TheNutcracker is about family. It centers around a girl named Marie, her parents and little brother, and the magical things that happen after they throw a Christmas party.
At Philadelphia Ballet, it’s more than just that.
Four members of a dancing family make Nutcracker magic onstage together. Sisters Isabella, 21, Ava, 19, and Olivia DiEmedio, 16, are all members of the company. Isabella is in the corps de ballet, Ava an apprentice, and Olivia in Philadelphia Ballet II.
When the company opens its annual production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker this weekend at the Academy of Music, the sisters will perform as snowflakes, flowers, parents, maids, and a variety of sweet treats.
Olivia DiEmedio, 16, (center) rehearses “The Nutcracker” with Philadelphia Ballet.
The sisters are still on the rise in the company, and are yet to explore most of the principal roles. But they’ve filled most of the children’s, many of the corps, and some soloist roles. In fact, there has been a DiEmedio in one scene or another of TheNutcracker for at least a dozen years.
Even their mother is sometimes onstage alongside them.
Charity Eagens, who grew up in East Norriton, Montgomery County, was in the company, then known as Pennsylvania Ballet, for 10 years, starting in 1996. Now she is a teacher in the School of Philadelphia Ballet and the children’s ballet stager. She is also the grandmother in some performances of TheNutcracker.
Eagens has taught all three of her daughters throughout their training, and she continues to do so once a week, when she teaches company class.
In ballet class, she is their teacher. As soon as they step outside the studio, she is Mom.
“It would be really awkward for all my friends to see me calling you Miss Charity,” Ava said to her mother on Zoom, gathering around a table at Philadelphia Ballet.
“I would never say ‘Miss Charity,’” Olivia added. “I would just say what I needed to say and, like, just raise my hand.”
The DiEmedio sisters grew up on Philadelphia Ballet.
Isabella DiEmedio, 21, rehearses “The Nutcracker” with Philadelphia Ballet.
“I took Isabella to see her first ballet [when] she was 2 years old, which is a little bit too young,” Eagens said. “But a lot of my friends were still in the company, and I took her. I thought, ‘Let me just see how long she sits.’”
It was Sleeping Beauty, which is well over two and a half hours.
“So it’s probably not the best one,” said Eagens. “However, she sat on the edge of her seat for the whole thing.”
In 2007, when she was 3, Isabella started ballet classes in a local school where Eagens taught.
When she was 4, Isabella went to her mother and said, “I want to dance on the same stage as you, Mom,” Eagens said.
In 2012, when Isabella was 7, the company reopened its school (after becoming the Rock School for Dance 20 years earlier, when it looked like the troupe might fold), and Eagens signed her up.
Her sisters followed in the same pattern: local classes at 3, moving over to the School of Philadelphia Ballet for more serious training when they were 7. They tried gymnastics, too, but ballet is what stuck for all of them.
Ava DiEmedio, 19, (second from right) rehearses “The Nutcracker” with Philadelphia Ballet.
TheNutcracker was a staple in their lives. Ava and Olivia both danced the role of Marie. Isabella was too tall when it might’ve been her turn, putting the top child’s role out of her reach.
These days, Isabella lives independently, sharing an apartment with another dancer in the company. Ava is considering moving out as well, but her father is encouraging her to stay put and save money. Meanwhile, she and Olivia split their time living with Eagens in Worcester, Montgomery County, and with their father in Philadelphia, which is convenient for getting to the studio and theater.
At 16, Olivia is a junior in high school, doing her academic work online through the Brandywine Virtual Academy, which is affiliated with the Methacton School District she used to attend in person.
“I never had to withdraw them from school,” Eagens said.
At different stages of their burgeoning careers, the sisters continue to support one another.
“In combined company class with the men and women, I’ll stand behind Isabella,” Ava said. “And then in the ladies class, I stand behind Olivia. Sometimes I’ll tell [Olivia] little things I noticed about her technique.”
