FREE St. Patty's Day Karaoke Party, FREE Trip for Vets To D.C., FREE Cardio Day At Taylor, FREE Kimmel Center Performances, FREE Odessa Historic Home Tours On Tuesdays

FREE Trip To Washington DC For World War II Vets

  Honor Flight Philadelphia's inaugural trip for World War II veterans is Saturday, April 14. Honor Flight is a national non-profit organization founded in 2005 to give aging or terminally ill veterans a day of honor in Washington D.C. 

   There is no cost to the veterans. Thousands of them have participated in the last six years. The trip leaves from Trattoria Giuseppe restaurant, 4799 West Chester Pike, Edgmont, Pa. 19073, 6:30 a.m., and returns to the restaurant at 6:30 p.m.

   For information,  call 610-662-1812 or email andrew@honorflightphiladlphia.org or wlawrence@billlawrenceonline.com

   Information about the national organization can be found at  http://www.honorflight.org/about/

Information about the local group can be found at http://www.honorflightphiladelphia.org/index.html

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American Legion Post 777 To Hold Free St. Patty’s Day Karaoke Party

   American Legion Post 777 in Crum Lynne will celebrate St. Patty’s Day with ham, cabbage and potatoes all day and night March 17 for only fifty cents.
   After 7:30 pm, the Legion will host a free karaoke party with more ham, cabbage and corned beef.Everyone is welcome; those who come are asked to bring some sort of food or snack to be shared amongst all.
  For more information, e-mail  George Casey at sicchicken1@yahoo.com.

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Free Screenings And Activities At Taylor’s Annual ‘Cardiovascular Day’

  Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, a member of the Crozer-Keystone Health System, will  offer a comprehensive "Cardiovascular Day" 8:30-11:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 27 in Classrooms A, B & C of the hospital.
   The event will offer free glucose/cholesterol screenings from 8:30-10:30 a.m. (fasting is required; nothing to eat or drink after midnight).
   From 9-11:30 a.m. the hospital will offer a comprehensive health fair that includes the following screenings and activities: blood pressure screenings, a healthy cooking demonstration (from 9-11 a.m.), stroke risk assessments, a fitness activity, and informational tables from Senior Health Services, Community Health Education, Cardiac Rehabilitation, Nutrition Services, Tobacco Cessation, the Crozer-Keystone Sleep Centers, the Center for Diabetes, Cancer Services and Healthline Services.
  Call 1-800-CK-HEALTH (1-800-254-3258) for more information or to register.
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Live From the Plaza Stage

FREE Performance Series Continues in March

Sponsored by Coca-Cola

MARCH 6, 2012

The Alfred James Band Performs March 10

The Kimmel Center’s new FREE concert series, Live from the Plaza Stage, continues during the month of March to showcase the hottest regional talent from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. each Saturday night as part of the Free at the Kimmel offerings on the Commonwealth Plaza stage.

Live from the Plaza Stage continues every Saturday until June 16 with a variety of world, pop, jazz, instrumental and dance offerings from up-and-coming local musicians and artists.

As part of Live from the Plaza Stage, Wolfgang Puck continues to serve happy hour specials including $1 off beers and $2 off wines at the PECO and Annex Bars. Additionally, monthly raffle drawings with ticket giveaway winners to select Kimmel Center Presents and Broadway Season shows will be announced at the end of performances in the Commonwealth Plaza.

Below is sampling of Live from the Plaza Stage program offerings. Visit www.kimmelcenter.org/free  for updated information on confirmed artists throughout the remainder of the season.

Free at the Kimmel

Live from the Plaza Stage:

The Alfred James Band

Saturday, March 10, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Classically trained cellist and vocalist, Alfred James has performed at The White House twice and has toured all over the world as a soloist with The Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale. He and his band, the Alfred James Band, return to the Kimmel Center stage after recently playing their first orchestral backed concert with the Main Line Symphony Orchestra. Alfred made his Carnegie Hall debut as a solo cellist in 2010 and can be heard on a 2011 Paul McCartney track.

