Onstage

The Bronx Arts Ensemble Jazz and Dixieland Band will perform free concerts at Van Cortlandt Park, Rockwood Drive Circle near Mosholu Avenue and Broadway at 2 p.m. and at Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus at 4 p.m. July 18: Tango; July 25: Calliope of Waltzes With the Winds in the Woods; Aug. 1: Sunday in the Park With Bach; Aug. 8: All You Need is Love. Seating is provided, but the audience is urged to bring folding chairs. Rain location for the Van Cortlandt concerts is at Vladeck Hall in the Amalgamated Houses at Hillman Avenue at 74 Van Cortlandt Park South. Call BAE after 11 a.m. on the day of the performance at (718) 601-7399 or visit bronxartsensemble.org.
        
The Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. off Fordham Road hosts Smooth Jazz With Libby & Co., July 17 at 2:30 p.m.; Euripides’ MEDEA, performed by Xoregos Performing Company, July 21 at 6 p.m.; and The Classix Band in Concert, July 24 at 2:30 p.m. For more information, call (718) 579-4244/46 or visit www.nypl.org.

The Metropolitan Opera will perform at Crotona Park on Thursday, July 15 as part of SummerStage’s 25th anniversary summer recital series. For more information, visit www.cityparksfoundation.org.

The public is invited to attend performances of “Rent” at the Neuwirth Theatre, 5625 Arlington Ave. on July 15 at 7:30 p.m., July 17 at 10 p.m., July 18 at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m., July 20 at 9 p.m., and July 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 which can be purchased online at www.riverdaley.org.

The City Parks Foundation presents free programs in local parks, all at 10:30 a.m., for ages 3 to 10 as follows: Poe Park, Grand Concourse at 197th Street – Mundos Niños, July 27; Van Cortlandt Park, Classic Playground at Van Cortlandt Park South and Orloff Avenue – Shine & The Moonbeams, July 15; and Van Cortlandt Park, Sachkerah Woods Playground at Jerome Avenue and Gun Hill Road – Pickney Players, July 20. For more information, visit www.cityparksfoundation.org.

Events

St. Ann’s Church, located at 3519 Bainbridge Ave., will hold summer flea markets, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Aug. 21. Vendors are wanted. For more information, call (718) 547-9350.

“Elvis on Tour: 75th Anniversary Celebration,” will be shown July 29 at 7 p.m. at Bay Plaza 13, 2210 Bartow Ave. Unit 12. This film commemorates the 75th anniversary of Elvis’s death and features both seen and unseen footage of his performances. Tickets are available at box offices and online at www.fathomevents.com. Theatre location is subject to change. For more information, call (212) 576-2700 ext. 250.

The Bronx Council Historical Society presents Hunts Point Historic Walking Tour, July 18 at 9:30 a.m. Meet tour leaders at the Hunts Point #6 train station where Southern Boulevard, East 163rd Street, and Hunts Point Avenue converge. Fee is $10 for members and $15 for non-members. For more information, call (718) 881-8900.

The Bronx Dominican Day Parade will be held on Sunday, July 25 starting at 1 p.m. The parade route will take place along the Grand Concourse from East Tremont Avenue to 167th Street, the culmination of a series of events celebrating Dominican heritage in the Bronx. For more information, call (718) 993-4463.
   
Women in Progress, Inc. hosts its 6th annual block party on Walton Avenue between 183rd and 182nd streets on July 17 from noon to 6 p.m. Included will be music, raffles, food and drinks. For more information, call (646) 623-8044.

The Bronx River Art Center offers summer visual arts classes for ages 7 to 18 through Aug. 5, ending with a celebratory student exhibition and reception in the BRAC gallery at 1087 E. Tremont Ave. Students may select from drawing and painting, cartooning, ceramics, and portfolio prep. For more information, call (718) 589-5819.