“Isabella, Olivia, Ava, and their mother Charity each bring their own artistry and dedication to Philadelphia Ballet,” said artistic director Angel Corella, “and watching them share the stage is incredibly moving.”
The sisters are all eager to improve and get opportunities.
“I want to be the best that I can and see how far I can take it,” Isabella said.
Ava agreed. “I want to be able to branch out of corps roles.”
As the youngest, Olivia knows she may have to wait her turn, although in ballet even the youngest professionals can get big roles.
“Technically, I’m still in training,” as a second company member, she said. “So I have to always keep in mind and have a good mindset about it and keep working hard every day.”
But, she added, “I really want to become someone who is, like, the star.”
Philadelphia Ballet in “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.” Dec. 5-31, Academy of Music. $28-$282, 215-893-1999 or ensembleartsphilly.org
The holiday season at City Hall was kicked off Thursday night with a lighting ceremony for what is officially called the “Philly Holiday Tree,” followed by live musical performances by Grammy-winning artists Ashanti and Lalah Hathaway.
The 50-foot-tall, 75-year-old Concolor Fir, sourced from Stutzman Farms in New York, will be displayed on the north side of City Hall through Jan. 1. The tree is bigger and brighter this year, with a reimagined base that serves as a centerpiece and more than 6,000 lights.
Mayor Cherelle Parker smiles alongside Santa during the annual City of Philadelphia Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony at City Hall on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.Attendees wait in line for drinks during the annual City of Philadelphia Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony at City Hall on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.Attendees with Grinch hats gather for the annual City of Philadelphia Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony at City Hall on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.Ashanti performs at the annual City of Philadelphia Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony at City Hall on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.Ashanti performs a medley during the BET Awards on Monday, June 9, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker struck a replica Liberty Bell with a large hammer at 7:05 p.m. to signal the lighting of the tree.
Cassie Donegan, the current Miss America, sang “White Christmas” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” The show was broadcast live on 6abc.
The annual city-run event is part of a wider event schedule to ring in the holiday season in Philadelphia, organized by Welcome America LLC, which also organizes the Wawa Welcome America festival on July 4.
Since World Cafe Live founder Hal Real stepped down as CEO in May, drama at the University City music venue has been unending.
Joseph Callahan, who brought the Portal to Philadelphia in 2024, took over from Real and pledged to save the nonprofit venue from financial ruin and $6 million of accumulated debt, in part by turning it into a virtual reality entertainment hub.
Labor peace seemed to be achieved during a rowdy town hall meeting in July, when then-World Cafe Live president Gar Giles said the company had agreed to collective bargaining with production and front-of-house workers who unionized with IATSE Local 8 and Unite Here Local 274.
But this fall, union organizers say, the venue has reneged on that promise, and on the pledge, made by new CEO J. Sean Diaz in September, to hire back fired employees.
“World Cafe Live has refused to come to the bargaining table,” said Unite Here’s Mat Wranovics. Some workers have been sent letters claiming they owe money back to the company. Others had paychecks deposited into their bank accounts, they say, only to have the money withdrawn without explanation.
And workers are not the only ones expressing frustration with Callahan and his management team — so is the venue’s landlord, the University of Pennsylvania.
Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory perform at World Cafe Live, in Philadelphia, Friday, February. 7, 2025.
The university owns the building at 3025 Walnut St. that houses World Cafe Live’s 650-capacity Music Hall and 220-capacity Lounge. It is also home to the university’s radio station, WXPN-FM (88.5), which is a separate business.
According to public documents obtained by The Inquirer, as early as July, Penn’s real estate office sent Callahan and Giles notice that they had defaulted on their lease and owed the university $1.29 million for rent and utility payments dating back to April 2022. (Callahan has said that in the period before he took over as chairman of the World Cafe Live board, the venue was losing between $45,000 and $70,000 per month.)
Most of that bill had accrued while Real — who converted World Cafe Live into a nonprofit in 2018 — was still CEO. Callahan and Giles were granted 12 days to pay, stressing that the grace period “is being afforded to you only because of Landlord’s relationship with prior management and WXPN, not you.” The last two words were underlined for emphasis.