Free at the Kimmel

Live from the Plaza Stage:

McDade-Cara Irish Dancers

Saturday, March 17, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The McDade-Cara School of Irish Dance arrives at the Kimmel Center for a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration! In April 2009, the McDade and Cara Schools merged their championship dance programs, with the McDade School celebrating its 50^th anniversary in 2012. The program remains dedicated to preserving and enhancing the rich tradition of Irish step and figure dancing while developing children’s physical strength and self-esteem. In February, the school’s Championship Irish Dancers competed at the All Ireland Championships in Dublin, Ireland.

Free at the Kimmel

Live from the Plaza Stage:

Kimmel Center Education Program Honors Arts Education Legend Velma Simmons  

Saturday, March 24, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Performances by members of the Philadelphia All-City and Creative and Performing Arts High School choirs, The Kimmel Center Youth Jazz Ensemble, and Dance in the Schools Initiative featuring Nueva Esperanza Academy Charter High School and Overbrook Educational Center as well as soloists, Valerie Gaye and Reginald Pindell.  

Free at the Kimmel

Live from the Plaza Stage:

The Belleville Quartet

Saturday, March 31, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Belleville Quartet is a West Philadelphia based acoustic jazz ensemble. First formed in April 2011, guitarist Alban Bailly brought the group together to play the large songbook he had been putting together from his early days growing up in France and studying with gypsy jazz musicians in Eastern France. Their repertoire ranges from that of legendary French gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt to the folk songs of Serbia, Romania, and Macedonia and beyond. Group members include Marina Vishnyakova on violin, Alban Bailly on acoustic guitar, Zachary Fay on acoustic guitar,Matt Stein on acoustic double bass.

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Historic Houses of Odessa Celebrates the 2012 Season with Tours, Education and Exhibits, and a New Restaurant; FREE ADMISSION EVERY TUESDAY IN MARCH! 

ODESSA, Del. – March 7, 2012 – In honor of the 2012 season and newly expanded hours, the Historic Odessa Foundation (HOF) is offering visitors free admission every Tuesday through the month of March.

Now open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 4:30 p.m. (previously open Wednesday through Sunday), the Historic Odessa Foundation offers tours to the public, families, groups and schools of its landmark Delaware properties that house the foundation’s collection of more than 4,000 objects and furnishings that span an interpretive period in regional decorative arts from 1760 through 1850 and provide a background for a variety of events and educational programs for schools. 

Upcoming spring events include:

• Home School Day, Visit and experience a sampler of colonial life, designed for homeschoolers, with interactive, hands-on workshops that include Artisan Apprentice, Schools Days, 18^th Century Hearth Cooking, and the Wilson Store.  March 30, Tours available at 9 a.m., and 1 p.m. Price, $7.50. Reservations required.

• Spring Hearth Cooking Workshop and Luncheon, Cook over an open fire using recipes, tools, and techniques from the 18^th century and savor a menu that explores the bounty of the springtime garden. April 20, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Price, $75 or $50 for members

• Furniture Study Day, Dr. Philip Zimmerman, a prolific author and nationally recognized authority on early American furniture, will lead a day-long program on examining and understanding furniture using objects from the Historic Odessa Foundation. May 9, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Price, $150 or $125 for members and includes lunch at Cantwell’s Tavern.

In December, HOF partnered with noted Delaware restaurateur Robert E. “Bob” Ashby to open Cantwell’s Tavern in the foundation’s 188 year-old Brick Hotel. The farm-to-table gastropub has been very well received in the community and beyond and is helping to solidify the foundation’s future as a living history museum, as a community resource for education and entertainment, and as a tourist destination for visitors traveling through Delaware.

For more information on the Historic Odessa Foundation’s 2012 season tours, special exhibits, and Living History Education Program, call 302-378-4119, or visit http://www.historicodessa.org/. General Admission: Adults $10.00; Groups, Seniors, Students $8.00, Children under five are free. Member discounts available.

About the Historic Houses of Odessa

The Historic Odessa Foundation owns and operates The Historic Houses of Odessa, an enclave of 18^th and 19^th century structures located in the village of Odessa, Del. between the Appoquinimink River and U.S. Route 13. The historic buildings along with a well-documented collection of more than 4000 objects and furnishings are owned and operated by the nonprofit Historic Odessa Foundation, and offer a unique picture of Delaware’s colonial period in a rural village that played a vital part in America’s commercial history. http://www.historicodessa.org/.