Geekend Picks: Magic the Gathering Tournaments, Movie Screenings, Dorian’s Parlor

Welcome to another exciting edition of the Geekend! This week, we’ve got some very special events, including one hosted by Geekadelphia this Sunday! Read on to find out what you can do this weekend in the City of Brotherly Love.

First up, spanning the entire weekend, is Global Game Jam! Join game developers from Philadelphia and New Jersey as they work together for 48 to create games, both video and table top. This year’s jam will be held at Camden County College. Check out details on the jam site to register.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25TH

Friday is the El Viaje de los Ninos (The Journey of the Children) Opening Reception at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens. The reception is from 6PM-9PM, and is part of the Free Library’s One Book, One Philadelphia, in which the city is currently reading Julie Otsuka’s Buddha in the Attic. (I read this in my book club a few months ago – it’s very good!)

The exhibit “tells the stories of Mexican children who have crossed the border to immigrate to Philadelphia… The children created large-scale dioramas and recorded audio tracks illustrating their journeys and the effects of immigration on their lives and identities.” You can catch it until February 24. No price is listed, but I’m assuming it’s free with admission, which is $7.

Start friend plug: if you want to spend Friday evening rocking out to some geeky music, check out It’s a King Thing with Windsor Park Walkers and Clamfight at Johnny Brenda’s. I went to high school with a lot of these guys, so you should spend $10 and go see them! Doors open at 8 and the show starts at 9:15. /End friend plug

The International House will be screening the movie Teza, with the director, Haile Gerima, on hand for a discussion. The event begins at 8PM and costs $10. Check out the International House write up for a trailer of the movie.

And finally, starting at 11:59PM, there’s a Magic: the Gathering Gatecrash Prerelease Sealed Deck Tournament at Redcap’s Corner. It costs $30 to enter, and runs until 5:59AM, with the sealed events and open dueling continuing all weekend. Sign up at the Facebook event page for more info.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26TH

Saturday starts off with some films, though likely not seen by the same crowd. 10:30 is Madagascar for $4 at the County Theater as part of their Saturday Family Matinee. At 11, there’s Manhattan Murder Mystery, shown at the Northeast Regional Library Branch of the Free Library. It’s the monthly installment of their Woody Allen Film Series.

More One Book, One Philadelphia events are happening around the city on Saturday as well. Taste and See Japan will be at the Whole Foods Market Callowhill at 12pm. They’ll have Japanese matcha as well as sushi samplings, as well as a photo exhibition called Seeing Japan by local artist Aaron Mannino. At 3PM, be sure to attend Fighting Women: Kabuki Heroines & Samurai Mavens at the Central Library. Dr. Deborah Klens-Bigman will “explore popular kabuki plays that feature female characters as heroic fighters, the training of women of the samurai class who were both inspired and entertained by kabuki theatrical performances, and the connection between the fighting women image and current women’s martial art practices.” Did I mention it will be followed by a Japanese swordsmanship demonstration?

The next installment of L.A. Rebellion at the International House will be this Saturday as well, with two events instead of three. At 5pm for $9, they’re showing Child of Resistance, along with short films Brick by Brick, L.A. in My Mind, Rain, and an excerpt from The Dawn at My Back: Memoir of a Black Texas Upbringing. Full details on each piece can be found at the International House website. The second event, also $9, starts at 8PM, and again features director Haile Gerima introducing her film, Bush Mama.

And finally, Dorian’s Parlor makes its triumphant steampunk return on Saturday night, from 8PM to 1AM at the Doubletree Hotel’s Symphony Ballroom. For $25, you’ll get access to musical acts The Extraordinary Contraptions, Katie Kat, and Radium Angels, as well as a fashion show by The Corset Girl Stylings by Lily Lisa, and much, much more. RSVP on their Facebook event page.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 27TH

If you’re not completely exhausted by Sunday, there’s plenty more for you to do, starting at the Franklin Institute. From 11AM-4PM, there’s the Plastics Chemistry Fair, in which you get to make Glow-in-the Dark Slime, experiment with ooey-gooey polymers, and go on a scavenger hunt!” From 1PM-3PM, there’s Kitchen Science, in which you can learn about things like the mystery of our taste buds, and why mayonnaise doesn’t separate even though it’s so gross. Each event is included with museum admission.

Colonial Theatre is showing Key Largo at 2PM for $9. The fourth and final Bogart and Bacall film is a “tense thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat” with “suspenseful and claustrophobic terror.”

Or, if you want some live music, you can go see Brazilian Adventure at the Central Library at 2PM, featuring “Minas, a duo made up
of talented vocalists, instrumentalists and composers Orlando Haddad and Patricia King,” who will take everyone on a “journey through exciting and diverse Brazilian music.”

Of course, as a fan of this blog, you are most likely going to spend your Saturday afternoon at the Trocadero, for the Joel Hodgson live show, “Riffing Myself!” Joel’s live show starts at 3PM, and will be followed up by a screening of The Pod People, which he will introduce himself. Tickets are $22.50 for general admission, but of course, you’ll want to spend the $39.50 for the VIP ticket, which includes a post-show reception with Joel himself. RSVP at the Facebook event page, and spend your Sunday afternoon with us!

Finally, wrap up with your weekend with some comedy at Connie’s Ric Rac. This Sunday’s Bedtime Stories will be Behind the Scenes at A Soft Rock Radio Station in Nashua, NH. The show starts at 7pm and costs just $5, and will be all about “WHFMTOWNDZ-FM (The Breeze On Top of the Mountain Near Nashua),the number two rated soft rock/adult contemporary radio station in New Hampshire’s second biggest radio market.” RSVP and get more details at the Facebook event page.

That’s it for this week’s Geekend! Hope to see all of your smiling faces this Sunday at the Trocadero!