The Philadelphia Collection

September 23 - October 2

Various

A collaboration between The City of Philadelphia, Center City District and The Philadelphia Retail Alliance has resulted in a city-wide celebration of Philly fashion - The Philadelphia Collection!

This ten-day style event features in-store showings, trunk shows, free movies and panel discussions; Phasion Phest; Macy’s fall fashion show with special guest, photographer Nigel Barker of “America’s Next Top Model”; two Nicole Miller events; and much, much more.

Terence Blanchard – A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina)

Sunday, October 3

7:00 pm

Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

3680 Walnut Street

Many people know Terence Blanchard’s name from scoring filmmaker Spike Lee’s movies (Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Clockers and more) but this four-time Grammy® winning trumpeter/composer has influenced the jazz world and pop culture in numerous ways.

At this special performance, Blanchard will play music from his Grammy® winning A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina), a musical meditation on the horrific damage done to New Orleans in the midst of and post-Hurricane Katrina.  This masterful work also pays tribute to the indomitable spirit of the people of the region, who have picked up the pieces and carried on.

Buy your tickets here.

Eric Benét

Sunday, October 3

7:30 pm

World Café Live

3025 Market Street

Soul and R&B singer Eric Benét returns to the stage with his latest release, Love & Life, a Grammy® nominated album.  Benét will break out hits like “You’re the Only One” and classics like “Georgy Porgy” and “Spend My Life With You” for his old school fans.

Buy your tickets here.

Mavis Staples

Monday, October 4

8:00 pm

World Café Live

3025 Market Street

One of the greatest and most well-known gospel and soul singers, Mavis Staples has been making music of substance for sixty years. As a member of The Staples Singers, she recorded number one hits like, “I’ll Take You There” and has contributed to the musical landscape of the Civil Rights Movement.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s newest album, You Are Not Alone, pays tribute to her gospel routes with classic tunes and new hits.

Buy your tickets here.

Jeffrey Broussard & The Creole Cowboys

Tuesday, October 5

8:00 pm

World Café Live

Philadelphia Fashion Week

October 6-9

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

23rd Street Armory

22 S. 23rd Street

The glam hits the fan at the second annual Philadelphia Fashion Week, where emerging and established designers send their hottest looks down the runways and the glitterati walk the red carpets to check out what’s new and hot on Philly’s fashion scene.

Showing this year is Philly’s own Kristin Haskin Simms, founder of the Strangefruit clothing line, and recent contestant on Lifetime’s award-winning “Project Runway” television show (check out our one-on-one interview with Simms here.) and former contestant Pamela Ptak.  Also scheduled to wear out the runway are Carmelita Couture designs, a Philly-based line beloved by celebs and created by Carmelita Martell, Nary Manivong, Autumn Lin, Marina Makaron Moscow, Brooklyn Royalty, Allegri, Delicious Boutique and others.

Make sure to catch the student shows, which always have a surprise or two in store for eager audiences, pop up boutiques, music performances and more.

There's an App for That!

This year, Fashion Week organizers have launched a new mobile application, PhlFshnWk, to help attendees navigate through the daily shows and events and access timely, making it the first app created for a major, national fashion event.  Developed by Invictus Mobile Media, the app is currently available for download for iPhones, iPads and iPods.

DesignPhiladelphia

October 7-17, 2010

Various

The largest design festival in the nation happens right here in Philly! With 500 designers and 110 exhibits, workshops, studio tours, runway shows and street happenings throughout the city, DesignPhiladelphia is a celebration of all things bold, breathtaking, groundbreaking and beautiful.

This annual event, which debuted in 2005, showcases Philadelphia’s thriving creative community, which includes students and professionals, and the city’s influence on historic and contemporary design. Cool events like an experiment with LED light graffiti, an underground subway video festival and an exhibition created entirely of recycled skateboards are just a few things in store for visitors.

This initiative is a partnership with the University of the Arts and includes lectures, symposia and roundtable discussions, designed to facilitate networking and idea-sharing across a broad spectrum of participants.

Don’t miss the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (October 9), where you can get an inside look at some of Philly’s funkiest galleries; the Fishtank PHL presents: Deconstructed Tools exhibition presented by North Bowl Lounge ‘n Lanes and two.one.five magazine (October 7) and other programs that coincide with Philadelphia Fashion Week (October 6-9).