World Cafe Live President and CEO J. Sean Diaz poses at the embattled West Philly music venue Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.
On July 22, Penn lawyers delivered a notice to vacate, terminating their lease with Real Entertainment LLC. (The venue is still identified by the name Real gave it in 2004.)
World Cafe Live, however, remains in business, with a busy schedule this weekend: Indie band Carbon Leaf is playing the Music Hall on Friday, and country-folk stalwarts Pure Prairie League on Saturday.
That’s because Real Entertainment, with Callahan as its chairman, challenged the eviction notice with a counterclaim in Common Pleas Court.
It states that World Cafe Live has been engaged “in ongoing negotiations regarding lease modifications and denies it is in default,” and adds that “the alleged amount owed is disputed, inaccurate and does not account for significant offsets, concessions and mutual understandings between the parties.”
The case is scheduled for a trial date in January. This week, a spokesperson for Penn’s facilities and real estate services declined to comment.
The new CEO
Diaz was brought in as World Cafe Live’s president and CEO in September by Callahan, who remains chairman of the board. Diaz is a Penn alum, an entertainment lawyer, a former DJ, and a band manager whose clients have included WanMor, the vocal group of Boyz II Men’s Wanya Morris’ four sons, who are also all named Wanya.
His appointment as the new CEO was announced on social media in September. He was also named Giles’ replacement as president.
“I’m not a proxy for Joe,” Diaz said in an interview this week. Callahan, he said, had extracted himself from day-to-day operations to focus on technology concerns.
In that same announcement, Diaz said that all terminated employees would be hired back. Former employees said they did receive emails urging them to request an interview, but none had been rehired.
“I should have chosen my words more carefully,” he admitted.
He also expressed optimism that the conflict over the lease could be resolved and that World Cafe Live and Penn could come to terms to keep the venue open.
“There needs to be a meeting of the minds,” said Diaz, who lives in Voorhees, in South Jersey. “Penn’s main concern, obviously, is getting paid as a landlord and making sure that XPN has the continuity they’re built up in that building. That’s an important partnership.”
Diaz acknowledged alcohol had been served at some World Cafe Live shows after the license had expired, saying he anticipated the venue would have to pay a penalty for the infraction. “But what does everybody want? The city and the state want their tax revenue. Penn wants XPN back in the building. So we are working to resolve this as fast as possible.”
In the meantime, World Cafe Live is a BYOB venue. On Thursday, a sign on the window said ticket holders would be charged $20 per person for bringing their own drinks, and $10 if they ordered food.
Joseph Callahan, the World Cafe Live’s chairman of the board and former CEO at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. Phila Pa, Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
Continuing labor unrest
Employees like Emilia Reynolds, who is one of two former World Cafe Live bartenders who spoke to The Inquirer, do not believe Diaz’s claim that he is not Callahan’s proxy.
“Joe does all the work behind the scenes,” Reynolds said of Callahan, who is also CEO of California-based Sansar, a virtual reality company. “He tells everyone what to do.”
Reynolds, who started tending bar at World Cafe Live in 2023, said they were optimistic about this summer after “me and all my coworkers all got together and unionized the building and got our recognition.”
But that optimism waned in the fall, Reynolds said, after the company did not come to the bargaining table.
“Then fast-forward to Oct. 1, when I woke up without a paycheck. Or, to be more specific, I woke up with a paycheck and then a few hours later had the exact same amount taken right back out.”
Reynolds confronted Callahan after a show later that month about the missing money and was told “that I was one of 16 people who maliciously stole from the company and manipulated payroll.”
Two days later, they were fired via email.
Reynolds, Wranovics said, is among the employees who “were fired for a totally outrageous situation relating to the fact that they had not received pay.”
Diaz did not address Reynolds’ case but claimed that “there was some manipulation of the payroll, with employees logging in for rates or hours they weren’t authorized at.”
