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  • Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts

    The Experience

    April 7 through May 1, 2011, the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA) will shine a spotlight on the city´s arts and cultural scene. For three weeks, audiences will revel in an array of one-time, only-in-Philadelphia productions by some of the region´s top talents�many of whom will partner with or present international performers. PIFA will feature music, dance, fashion, fine arts, poetry, cuisine and more�all infused with the essence of Paris, circa 1910-1920.

    Inspired by the Kimmel Center, PIFA promises to be an out-of-the-box arts festival that honors the vision of longtime Philadelphia resident and philanthropist Leonore Annenberg. Before she passed away in 2009, Mrs. Annenberg provided a generous grant through the Annenberg Foundation to ensure that her lifelong dream for a citywide arts celebration would be fulfilled.

    As PIFA transforms the entire city into a giant stage, loyal fans and newcomers to the arts will have the opportunity to choose from among dozens of ticketed and free activities each day. Performances and exhibits will be held throughout Center City and beyond, many in Kimmel Center venues, as well as in theaters, performance halls and other venues, both large and small.

    With more than 100 performances planned, three events serve as examples of the serendipitous moments and surprising performances audiences can look forward to. For the first time ever, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Ballet will perform together, collaborating on what promises to be an unforgettable presentation of the classic French ballet Pulcinella. In an innovative pairing, Philly´s signature hip-hop band The Roots will play in an anything-can-happen concert with a French chanteuse. What´s more, daring aerialists will swing from the rafters of the Kimmel Center and teach anybody who has ever wanted to join the circus how to fly the trapeze on the Avenue of the Arts.

  • Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt

    The Experience

    The world of Cleopatra, which has been lost to the sea and sand for nearly 2,000 years, will surface in a new exhibition, Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt, making its world premiere in June 2010 at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, from June 5, 2010 � January 2, 2011. The exhibition will feature roughly 140 artifacts while taking visitors inside the present-day search for Cleopatra, which extends from the sands of Egypt to the depths of the Bay of Aboukir near Alexandria.
    Cleopatra VIP Hotel Package

    Cleopatra visitors looking to make it an overnight stay can book the Cleopatra VIP Hotel Package. Available at 11 hotels, the package includes overnight accommodations for two and two VIP (untimed, bypass-the-line) tickets to the exhibition. (VIP tickets are available only by purchasing a hotel package and are valued at up to $59.)

    Click here to check rates and book the package.

    The Search For Cleopatra

    Cleopatra, the last great pharaoh of Egypt before it succumbed to Roman opposition, lived from 69 � 30 B.C., and her rule was marked with political intrigue and challenges to her throne. She captivated two of the most powerful men of her day, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, as she attempted to restore Egypt to its former superpower status. Later, her Roman conquerors tried to rewrite her history and destroy all traces of her existence. Although her body has never been found, her story survives.

    Visitors to the exhibition will be treated to an inside view of the search for Cleopatra through two ongoing expeditions by modern explorers Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt´s pre-eminent archaeologist and Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and Franck Goddio, French underwater archaeologist and director of IEASM. Goddio´s search has resulted in one of the most ambitious underwater expeditions ever undertaken, which has uncovered Cleopatra´s royal palace and two ancient cities that had been lost beneath the sea for centuries after a series of earthquakes and tidal waves.

    The artifacts in the exhibition � from the smallest gold pieces and coins to colossal statues more than 15-feet tall � provide a window into Cleopatra´s story as well as the daily lives of her contemporaries, both powerful and humble. Artifacts on display will include magnificent black granite statues of a queen of Egypt dating from the Ptolemaic era in which Cleopatra ruled, which Goddio´s team pulled from the sea.