely check out the Rose Tattoo Café tomorrow night at 9PM in Olde Club! Students like James Robinson ’10 and Chris Shea ’12, the Balkan Band, Amy Vachal ’11 and Sunny Cowell ’10, Silbia Han ’12 and the Sunshine Boys, Ben Starr ’11, and many, many more wonderful acts will perform.
Swarthmore’s Yellow Stockings Shakespeare Company will perform its collection “The Course of Tue Love (it isn’t smooth)” tonight at 8PM and tomorrow at 2PM and 8PM in Upper Tarble. It features a selection of Shakespeare’s greatest lover’s quarrels, and it promises “love, hatred, passion, sword fights, acrobatics, a bear, two weddings, and a murder most foul…” Surely, a promise you can’t resist.
In the Kitao Gallery, Bess Matlock ’12 has curated an exhibition entitled “Dorothy Marder Peace Photography.” The photography and memorabilia in the exhibit are from Swarthmore College’s very own Peace Collection will feature the life and work of peace activist, feminist, and gay rights advocate Dorothy Marder. Marder’s freelance photography offers a glimpse into activism during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. The exhibition will only be up this weekend, so go take a look when you can! The opening reception is tonight from 5-7PM.
If, like me, you’ve got bad allergies, and would really rather stay inside and watch a movie, fear not because there are two really interesting movies showing on campus this weekend. The first is Up in the Air, hosted by the Movie Committee. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) has a job traveling around the country, firing people. He leads an empty life out of a suitcase until his company does the unexpected—ground him. The movie was nominated for 6 Oscars this year, and it will show in LPAC Cinema at 7 and 10PM both tonight and tomorrow night. A Village Called Versailles will also be screening on campus this weekend. A moving documentary about a group of Vietnamese-Americans residing in a New Orleans neighborhood called Versailles, it depicts how they were able to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, only to have their homes threatened by a new government-imposed toxic landfill. The movie is just 45 minutes long and will show in Sci 199 at 8PM tonight only.
You might be displeased with the activities on campus this weekend or even feel the need to get off campus. Lucky for you, the area surrounding is always filled with interesting things to do. Here are just a couple of things I think are worth checking out. Tomorrow at 8PM at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Norah Jones will perform. Jones is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, to list a few of her many talents. Her career exploded with her 2002 debut album Come Away with Me, a contemporary vocal jazz album with soul, folk, and country aspects. She is most famous for her songs “Don’t Know Why,” “Sunrise,” and “Come Away with Me.” Tickets are in the $40-$60 range and can be purchased here.
At UPenn’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the exhibition entitled “Righteous Dopefiend: Homelessness, Addiction and Poverty in Urban America” seems really fascinating. Anthropologist Phillippe Bourgois and photographer-ethnographer Jeff Schonberg document the daily lives of homeless drug users, drawing upon more than a decade of fieldwork they conducted among a community of heroin injectors and crack smokers surviving on the streets of San Francisco. The exhibit itself consists of about 40 black and white photographs, transcriptions of tape-recorded conversations, fieldwork notes, and critical analysis to explore the intimate experience of homelessness and addiction. With student ID, a ticket is $6, and you can check out the exhibit from 10AM-4:30PM Tuesday through Saturday, or 1-5PM on Sunday. More information here!