Weekend event picks: Manayunk Arts Festival, Firefly & more

Consider this your road map to all there is to do this weekend in Philly and beyond.

It's summer music festival season! Dover, Del.'s Firefly Festival boasts a lineup that includes Paul McCartney (Friday), Kings of Leon (Saturday) and the Killers (Sunday) as well as Young Rising Sons (Thursday), Sylvan Esso (Friday), Zola Jesus (Saturday) and BORNS (Sunday). With the seven stages, on-site Dogfish Head Brewery, vendor area, hammock hangout, and arcade, it'll be a fully immersive four-day experience. Head down to The Woodlands (North Dupont Highway and Leipsic Road, Dover, Del.) for good times from Thursday, June 18, through Sunday, June 21. Gates open at 5 p.m. on Thursday and noon Friday through Sunday.

One-man shows. DIY. Low cost. Mix it all together and you've got the SoLow Festival beginning Thursday, June 18, and running until Monday, June 29. All shows are pay-what-you-can and take place at various locations around the city. Encompassing all forms of solo theater, from dance to interdisciplinary culinary fetes, the festival sees exploratory works in unique locales. Check out the whole schedule here.

Cast a line this weekend. The Wildwood Beach 'N Boat Fishing Challenge runs from Friday, June 19, through Sunday, June 21, giving both professional and amateur fishers a chance to win cash and prizes. Registration and weigh-in take place at Schooner Island Marina (5100 Lake Road, Wildwood), but you're free to fish in any of Wildwood's beaches, from a boat, dock or jetty. Competition begins at 2 p.m. on Friday and culminates with an 11 a.m. awards ceremony on Sunday.

Keep your head in the clouds. The Chester County Balloon Festival gives visitors the opportunity to take a ride in a hot air balloon and watch dozens of them launch into the sky. Enjoy a drink in the beer garden, do a little scuba diving, take a helicopter ride and more during the three-day festival, Friday, June 19, through Sunday, June 21. Gates open at 4 p.m. on Friday, 8 a.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Nearly 300 artists working in media like wood sculpture, jewelry, fiber and more will draw in crowds to the Manayunk Arts Festival. From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 20, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 21, the fair once again spotlights local talent in the Emerging Artist tent as well as more established artists from around the country. The rain-or-shine event runs down Main Street from Green Lane to Shurs Lane.

Keep it casual on Sunday, June 21, for Make Music Philly, a day full of pop-up performances at a variety of spots like The Wilma Theater (265 S. Broad St.), The Porch at 30th Street Station (2955 Market St.) and Passyunk Gardens (1304 E. Passyunk Ave.) with musicians of all genres. Check out the schedule and hop around the city to hear an eclectic mix of tunes from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. Even participate yourself by joining the pros for informal jams.

You don't need to get on a plane to get a taste of the Portuguese culture. The latest festival in the PECO Multicultural series takes place on Sunday, June 21, and features food, wine and dance from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing (101 Columbus Blvd.). 

Give it up for Dad on Sunday, June 21. A number of places are celebrating Father's Day this weekend, including family activities at Shofuso Japanese House and Garden (Horticultural and Lansdowne Drives) and lunch and wine Crossing Vineyards (1853 Wrightstown Road, Washington Crossing).

Picks from the Inquirer's Michael Harrington

To become a cool band takes some work. To become a cool band in Austin, Texas — well, that takes something extra. The Lone Star sextet Sour Bridges calls its funk-folk sound browngrass ("like bluegrass, only dirtier"), twisting the fiddle and mandolin strings in distinctive ways. They play on a five-band spotlight at Connie's Ric Rac (1132 S. Ninth St.) at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 19.

The 100 block of North Mole Street is a slice of old Philadelphia neighborhoods long disappeared from Center City, a haven for pedestrians seeking a respite amid the glass buildings and honking traffic. The neighbors know it, too — hence the 20-year tradition of the Molestice block party and music festival. This year's event features music by Kuf Knotz, Brian LaPann, New Sweden, Ill Fated Natives, Effie Liu, Woodro Skillson, Gooch and the Motion, and the White Cheddar Boys, plus food trucks such as Poi Dog Snack Shop, Phoebes BBQ, and KAMI. It's at North Mole and Race Streets from noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 20.

Hal Hartley started a sneaky epic with his 1997 dark comedy Henry Fool, about the title character, a failed novelist and rogue who befriends sad-sack garbage man Simon Grim and inspires him to achieve the highest honors as a poet, seduces and impregnates Simon's sister Fay, and then goes on the lam. In the 2007 sequel Fay Grim, Henry's erstwhile widow (she thinks) is coerced by the CIA to go to Europe on a mission to find her husband's unpublished manuscript. Ned Rifle, the 2015 final chapter, finds Fay and Henry's son vengefully searching for his father while shadowed by a mysterious femme fatale. The Henry Fool Trilogy screens at the PFS Theater at the Roxy (2023 Sansom St.) at 2 p.m. (Henry Fool), 4:45 p.m. (Fay Grim) and 7:15 p.m. (Ned Rifle) on Saturday, June 20.

The sensational and smooth guitarist Chieli Minucci and his group Special FX play at the Firehouse Cafe (20 Washington St., Mount Holly) at 7 and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 20.

The original Ramones may be gone, but C.J. Ramone, the last (and youngest) member to join the influential punk band, is still around. The only non-drumming Ramone left (Marky and Richie are still kicking) — he replaced Dee-Dee on vocals and bass for the group's final years — C.J. plays on a bill with Japanese garage-girl group Shonen Knife at Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) at 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 21.

For more Things to Do, check out our calendar for the most up-to-date happenings.