Allison Eskridge, also a bartender, first worked at World Cafe Live in 2005 for a two-year stint, then returned in 2015.
Like Reynolds, Eskridge talks fondly about the community of coworkers during the Real years. “Hal was always hands on. He was always going to the shows and passionate about the music. It felt like there really wasn’t another place like it. It was really, really special,” she said.
Union rep Kerrick Edwards, shows a support sticker outside the World Cafe Live building on Thursday, July, 2025 before a Town Hall meeting at the World Cafe Live with new leaders taking questions about changes at the music venue, which has been in turmoil since workers walked out during a show last month.
Eskridge said she was not paid for two pay periods in October and is owed between $1,000 and $2,000. After sending multiple emails to managers about her missing money that were not responded to, she, too, received a termination notice via email, she said.
“It just said: ‘Your services are no longer required.’”
Growing solidarity
On Oct. 12, State Rep. Rich Krajewski and City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who both represent the University City area, posted a joint social media video after visiting World Cafe Live.
“We are here to show solidarity with the workers,” Krajewski (D., Phila.) said in the video, adding that he was “extremely disappointed and ashamed that the workers have been mistreated, they have had wages taken away from them.”
He went on to call on management “to do better and come to the table and negotiate in good faith.”
“We came here today to meet with management,” Gauthier said, only to find no managers at the venue. “We are here to say: Pay your workers.”
Sadie Dupuis, also known as Sad13, and the singer for Speedy Ortiz, performs with the band at the World Cafe Live for Free at Noon in Philadelphia, Pa., on Friday, Aug., 4, 2023. She will play as part of a World Cafe Live Workers benefit at Johnny Brenda’s on Jan. 11.
With the chaos and accusations of mismanagement, can World Cafe Live survive?
Diaz believes it’s too important not to.
“There’s a real cost” if the venue were to close, he said. “Not just to World Cafe Live as a brand, but to XPN, to Penn, to West Philadelphia, to the city, to this community.”
Though the World Cafe Live calendar has been thin and uninspired in recent weeks, Diaz said that by cutting costs, “we have got the operation to the point where it’s financially stable.”
He welcomes Callahan’s metaverse ideas if they can bring in new revenue streams, but said he imagines a venue that can sustain itself by being “more accessible and inclusive.”
“And when I say that, everybody thinks I just mean race, but I don’t. It means to be more accessible to the arts in a broader way. More kinds of music, but also dance, theater, and food events. You have to make this a place that more people have access to.
“It’s going to take the right resources, the right timing, the right relationship with Penn, and some resetting to bring it back,” Diaz said. “But what I do believe is that people are forgiving. And if you do the right thing, people will come back and support.”
This article has been updated with the correct pronouns for Emilia Reynolds and the correct price for BYOB tickets at WCL. Reynolds uses they/ them pronouns and the tickets cost $20.
I would be remiss not to mention some holiday-themed happenings, especially the City Hall Christmas lighting ceremony. But just like my Christmas shopping to-do list, there’s plenty of variety. Consider this the beginning of your late-year guide to what’s happening both in and outside your typical holiday ritual.
A 50-foot-tall tree, gleaming with thousands of colorful lights, will illuminate the north side of City Hall, at North Broad Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard, for the first time of the season on Thursday night.
The tree lighting will feature a performance by Lalah Hathaway and Grammy-winning singer Ashanti. On offer will be free hot chocolate and warm apple cider, plus gift giveaways. If you can’t make it to tonight’s lighting, you can enjoy 6ABC’s live broadcast online, or on the mobile app.
The best things to do this week
🎄Lights in Delco: Starting Thursday,300,000 lights will adorn over 125 trees at the center of Media’s Rose Tree County Park for the 50th annual Festival of Lights.
🎭 A transformative musical leaves soon: Catch the acclaimed, eight-Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown at the Forrest Theatre before the show’s final show on Sunday.
😂 Laughs and brews: Stop by the Next In Line Comedy Club in Spring Garden to see headliners Chris Aileo and Josh Martier work their comedic magic on Thursday night. Drinks by Love City Brewing are available in the venue’s showroom bar.
