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Bugging Out with Cirque du Soleil’s OVO Contortionists at Academy of Natural Sciences
Photos by Louis Perri, video by Cassie Hepler In anticipation of Cirque du Soleil’s upcoming insect-themed arena production, OVO from May 11-15 at the Liacouras Center, two performers, dressed in full costume and make-up as OVO’s black and white spiders, performed a jaw-dropping contortionist number from the show during a scrumptious “Bug Brunch” in the Tarantualas: Alive and Up Close exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. A tasty offering of edible insect entrees, including Cricket Pancakes, Mealworm Frittata, Homemade Granola Bars made with Queen Weaver Ants, Cricket Scones, and bug-inspired beverages including Beetle Juice, Bumble Bee Honey Lemonade, Slug Juice, Cockroach Coffee and Tarantula Tea were…
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Skrillex Headlines The WAV Nightclub Opening Weekend after Killer Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill Dinner
Photos, story by Lou Perri On opening night of Atlantic City’s newest nightclub WAV, Explore NJ traveled to Caesars Atlantic City to witness the excitement. Explore NJ went to explore the live music and event venue in partnership with Insomniac, the producer behind Electric Daisy Carnival. The venue’s opening weekend, Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2, treated fans to heavy-hitting performances by dubstep phenomenon Skrillex and the eccentric, fan favorite Tommy Trash, respectively. But first, upon entering the lobby, this reporter and a friend saw the newest restaurant in the casino hotel, the Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill. Since, the nightclub didn’t open ’til 10 p.m., we decided to see what all…
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As the Only East Coast Venue, International Pop Blasts Into Philly
Photos, story by Lou Perri The Philadelphia Museum of Art presents International Pop, a groundbreaking survey of this important movement that explores Pop Art as a global phenomenon that was shaped by artists working in many different countries throughout the world. The exhibition features paintings, sculpture, assemblage, installation, printmaking, and film by 80 artists, drawn from public and private collections around the world, and offers an intriguing new look at a subject that is familiar. Viewing Pop Art through a much wider lens that amplifies a history commonly associated with major American figures like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, it is sure to delight audiences and broaden their understanding of one…
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Atlantic City Restaurant Week Kickoff Event: Enjoy a Taste of What’s to Come March 6-12th
By Lou Perri What better way to get ready for Atlantic City Restaurant Week (running March 6 – 12), than to taste some popular restaurant menus items at the Atlantic City Restaurant Week Preview Party, Thursday, February 2 at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa? Sponsored by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, more than a dozen restaurants offered guests samples of items from their menus. Samples from the winning menu of a Pre-Chef Grand Prix cooking competition (held February 9 at the Atlantic Cape Community College’s Culinary Institute) also provided a sampling at this popular event. Proceeds from the event benefit the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and the Academy…
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Preview of The Barnes Foundation’s Picasso’s Great War Exhibit Opening February 21
By Lou Perri Explore Philly enjoys the many art museums Philadelphia has to offer and last Tuesday, February 16th, a member of the staff visited The Barnes Foundation for a new Picasso exhibit—Picasso: The Great War, Experimentation and Change. The exhibit will open to the public on February 21st and continue until May 9th. Picasso: The Great War, Experimentation and Change, organized in partnership with the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, and premiering at the Barnes Foundation (February 21 through May 9, 2016) examines the dramatic fluctuations in Picasso’s style during the period surrounding…
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Jumaane Smith Wows Crowd at Barnes Foundation’s First Friday Event, Affairs of the Art
Photos, story by Lou Perri This writer enjoys a good fried chicken and rosemary waffle with maple bourbon glaze as was posted on a press release announcing the start of the Barnes Foundation‘s First Friday event which brought singer and trumpeter jumaane Smith. to center stage in the Foundation’s Annenberg Court. However, there was no fried chicken and waffles, but the sweet maple bourbon sounds of a master trumpeter. Formerly a member of Michael Buble’s band, this Juilliard alumnus took center stage at the Barnes to perform music from his debut record, “I Only Have Eyes for You,” a celebration of the Great American Songbook. He also performed a Louie…
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Rev Your Engines at the 2016 Philadelphia Auto Show at the Philadelphia Convention Center
Photos, story by Lou Perri This writer always enjoyed driving in a convertible. Not because he enjoyed driving with the top down, but because the convertible had special lines. During the last few years, we drove a cutlass supreme convertible, a yellow Fiat spider, an MG midget with a pale green paint job, a red Alpha Romeo, a black Toyota MR2, and a Nissan gray. So it was natural for us to visit the Philly Auto Show. The Philadelphia Auto Show is the perfect place to view the latest preproduction models and catch a glimpse of what will soon be available for purchase at local dealerships. The Philly Auto Show is proud to…
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Atlantic City’s Golden Nugget Grotto Ristorante Unveils New Head Chef and Tasty Menu
Photos, story by Lou Perri Grotto Ristorante, located in the Golden Nugget Casino, Hotel & Marina in Atlantic City, introduced new head chef Carmine Favuzzi and a redesigned menu at a tasting party recently. With the addition of Favuzzi, Grotto has reinvented its menu, incorporating seasonal ingredients and fresh pasta to complement the restaurant’s extensive wine selection of more than 200 varieties, 70 percent of which are Italian. Originally from Molfetta, Italy, Favuzzi studied Italian cuisine at the Culinary Institute of Bari. Upon graduation, Favuzzi worked in the kitchen of several five-star Italian hotels before coming to America, where he held several chef positions for Italian restaurants in New Jersey…
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Philadelphia Museum of Art Offers Festive Holiday Programs, Chef Classes, Choral Groups and More
Story, photos by Lou Perri In the weeks ahead, the Philadelphia Museum of Art programs will range from daily art-making workshops, live cooking demonstrations and caroling to trolley tours of the historic houses of Fairmount Park including live entertainment by colorful characters from Charles Dickens’s celebrated “A Christmas Carol”. A Fairmount Christmas Carol, according to Justina Barrett, site manager for historic houses, visitors will encounter Charles Dickens’s Mr. Fezziwig, Mrs. Cratchit, and Scrooge himself at Mount Pleasant, Cedar Grove, and Lemon Hill on Friday, Dec. 18. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., tours depart from the museum every 30 minutes. The last tour is at 7:30 p.m. and tours are 90 minutes. Reservations…
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The Ed Vezinho/Jim Ward Big Band Kicks off its Second Jazzy Season
Story, photos by Lou Perri The Ed Vezinho/Jim Ward Big Band kicked off its second season as Stockton University’s Jazz Orchestra in Residence with “A Night of Jazz Standards” on Monday, Oct. 26 in the Campus Center Theatre on the Galloway campus. The concert was the first of four concerts to be performed by the high-energy, 16-piece jazz ensemble comprised of some of Atlantic City’s finest showroom musicians. “Jazz is the only truly American art form,” Ed Vezinho told Explore NJ. “The guys in the band use jazz as a means of self expression. We love jazz. We strive to inspire and educate others about the beauty that we hear…