Fill your weekend with Fringe, concerts and backyard brews
Here are some in-person and virtual events taking place this weekend throughout the region:
• The Reading Theater Project presents its sixth annual 5-Minute Fringe Festival, with the theme “Adaptations,” from Friday through Sunday. The performances will be pre-recorded and shared online for audiences to watch from home at 7 p.m. each day. This online theater production will be free to all, and donations are welcome. Audience registration is recommended at readingtheaterproject.org/5-minute-fringe-2021. The Fringe Festival is a platform for performing artists to create something new, to challenge expectations, to experiment and explore new ideas, and to connect with an artistic community. Performance pieces will include elements of theater, dance, music, poetry and more. Artistic director Vicki Haller Graff said the theme of “Adaptations” comes through the work in multiple ways: adapting stories and ideas, adapting to the technology and adapting to new ways of connecting with an audience and with each other. Each night of the virtual performance will showcase different performance pieces and will be followed by a Zoom talkback. Fringe will remain online (YouTube and Facebook) following the premiere weekend.
• Electron, a Philadelphiabased supergroup featuring Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner of Disco Biscuits, Mike Greenfield of Lotus and Tom Hamilton of Ghost Light, plays two nights of virtual concerts live from Ardmore Music Hall on Friday and Saturday at 8. The concerts will stream on Ardmore Music Hall’s Facebook and YouTube pages and on nugs.net. They are free, but tips will be accepted to be shared among the musicians and the venue staff.
• The 32nd annual Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival continues through Saturday online only, at www. onlinequiltfest.com. Virtual show-goers can view competition quilts from around the world, shop the Merchants Mall vendors online, and take virtual, interactive workshops from the comfort of home. Quilters may enter the “Visuals #3” Quilt Competition — Online. The festival is accessible for free around the clock until 11:55p.m. Saturday.
• Musikfest Cafe at SteelStacks, Bethlehem, presents The Stranger ft. Mike Santoro, a tribute to Billy Joel, on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 or $30. Dinner seating begins at 6:30 p.m., with a $10 minimum food and beverage purchase for all reserved seating. Santoro was born and raised in Levittown, N.Y., just a few miles from Billy Joel’s childhood home, so it seems like a natural fit to see a fellow Long Islander pay homage to the music of the man who in Santoro’s words is “not only my musical hero, but an icon that is also down to earth and humble at the same time.” Tickets start at $60for a table for two at steelstacks. org.
• The Kennett Backyard Winterfest is set for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Typically a community celebration, this year it is converted to a backyard celebration in which participants can buy a curated case of beer featuring selections from 24 different breweries to enjoy at their own homes or backyard bonfires. There are two options, the Kennett Case and the Winterfest case, each selling for $110 with proceeds to benefit Historic Kennett Square. Pickup will be a timed, drive thru, contactless process. To reserve a case and schedule pickup, visit https://kennettwinterfest.com.