🪕 Country Christmas carols: Among the list of exciting holiday pop-up concerts this month, veteran country singer LeAnn Rimes will hit the Keswick Theatre stage for her Greatest Hits Christmas Tour. Before you go, make sure to clear your throat. You will probably sing Christmas songs from her holiday albums in no time.
🎵 Tindley Temple’s organ recital: Tindley Temple’s presentation of Handel’s The Messiah is accompanied by organ and includes just music from Part I (plus the “Hallelujah Chorus”), but there’s no warmer, more joyous appearance of the piece than the one at Tindley, on South Broad Street. The Sunday concert features conductor Jay Fluellen, organist Luke Staisiunas, and vocal soloists Tessica McClendon, Kaitlyn Tierney, Perry Brisbon, and Shango Lewis.
📅 My calendar picks this week: Art & Eats Chestnut Hill, Holiday Lights on Boathouse Row, and the Santa Stroll block party on East Market.
Ross Varanyak helps prepare Christmas trees for customers at Yeager’s Farm in Phoenixville, Pa. on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022.
The thing of the week: Time to get your Christmas tree
In the words of my colleagues Michelle Myers, Henry Savage, and Rosa Cartagena, the debate this Christmas isn’t whether Santa Claus exists. It’s whether to display a real or fake Christmas tree.
While many households have switched to artificial ones, holiday purists are sticking to the real thing. Lucky for them, Philadelphia is home to several Christmas tree farms and lots, offering a wide selection of pre-cut varieties and even delivery options.
🎁 From Center City’s Christmas Village and Dilworth Park’s Made in Philadelphia market to Bucks County’s Peddler’s Village and Bethlehem’s iconic Christkindlmarkt, these holiday markets are worth a look.
🩰 The ‘Nutcracker’ to grace the stage: The classic George Balanchine Nutcracker,featuring a cast of talented children and some of the best professional dancers in the city, kicks off at the Academy of Music on Friday. The ballet will run through Dec. 31.
🎅 Hop on Manayunk’s Jolly Trolley: As part of Manayunk’s Get Lit weekends, the neighborhood is offering free Jolly Trolley rides through Dec. 20. The trek will include live music, performances, and plenty of holiday season characters on board for the ride down Main Street.
🎵 Holiday organs will blare: Live organists play Longwood Gardens every day of the holiday season (including Christmas and New Year’s days) — among them, Luke Staisiunas, Thomas Gaynor, Andrew Paulson, and Dylan Shaw.
🙆🏽 Pirouettes and orchestral tunes: The most popular ballet in the world would be nothing without Tchaikovsky’s evocative score, and the city is fortunate to have the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra in the Academy of Music pit live for all 34 performances of The Nutcracker from Friday through noon on New Year’s Eve.
Staffer picks
Pop music critic Dan DeLuca lists the top concerts this weekend and a few holiday pop-up jams happening this month.
🎤 Friday: After making a cameo at the Playboi Carti concert last month, Meek Mill will headline a show of his own at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday. The Philly native and Grammy-nominated rapper will be joined by special guests for the one-night-only bash.
🎸 Saturday: Philly songwriter Don McCloskey, known for the 2008 Phillies fight song, “Unstoppable,” and his link to the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia crew, will perform with his eight-piece band for the annual “Holiday Office Party” at Brooklyn Bowl.
🎤 Sunday: In line with the city’s string of holiday pop-up performances,Philly jazz vocalist V. Shayne Frederick will play two “A Very V. Shayne Frederick Holiday” at South Jazz Kitchen on Saturday and Sunday.
Plus:
🪕 Virtuoso banjoist Bela Fleck and band mates Howard Levy, Roy “Future Man” Wooten, and Victor Wooten will perform at Miller Theater on Dec. 12, alongside saxophonist Jeff Coffin and throat singing ensemble Alash.
