PA BBQ Fest features brews, blues
Here are some events planned for this weekend throughout the region:
• Fathom Events’ TCM Big Screen Classics series continues with 25th anniversary screenings of “The Birdcage” in select movie theaters on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane star as Armand and Albert, who have built the perfect life for themselves tending to their gaudy Miami nightclub. But their pastel tranquility is shaken when Armand’s son announces that he’s getting married to the daughter of ultra-conservative Sen. Keeley (Gene Hackman) and they’re all getting together for dinner. For a list of participating theaters, showtimes and tickets, visit www.fathomevents.com.
• Renninger’s Antiques Extravaganza is set for Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Renninger’s Marketplace, Kutztown. Offerings will include jewelry of all types, furniture, primitives, taxidermy, paintings, art, books, ceramics, garden items, reclaimed wood, toys, Christmas items and all types of vintage merchandise. Early bird admission on Friday from 9 to 11 a.m. costs $10. Admission is free Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and all day Saturday. For details, visit renningers.net.
• Mainline Animal Rescue presents Stand Pup Comedy starring Jimmy Shubert on Friday at 7 p.m. at its Chester Springs facility. This event is outdoors and is bring your own chairs, blankets, drinks and food. Shubert is one of the busiest comedians working today since becoming a finalist on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” and being seen on Comedy Central as the closing act on Dave Atell’s Comedy Underground. He combines the outlook of a modern-day Archie Bunker with an utterly real world sensibility to create signature pieces of comedy. Tickets are $20 at eventbrite. com or $30 day of show.
• SoulJoel Productions presents Comedy Under the Stars featuring Jay Black on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Boyertown Community Park. Black left his job as a high school English teacher to embark on a career as a stand-up comic. He has headlined clubs across the nation, from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to the Tropicana in Atlantic City, N.J., and has toured extensively in Europe as the host of the U.S. Army’s “I Am Strong” tour. Tickets cost $20, with $10 from each sale going to Building a Better Boyertown. For purchases, visit nightout.com/events/boyertown-0624/tickets.
• The PA BBQ Fest, featuring blues, brews and barbecue vendors, will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5p.m. at Jim Dietrich Park, Muhlenberg Township, Berks County. Scheduled to perform on Saturday are Richard Mextorf, Lil Ragu, Chris Beissel, Uncle Jake & the 18 Wheel Gang and Terence Laughlin presenting a Billy Joel tribute. Sunday’s performers will be Lefty Wilson, Friar Point Band, Jaisen Taylor Band and Kirby Sibiski. Admission is free. There is a $5 parking fee. For more information, see facebook.com/PABBQFest.
• Badflower will perform Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Pat Garrett Amphitheater, Strausstown, Berks County. Bad Flower is Los Angelesbased rock band that is signed to Big Machine John Varvatos Records and was named Artist of the Week by Apple Music after the release of the EP “Temper” in 2016. Their debut studio album, “OK, I’m Sick,” was released in 2019. Tickets cost $30at flagshipmusicproductions.com.
• The Pottstown Dance Theatre Repertory Ensemble will be performing with four professional dancers from Melange Contemporary Dance in director Michelle Jones Wurtz’s original, full-length work, “Jazzerella,” being presented rain or shine on Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. at Green Lane Park Amphitheater. The performance was scheduled last spring at The Hill School Center for the Arts but was canceled due to the pandemic. The dancers continued to train, remotely as needed, to remount the entire show. The amphitheater uses all lawn seating. Bring lawn chairs or blankets. Tickets cost $8for students and seniors and $12 for adults and need to be purchased in advance. They are available at Pottstown Dance Theatre, by calling 610-323-2569 or online at www.pottstowndance.com.
• The Berks County Kennel Club, a club of purebred dog enthusiasts, will be hosting All About Dogs Day on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3p.m. at the Liberty Fire Department, 836Ruth St., Sinking Spring. The event will include informational booths, vendors, canine demonstrations, more than two dozens breeds of dogs, plus food and a DJ. Admission is free.
• The Berks County Fair Wine Festival will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the fairgrounds, 1216 Hilltop Road, Bern Township. Local wineries, vendors and food trucks will be on hand for this rain-or-shine event under a pavilion. Personal snacks and a cooler of drinks are permitted. Bring your own chairs and pop-up tent. Attendees will receive a logo tasting glass. Tasting tickets cost $10and designated driver tickets are $5.
For more information and tickets, see the festival’s Facebook event page.
• The Pride Month DriveIn Film Series at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, Reading, presented in conjunction with the Reading Pride Celebration, presents a drive-in/walk-in screening of “Brokeback Mountain” on Saturday at 9 p.m. in the GoggleWorks parking lot. Food and art activities, including a makeand-take tie-dye activity, begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10and available at goggleworks.org or at the gate.
• The Historic Feeney Mansion, Reading, will open its doors and gardens for its first summer open house and garden tour on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. The public is invited to partake in this free event, with music in the garden area by After All Band from 1 to 4 p.m. There will also be food and refreshments as well as butterfly releases at 2and 4p.m. Guests can tour the 28-room mansion and nine garden areas with more than 3,000roses in bloom. A self-guided walking tour brochure is available. Rain date is Sunday. For more information, visit www.historicfeeneymansion.com.
• The final installment of Theatre Horizon’s Art Houses program, which partners professional theater artists with families and households throughout the region to create original performance works, is set for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. In a fitting homage to empty theaters and essential workers, this seventh program features best friends Yasmin Williams and Katie Coady, who call themselves Teacher-Mom-Superheroes, in a new, original show streamed live from The Willow School, located above Theatre Horizon’s physical stage in Norristown. Zoom links to the livestreamed performance will be provided after ticket purchase from Theatre Horizon’s website, theatrehorizon.org.
• BalletX, Philadelphia’s premier contemporary ballet, returns to the stage Thursday through Saturday at TD Pavilion at the Mann, Philadelphia, with new, never-before-seen works by choreographers Hope Boykin, Matthew Neenan and Dwight Rhoden. BalletX, whose dancers were named “among America’s best” by The New York Times, commissions choreographers from around the world to create dance that is “fresh, inclusive, and connects to what people want” (Philadelphia Citizen) while “positioning Philadelphia on the cutting edge of contemporary ballet” (The Dance Journal). Show times are 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Advance tickets range from $35 to $65 at manncenter.org.
• Clay on Main, Oley, is holding a summer Pop-Up Shop and Open House on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Handmade works by members will be shown outside on the porch for purchase. Visitors can also check out “With a Little Help From Our Friends,” an exhibition that includes work from members and volunteers. Craft bags will be available for children to take home. All visitors must wear a mask. Light refreshments will be offered. This event runs in conjunction with the gallery’s “Jammin’ in Your Jammies” fundraiser. For more information, visit clayonmain.org or the gallery’s Facebook or Instagram pages.