Pizza Tent is here and this month’s First Friday is a biggie! From 5:30pm to 7:30pm at Columbus Avenue and Race Street, come to the Tent and help yourself to a free pizza dinner and propositions by San Francisco-based artist team Futurefarmers and local artist Salem Collo-Julin, and a statement from TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone. After the Tent, Small Stakes: Performance Edition will carry the night through from 7:00pm to 9:00pm featuring a special concert by West Philadelphia Orchestra.

The 2nd Annual BlackStar Film Festival runs this weekend from Thursday, August 1st and runs until Sunday, August 4th. The festival, a filmic celebration of the infinite experiences cultivated by the African diaspora, touts more than 75 films by black independent filmmakers, stimulating discussion panels boasting cinematography big-hitters like Bradford Young (Middle of Nowhere, Pariah), a King Britt concert at Johnny Brenda’s, and reputable attendees including Spike Lee. Tickets to individual films range from 5 to 12 dollars and full festival passes at 125 dollars! Take a look at the schedule, browse the program guide, and have at it. (TIX)

The city will run rampant with fiercely beauteous punk, rock, electronic, and hip-hop beats when Phreak N Queer Arts & Music Festival rolls around this weekend. Uplifting queer voices from Philadelphia through the celebration provocative, daring artwork, the four-day extravaganza will kick off August 1st and crank out performances and visual exhibitions sure to spark vigorous conversations around the way we perceive the multiplicity of LGBTQ* identities. Check the festival website and Facebook for day-to-day schedules, venue details, and prices!

The Puppet Festival (r)Evolution blows through the halls of Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore Pennsylvania this Monday, August 5th, through the 10th. Join the week-long shaking up of the puppeteering world by participating in workshops, talks, parades, exhibits, films, and performances such as The Woodchopper Opera and Dreams In the Arms of the Binding Lady. Browse the schedule and read the festival blog!

Join First Person Arts at City Hall Courtyard on Monday at 5:30pm as they wrestle through the overwhelmingly transient societal issues surfacing as a result of  the recent conclusion of the Trayvon Martin case. Philly reACTS| The Heart Beneath the Hood: Artistic Action for Trayvon Martin, is a free event hosted by Laiya Stclair of Hot 107.9 and feature performances by poets Sonia Sanchez and Michelle Myers, Freedom Theatre’s youth vocal ensemble, actor/tap dancer Khalil Munir, jazz vocalist/composer Ruth Naomi Floyd, hip-hop artist Badia, DJ Foxx Boogie, jazz musician Ernest Stuart, and an address from Mayor Nutter. Share your personal connections regarding the verdict and trial procession at video and audio stations, bring a hoodie for collecton, and join the Philadelphia community in reconciling differences in an effort towards understanding and unity.

–Maya Beale