🎤 Jingle Ball, the annual holiday season pop star cavalcade, includes pop-rock sibling band AJR, jazz singer Laufey, Alex Warren, and Texas country rapper BigXthaPlug, and others at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Dec. 15.
Lydia Hope Victor often jokes about how much worse off she’d be if she’d grown up in Ohio instead of Philadelphia.
Her parents arrived there from India before settling in Philly. Her father learned about American culture through Ohio State and then Eagles football. He came to love the brutal sport and passed his fandom down to his children, but who knows what would have happened if the family had been forced to root for the Cleveland Browns.
“Obviously, thankfully [he] became a Birds fan,” she said.
Victor, 22, is a graphic designer and multimedia artist based in Elkins Park whose work is focused on sports and the overlooked elements that shape them. Her work across mediums is for the casuals and diehards alike, including an Allen Iverson sweater vest, fan zines, and banners reading, “Find a New Slant” and “I’m Sorry I Just Wanted a Frosty”.
She’s in the middle of a season-long Sixers project that she’s sharing on social media called 82 Games. After every contest, Victor is creating an illustration based upon what happened on the court, with easter egg references, too.
Victor’s passion for basketball was molded by post-The Process-era Sixers and Allen Iverson YouTube highlights, despite being born after his 2001 MVP season. She was raised on Philly talk radio car rides with her dad, and her fondest sports memory is watching people flood the streets from her brother’s Temple University dorm after the Eagles’ first Super Bowl win.
“It’s hard to live in Philly and not be an insane Philly sports fan,” she said.
Victor spoke with The Inquirer about her 82 Games project and how it represents relentless Philly fandom and community, being a Joel Embiid truther, and aspiring to consume sports a little more healthily.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
This is an endurance art project. How do you come up with a new design every game? And how do you stay committed to it, even when the Sixers are more or less a fringe playoff team?
I think that’s the fun of it, pushing myself to think of new ways to interpret the story. Some of the joy of it is also being able to look back and be like, I committed to doing that, I was able to finish it.
I originally did this project in high school, it was honestly to teach myself how to draw. [Now] I have a lot more experience in design and illustration, and I’m just seeking out some of the community again. I think that’s what really brought me back to it. Even the most niche reference I try to make in games, someone will understand it somewhere.
Victor shows off one of her illustrations for the 82 Games series, featuring Tyrese Maxey.
That fandom is so important to finding a community of people.
Philly fans are all a little crazy, we’re all so committed to support our teams. Even if we’re in a slump. I think Philly fans have a reputation — oh we booed Santa. But it’s coming from a place of — I’m still here and I’m gonna show up no matter what.
A through-line of your work is holding a player-centric point of view. Why do you feel like that’s an important perspective to emphasize? What do you think of the way sports are typically covered in media or online?
It’s kind of just rage-baiting. They want people to engage, but there’s no intention to do it through healthy conversation. People watch sports because they enjoy it at some level and sometimes those perspectives take away from that joy.
It’s easy to center the fan, but none of these things would exist without the player, too.
Victor’s custom-made banners with various Jalen Hurts quotes made after the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory.
I’m a Joel Embiid truther ‘til the day I die. People give him a lot of flack for not giving his all for the team, and I don’t think you can really point to his history and in good faith say that about him. He was playing with a mask. He was playing with [Bell’s palsy].
You made a sweater vest inspired by Allen Iverson and his tattoos. How did that project come to be?
I’m 4’11, so I immediately connected to Allen Iverson and his story and just the way he played. I remember watching his Hall of Fame speech and crying. When you think about how the media treated him or general narratives about him as a player, it all seemed negative. And I think it’s exciting to see him get his flowers.
I just love experimenting with different mediums. If I have an idea in my head, I wanna get it out into the world. Last season I was like, a jersey looks just like a sweater vest, what is something I could do to explore that? I immediately was like, do something about Allen Iverson.
Victor displays her Allen Iverson sweater vest, modeled after his iconic Sixers jersey. The embroidered designs mimic several of A.I.’s tattoos.