BONUS: Many of these events are FREE and open to the public.

Other top picks:

Light Drift

October 15

6:30pm - 1:00am 
Schuylkill River Bank (between Market Street and Chestnut Street)

"Light Drift," a temporary interactive public artwork in light produced by artist Meejin Yoon and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, will be installed along the Schuylkill Banks and in the Schuylkill River between Market and Chestnut Streets from October 15-17, 2010. Opening Reception Friday October 15, 6:30pm

Free and open to the public.

Designers of the Future

October 15

7:00pm - 10:00pm
The Millesime Store
1001-13 North 2nd Street

Millesime, in conjunction with DesignPhiladelphia, invites you to an evening of exhilaration and creative movements. Observe compelling, handcrafted works of art produced by emerging students from the profound design school, CHAD located in the heart of Philadelphia.

Free and open to the public

 “be like water”

October 16 - November 7, Tues – Sat

12:00pm - 5:00pm
Sky Box Gallery
2424 York Street

“be like water” is a site-specific installation by Aurora Robson, a Brooklyn-based artist known predominately for her large-scale work transforming thousands of plastic bottles — intercepted from the waste stream — into ephemeral uplifting designs.  Robson is a 2009 recipient of the Pollock Krasner Grant and the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, and recently featured in Art in America October 2009. This exhibition was made possible with support from the City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy. Curated by Eileen Tognini.

Free and open to the public

Asian Influences: Bennett Bean and Gary Magakis

October 7 - 17
Snyderman-Works Gallery
303 Cherry Street

Modern design often draws inspiration from and re-examines diverse cultural material. Asian Influences is a presentation by Korean-influenced Philadelphia furniture designer Gary Magakis, and Japanese-influenced ceramic artist Bennett Bean, who also translates his designs into contemporary rugs loomed in Nepal. Snyderman-Works Galleries will combine these three components to create a series of contemporary environments.

Free and open to the public

Old City Windows

October 7-17
Throughout Old City district
200 Arch Street

Old City Business Collective is inviting everyone to Old City for an exciting exhibit of windows and storefronts on display. “Old City Windows” is part of a contest sponsored by the OCBC as part of the DesignPhiladelphia celebration in October. Stroll the historic blocks of Old City filled with window displays designed by students, recent graduates, professionals, and artists in various fields of design. For a sneak preview, window tours will commence on Friday, October 1st -open to public voting. Visit the OCBC website for more information about participants, parties, and more.

Free and open to the public

The Artfront Partnership

Through October 30

9:00am - 7:00pm
Shops of Liberty Place
16th Street and Chestnut Street

The Artfront Partnership has commissioned two artists to transform storefronts into creative spaces at the Shops of Liberty Place.

Susan White uses the eccentricity of the sharply curved window to her advantage by structuring a vortex of text within the space.  John Wind explores the duality of ubiquitous shopping bags, highlighting both formal attributes and rich symbolism.

By integrating the resources of art and business,  a new dynamic is brought to a serendipitous public encounter.

Hugh Masekela

Friday, October 8

8:00 pm

Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

3680 Walnut Street

One of the world’s most famous musicians and activists, Hugh Masekela - a Grammy® award-winning trumpeter and composer - comes to Philly for one night only to perform selections from his most recent release, Phola.

Known for bringing the energy and spirit of his native South Africa to the stage in his Broadway hit musical, Sarafina, Masekela has been making fun, exciting, empowering music for forty years and counting.

Buy your tickets here.

K’Naan

Friday, October 8

9:00 pm

Theater of the Living Arts

334 South Street

Somali-born hip-hop artist K’Naan taught himself how to rap by listening to records by lyrical masters Nas and Rakim, in his Toronto neighborhood. Since then, his music has spawned an international following, including inclusion of his "Wavin' Flag" as an official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

El Debarge

Saturday, October 9

8:00 pm

Baptist Temple at Temple University

1837 N. Broad Street

El Debarge’s trademark falsetto voice and silky soulful style helped propel the family group Debarge to the top of the R&B charts in the 1990s, with hits like "I Like It", "You Were It Well", "All This Love" and more.

El has found success as a solo artist as well and his new single, “Second Chance” shows the masses why. Join him and special guest Abraham McDonald (Oprah’s Karaoke Challenge winner) for an evening of classic R&B.

Buy your tickets here.