local
This Summer
A lthough plenty of area residents
will head down the shore or to
other vacation destinations this summer,
there’s plenty to do if you stick around.

Here’s a sampling, including a couple
of events that may have already passed,
depending on when you read this:
On June 15, the Weitzman National
Museum of American Jewish History
will host a live event on “Pink Triangle
Legacies: Coming Out in the Shadow of
the Holocaust,” named for the book of
the same name by W. Jake Newsome.

Newsome will moderate a panel featur-
ing Galia Godel of J.Proud Philly, Jazmyn
Henderson of ACT UP Philadelphia and
Mark Segal of Philadelphia Gay News.

Also on June 15, the Dead and Co.

— featuring several former members of
the Grateful Dead — hits Citizens Bank
Park for what’s billed as the band’s final
tour. A lot of Jews have attended shows
by different incarnations of the Dead
since the band formed in 1965, but this
appears to be the end of the (Golden)
road. Bring your bottle of red (and bottle
of white) because the following night
is another big stadium concert, as Billy
Joel (a Jew!) and Stevie Nicks co-head-
line Lincoln Financial Field on June 16.

Perhaps no artist was more popular
around Jewish summer camp campfires
of a certain vintage than the Indigo
Girls. That folk duo is having a bit of a
moment, with both a new documentary
30 JUNE 15, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
and their song “Closer to Fine” being
featured in the trailer for the upcoming
“Barbie” movie. The Indigo Girls will
appear on June 16 at Parx Casino in
Bensalem. Jewish comedian Rachel Feinstein,
a veteran of three Comedy Central
specials, brings her stand-up stylings to
the Punchline Philly on June 20.

The Phillies will host the 14th annual
Jewish Heritage Celebration on June
21, as the team takes on the Atlanta
Braves at Citizens Bank Park. In past
years, the Phillie Phanatic has danced
the hora, donned a kippah, waved an
Israeli flag and was lifted in a chair bar
mitzvah-style. Artist Jonathan Horowitz will visit
the Weitzman on June 25 for a “Meet
the Artist” event, in connection with
his continuing exhibit “The Future
Will Follow the Past: An Exhibition by
Jonathan Horowitz.”
The Katz JCC in Cherry Hill, New
Jersey, will host a Cherry Hill Comedy
Night on June 28 featuring comics
Gianmarco Soresi and Ariel Elias. Elias
is the comedian who, last October, had
a beer can thrown at her during a set
at the shore, then picked up the beer
and chugged it. Hey Alma called her
“the Jewish Comedian Going Viral for
Beautifully Handling a Heckler.”
Another Jewish campfire perennial,
James Taylor, comes to TD Pavilion at
the Mann Center, along with All-Star
Band, on July 1.

The annual Wawa Welcome America
The “OY/YO” sculpture was first installed outside the Weitzman on May 2,
2022. Photo by Brad Maule
Stephen Silver
Phillies kiddush cup
festival is set for the days leading to
July 4, with this year’s concert on the
Benjamin Franklin Parkway headlined
by Demi Lovato and Ludacris.

On July 8, the Jewish actor and
comedian Ben Schwartz — best
Courtesy of the Weitzman
No Shortage of Things
to Do in Philadelphia
This Summer
known as Jean-Ralphio from “Parks &
Recreation,” will host his Ben Schwartz
& Friends show at the Xcite Center at
Parx Casino in Bensalem.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper, the Jewish
Philadelphia native, returns to his



Photo by Andrea Cipriani Mecchi
Jennifer Weiner
hometown on July 11 for an author event
at the Free Library of Philadelphia’s
Parkway Center Library. Promoting his
new novel “All the Demons Are Here:
A Thriller,” Tapper will speak with one
of the only Philadelphians more famous
than he is: retired Action News anchor
Jim Gardner.

Also on July 11, the one and only
Kenny G will appear for a concert at the
Keswick Theater. Despite appearing on
a recent album with Kanye West, the
saxophonist (real name Kenny Gorelick)
is, in fact, Jewish.

In what’s probably the biggest concert
of the summer, at least now that Taylor
Swift has left town, Beyonce brings
her Renaissance World Tour to Lincoln
Financial Field on July 12.

Another group with a huge Jewish
following, Phish, heads to the Mann
Center on July 25 and 26.

Regina Spektor, described as a
“Russian-Jewish-American singer,”
brings her latest tour to the Keswick
Theater in Glenside on Aug. 2.

Baylen Levine, the young social media
star, is bringing his live show to the TLA
on South Street on Aug. 8.

The Boss is coming to town, with
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street
Band headed to Citizens Bank Park on
Aug. 16 and 18.

Another bestselling author who is
Jewish and from Philadelphia, Jennifer
Weiner, will appear at the Free Library
on Aug. 30 for a talk on her latest novel,
“The Breakaway.”
And finally, the Made in America festi-
val, also on the Parkway, is set for Sept.

2 and 3, although headliners have yet to
be announced. ■
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For additional information and to
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TheHearthAtDrexel.org Stephen Silver is a freelance writer.

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