Friday
Connect the Dots: Amidst the biggest festival season of the year, the two-day WHYY Connections Festival stands out as a solid early entrant. Why? Try an outdoor stage at the Great Plaza with music from such stalwarts as Dr. Dog and Justin Townes Earle, but that's just the beginning. Add dance performers, spoken word artists, and a free screening of Ken Burns' latest docu-opus, "Prohibition" and you get the idea. Did we mention this whole thing was free? Fri. 6:30 p.m.-11:00 p.m.; Sat. 2:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Saturday
Ice Floes Ahead! During the interminable winters of Western Upstate New York, you learn how to generate your own heat. The thrashy boys of the Polar Bear Club learned their lesson well. They play a fast-paced, loud gig tonight at the First Unitarian Church. $12-$14 6:00 p.m.
The Bard Unloads: As part of the wild and wooly Live Arts Festival, the Pig Iron Theatre Co. must feel right at home. Their band of inspired loons have put together a production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night that promises to be both ribald, immediate and bawdry fun. The production has a run through the festival at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. $20 3:00 p.m.
Sunday
Get Lost: The sweet, silky soul stylings of Maze are a good way to wrap up the summer vibe and prep for fall. The band, which features Philly-born Frankie Beverly, is playing tonight at the Robin Hood Dell East. $32.50-$75.00 8:00 p.m.
Spokes-people: It seems like only yesterday that the last media frenzy for the Philly Naked Bike Ride was upon us, sweeping the city's many outlets with promises of high ratings and through-the-roof PVs. Still, the point of the event isn't to bolster sagging ratings, it's to draw attention to the founder's agenda, which includes cycling advocacy and the promotion of positive body images. The wild attention the event garners is just a by-product. If you're interested in riding (it's officially listed as a "bare as you dare" event, so you don't have to show up sans pants), all you have to do is sign up. If you want to gawk, you'll have to be quick on your feet: The time and meeting place are only given out to official riders, and the route is kept tightly secret until the riders have massed together.
Going out can be a gamble, so why leave it up to chance? Stack the deck every Friday by peeping Play's Weekend Bender.
