Time for the Choice Awards for 2008. Check out the best A&E, news bits, shopping & style, sports & rec, and food & drink our city has to offer. (Though it sounds like the dessert section may be a little biased, but hey, who doesn’t like a free cupcake.) Some West Philly cops get out of their cars, some crime goes down. Coincidence? A run-down of Philly’s celebration of Park(ing) Day. Hint: there’s no cars.......

Dear Readers: If you haven't yet partaken in the offerings of the Philadelphia Live Arts and Philly Fringe Festivals, this is definitely the year to do it. The two weeks of the festival, kicking off today (except for a few shows that opened last night—cheaters!), are absolutely my two favorite weeks to be in Philly. And even though I'm seeing fewer shows than usual this year (about 20, instead of my usual 30+), I thought......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Knitty: Weekly knitting circle at Vagabond (37 N 3rd), 6-8PM. Free Goes Down Better with Sugar: "Consuming Culture: A Story of Have and Have Nots," a night of theater, song, shadow puppetry and assorted antics presented by local artists Anna Whitehead and Michelle Posadas at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut), 7:30PM. Free Quizzo Mania: Get your Quizzo on at 12 Steps Down (831 Christian), 9PM; The Black Sheep (247......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Friday: Better Late Than Never: Anne Lamott reads from her latest book Grace (Eventually) at the Free Library of Philadelphia Central Branch (1901 Vine), 7PM. Free Don’t Shoot First: Space 1026 (1026 Arch) converts their space into the Mos Eisley Cantina for their food show and potluck tonight from 7-10PM. $5 (Free with a dish to share—they request special brownies) Feeling Like Some Lebanese: "Improvisation and Emotion in......

At its best, Milcha Sanchez-Scott's Roosters is a charming (albeit dark) family drama that addresses coming of age, socioeconomic status, and tradition. At its worst, Roosters is everything that gives performance art a bad name. The Theatre Exile production currently being mounted at the Christ Church Neighborhood House has an excellent cast that is more than capable of handling the challenges that the script presents. Joe Guzmán plays Gallo, recently released from jail and......

NEXUS/foundation for today's art is a champion of local artists of all stripes; their commitment to maintain gallery space dedicated to local emerging and experimental artists has rightfully earned them a rep as a Philly art institution. The fruits of their mission will be on display tonight, as they present their new members exhibitions with an opening reception. NEXUS holds two new member exhibitions a year, in September and February. This one features work by......

Performances: Batch: An American Bachelor/ette Party Spectacle (New Paradise Laboratories) (Future performances); Explanatorium (Headlong Dance Theater) (Future performances); Isabella (Pig Iron Theatre Company) (Future performances); Hearts of Man (The Riot Group) (no future performances); LEAP: The Actors' Improv Experiment (Bobbi Block) (no future performances) This weekend I saw five shows, which had sounded somewhat daunting to me. Then I realized that the total running time of the five was actually less than the running time......

Performance: Gatz (Elevator Repair Service) (Future performances) So I got my proverbial PLAF cherry popped the other night. Frankly, if I wasn't writing for Phillyist, I would not be attending any PLAF events. "Experimental theatre" and "performance art" are terms that generally send a shiver up my spine. But Editor Jill sat me down and we went through the catalog and a couple of shows actually piqued my interest. So here we go... Gatz Gatz......

Just like we did last year, we interrupt your weekly theatre listings to present you, instead, with a preview of the Live Arts and Fringe Fests. If you ask this Phillyist, it's the most wonderful time of the year. The 2007 Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe (yep, that's the branding!) officially kicks off Friday, but a few shows are already having preview performances. What does that mean for you? Hundreds of avant garde......

Bands I Caught: Fursaxa, Fan of Friends, War on Drugs, King Kong Ding Dong Venue: The Parlor Tucked away on South Broad next to "You, Me, and Wee" (which, incidentally, seems like the perfect venue for another POPPED! band, Pissed Jeans), the Parlor is a surprisingly cozy venue, despite its unremarkable storefront. I slid through the front door and followed klip//collective's electric-blue polka dots of light back to the main room, where I caught Fursaxa......

Well, well, well. Week two of DanceBOOM! is under way, and Phillyist is even more excited after this week's show than we were after last week's. Ann Marie Mulgrew & Dancers weren't exactly what I was expecting, and I lied to you (not on purpose) about their start time -- but I'm going to blame both of those facts on the promise of the rain that never came, as the performance was supposed to be......

DanceBOOM! opened at the Wilma last night with an outdoor pre-performance by Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas, and indoor performances by Reactionaries, Tania Isaac Dance, and Chris Aiken. Phillyist was there and loved every minute of it (albeit some minutes more than others.) Raices Culturales was a great deal of fun. The all percussion and vocal band, decked out like members of the Buena Vista Social Club, was actually an amalgam of musicians and performers from......