Spring Into This
Welcome back the warm weather at Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens’ Spring Bloom Festival. Highlights include wildflower walks through the 46-acre preserve and a variety of family-friendly activities. Enjoy plant sales, bird watching, how-to workshops like “Plant a Native Container Garden” (April 20), iris and rhododendron flower shows, along with the 60-some whimsical outdoor sculptures that make up the four-season Wind Through the Trees exhibit. Wayne painter Ardyth Sobyak has a show April 1-30, with a preview party on opening night. Free. 631 Berwyn Baptist Road, Devon. Call (610) 647-8870 or visit jenkinsarboretum.org. —Emily Cody
Philly’s Art Seen
Exactly 100 years after the 1911 arts explosion in Paris, the inaugural Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts invades the Kimmel Center with a monthlong celebration of the area’s vibrant creative prowess. Running April 7-May 1, PIFA will spotlight more than 1,500 artists and performers in 135 events. The dynamic dancers of the Alchemy Dance Company (pictured), along with the Bryn Mawr Film Institute and Gladwyne’s Vox Ama Deus, are a few of the organizations slated to participate. Kick off the fête in style with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Ballet at the opening-night black-tie gala, featuring dinner prepared by Wolfgang Puck in honor of chef Georges Perrier. $750. Concert only: $15-$139. 260 S. Broad St., Philadelphia. Call (215) 546-7432 or visit pifa.org. —Emily Riley
Just Beat It
The Tamagawa University Taiko Drumming and Dance Troupe has performed all over the world since 1961. Next up is West Chester on April 7. Blending the rhythmic pulse of almost 30 drums with the grace and beauty of Japanese folkloric dance, this captivating show is authentic performance art at its best. 7:30-9 p.m. Free. Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall, West Chester University, 700 S. High St., West Chester. Call (610) 436-3500 or visit wcupa.edu/visitingartists. —E.R.