Wave Hill, located at West 249th Street and Independence Avenue, offers a free family art project, Water, Water Everywhere, to sketch the river landscape and Aquatic Garden, run through sprinklers, followed by using water with paint, crayons and collage to create liquid landscapes to take home, July 24 and 25; in the Ecology Building from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Grounds admission is free until noon on Tuesdays and Saturdays. For more information, call (718) 549-3200 or visit www.wavehill.org.                                                                                           

The Bronx River Alliance offers Arts in the Park, featuring performances and activities for children, July 15 and 22; and Paddle to City of Water Festival, to paddle 14 miles from Hunts Point to Governors Island to celebrate the city’s waterways (for expert paddlers). Call (718) 430-4665 or visit www.bronxriver.org for details, fees, and times.

The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park invites the public to the following events: Summer EcoCrafts, to create picture frames, puppets, masks and more natural and recycled crafts using everyday items, Tuesdays, through Aug. 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Classic Playground, Van Cortlandt Park South and Gouveneur Avenue. For more information, call (718) 601-1553.

Exhibits

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. invites the public to attend the grand opening of the photo exhibit, “The Bronx: Mi Barrio, Mi Orgullo,” on Thursday, July 15 at 6 p.m. This free exhibit will run through September, Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (718) 590-2509.

The Museum of Bronx History, located at 3266 Bainbridge Ave. (at 208th Street), presents Parkchester: City Within a City, through Oct. 3. For more information, call (718) 881-8900.

The New York Botanical Garden hosts the following events: Endangered Plants Here and Around the World, a traveling exhibition on display in the Ross Gallery through July 25 (featured artists will teach botanical art and illustration courses during this period); Dig, Plant, Grow! in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, featuring numerous family activities; Resplendent Roses, on display for five months through the fall; and The Edible Garden, a festival about growing and preparing good food, through Oct. 17, featuring numerous activities for the entire family. Greenmarket, which offers fresh local produce, will take place Wednesdays through Nov. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the base of Library Allée. For more information, details, and class and program schedules, call (718) 817-8700/8747.

The Bronx River Art Center, together with the NYC Department of Transportation, present an abstract wooden art sculpture, Aurora, 14 feet tall, 11 feet wide and 11 feet deep, to be on view for 11 months until June at the center of West Farms Square Plaza located at the base of the West Farms Square/East Tremont Avenue subway station on the corner of East Tremont Avenue and Boston Road, one block away from BRAC which is located at 1087 E. Tremont Ave. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/urbanart.

Library Events

The Bronx Library Center, at 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. off Fordham Road, presents the following programs for preschoolers and school-aged children: films, July 21 and 28 at 2 p.m.; Arts & Crafts at 3 p.m.: July 15 – NYC Bookmark Making; July 22 – New York Work of Art; and July 29 – City Pencil and Pen Holder; and Cool Rainforest Connections, July 16 at 2 p.m.; Favorites From the Treasure Chest, featuring storytelling and puppets, July 17 at 2 p.m.; Presley & Melody, July 23 at 2 p.m.; and The Three Billy Goats Not-So-Gruff, July 24 at 2 p.m. For adults, there is Movie Matinee, featuring “The Phantom of the Opera,” July 21 at 2 p.m. For more information, call (718) 579-4244/46 or visit www.nypl.org.

The Mosholu Library, at 285 E. 205th St., hosts Toddler Story Time, July 22 at 10:30 a.m., for ages 18 to 36 months; films, for preschoolers, July 29 at 10:30 a.m.; and Knitting Circle, July 15, 22 and 29 at 3 p.m. for adults. For more information, call (718) 882-8239.

The Jerome Park Library, at 118 Eames Place, presents Arts & Crafts, July 19 at 2 p.m.; and films, July 27 at 2 p.m.; both for school-aged children. For more information, call (718) 549-5200.

NOTE: Items for consideration may be mailed to our office or sent to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org, and should be received by July 19 for the next publication date of July 29.