What are some of other ways you’ve focused your work on player perspectives and other overlooked parts of sports?
I try to think of things from systems point of view. I think there’s really a story behind every single thing in sports.
The project I’m working on right now is about the Women’s Basketball League, which was the first women’s basketball league in America in the 1970s. It only lasted for three seasons, but there was a team that was based in Philadelphia called the Philadelphia Fox, which only lasted for 10 games.
Victor is working to tell more multimedia stories about the subtle structures that impact sports.
Some of those people are doctors and lawyers and basketball coaches, their lives took such a different turn. Title IX was just starting, so there weren’t a lot of [opportunities] for women to play sports in general. I’ve been interviewing some of those women which is pretty cool, getting to hear their stories.
So just thinking about how these systems exist and operate and how to make them more equitable. Understanding where we started is so important.
Who are your Letterboxd-style four favorite Philly athletes of all time?
Allen Iverson, Nick Foles, Joel Embiid, and Michael Vick.
Steve Cropper, an internationally renowned, Grammy-winning guitarist and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee who played with luminaries such as Otis Redding, B.B. King, Booker T. & the MG’s and the Blues Brothers, died Dec. 3 in Nashville. He was 84 years old.
Mr. Cropper’s death was announced on his social media accounts in a statement that called him “a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer.” The cause of death was not disclosed.
In the earliest days of his decades-long career, Mr. Cropper played guitar as a founding member of the Memphis band the Mar-Keys, which had a national hit with “Last Night” in 1961. He formed the band with his childhood friend, Donald “Duck” Dunn, who became a well-known bassist. The two continued to collaborate for years afterward, notably with the famed Booker T. & the MG’s — a groundbreaking, racially integrated R&B/soul studio band formed by Mr. Cropper in 1962.
Mr. Cropper performed on many enduring hits, including with Otis Redding on “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” which the two co-wrote, and with Sam & Dave on “Soul Man.”
He also played on two albums with the Blues Brothers and co-wrote hits such as “In the Midnight Hour” with Wilson Pickett, “Knock on Wood” with Eddie Floyd, and “Green Onions” as part of Booker T. & the MG’s.
Stephen Lee Cropper was born on a farm near Dora, Mo., on Oct. 21, 1941. He recalled falling in love with music after his family moved to Memphis when he was 9 years old and he started hearing Black gospel songs on local radio stations.
“I really enjoyed that music. I don’t know what it was. At such a young age, it impressed me,” he recalled in a 1984 interview. “The Black spiritual music … it gave me a whole different attitude about music.”
At aboutage 14, he decided he wanted to play guitar and scraped together $20 to order one from a catalog by setting pins at a bowling alley in Memphis — earning about 10 cents a game. He recalled his shock when he opened the box and found that the instrument had not been strung.
“I went, ‘Wait a minute, isn’t it supposed to be all tuned and all that stuff?’” he said with a laugh. “I really didn’t have a musical background in the family.”
He taught himself how to play, recalling: “I liked the sound of it. I liked the ring of the notes.”
In his acceptance speech when Booker T. & the MG’s was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, Mr. Cropper said he was honored to play “with some of the greatest musicians on the planet.”
“It’s been a great career and it’s been a lot of fun,” he said.
Mr. Cropper was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. He won two Grammy Awards, in 1968 for “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” with Redding and in 1994 for “Cruisin’” as part of Booker T. & the MG’s. He was nominated for a Grammy nine times.
In 1996, British magazine Mojo ranked him as the second-greatest guitarist of all time, behind only Jimi Hendrix.
“Steve’s influence on American music is immeasurable,” his family said on social media.
“Every note he played, every song he wrote, and every artist he inspired ensures that his spirit and artistry will continue to move people for generations.”
Mr. Cropper is survived by his wife, Angel Cropper, and his four children.
Rose Tree County Park in Media willonce again transform into a winter wonderland this holiday season for the 50th annual Festival of Lights.
Starting Thursday, some 300,000 lights will adorn over 125 trees at the center of the 118-acre park, which will also play host to vendors, musical performances, and food trucks on select nights during the festival’s run through Jan. 3.
More than a beloved tradition, the free festival is “putting Delco on the map,” says Delaware County Parks and Recreation Interim Director Anne Stauffer. The festival drew about 97,000 visitors last year, according to Visit Delco data, and Stauffer expects more than 100,000 this year.
Over the past few years, the festival has significantly grown its footprint. While it used to largely attract residents from in and around Media, a major change in 2021 helped attract more visitors from across the region.
ARPA funding helped grow the Festival of Lights to include larger trees.
Using funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, organizers grew the number of lights on display — including extending it to the park’s tallest trees — and added pop-up shopping elements, a format that has been replicated each year since. With a refreshed display, the festival went from a local event to a “regional draw,” Stauffer said.
Now, the annual festival is one of the park’s biggest undertakings, with work beginning in mid-October.
This year’s festival will see a return of many favorite displays, like a lighted archway, Snoopy and other Peanuts characters, a gingerbread family, and Santa and his reindeer. A Visit Delco selfie station featuring a giant Adirondack chair will be moved to the front of the park. There will also be musical performances on Delco’s Fare & Flair nights, along with a selection of food, drinks, and other vendors.
New this year will be the unveiling of a “Delco Bell,” which will make its debut at 4 p.m. Thursday, and remain on display through next December, even after the festival wraps up. It’s one of many bells being displayed statewide as part of America250PA’s “Bells Across PA” initiative, which began rolling out in April in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“I think it’s a beautiful opportunity to be able to show the public artistry and history,” Stauffer said.
This is also a milestone year for Rose Tree County Park, which opened in 1975 and is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s Festival of Lights:
When will the Festival of Lights be open?
This year’s festival kicks off on Dec. 4 at 5 p.m., when the entire park will be lit up for the first time this season. As part of the festivities, the Springton Lake Middle School Select Choir will perform seasonal songs, and Santa will help light the park before zipping around on one of Delaware County Parks and Recreation’s electric ATVs. He’ll remain on site until 8:30 p.m.
In addition to the ceremonial lighting, opening night will also be the first of this year’s Delco’s Fare & Flair Nights, which include music, food, drinks, and other local vendors.
From Dec. 4 to Jan. 3, the park will be lit nightly at 5 p.m. and remain lit until 9:30 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Who are this year’s vendors?
There will be vendors, food, drinks, and live entertainment on Delco’s Fare & Flair Nights, weather permitting. These will take place Dec. 4, 6, 7, 13, and 14 from 5 to 8:30 p.m.
Expect a selection of food and drinks vendors each night, including Albie’s Fresh Burgers and Crabcakes, Auntie Anne’s, Brick & Brew, Calaveras Street Tacos, DonutNV, Dos Gringos Mexican Kitchen, The Munchy Machine, Napoletano Brothers, Owl’s Water Ice and Treats, Pizzeria La Familia, Rollin’ Phatties BBQ Smokeshack, and Savannah’s Southern Cuisine.
Artisan vendors will also be selling goods including clothing, home decor, and candles.
On Delco’s Fare & Flair Nights, local bands will perform at 5 p.m., followed by a DJ spinning tunes until 8:30 p.m.
You can see the vendors attending each Delco’s Fare & Flair night on the county’s website here.
What’s new for 2025?
While visitors will find a similarly festive display to years past, there will be a few additions for 2025, including one celebrating the nation’s semiquincentennial. A Delaware County-themed bell will be unveiled at 4 p.m. on Dec. 4, and remain on display through the festival and next year.
Where to park when you get there
Delaware County Park Police will be directing traffic on Delco’s Fare & Flair nights, with parking available in the main lots at the front of Rose Tree County Park, closest to Nether Providence Road.The rear lot, near the Hunt Club building, will have additional parking on nights when Delco’s Fare & Flair is not taking place. There will be overflow parking on the grass, as weather permits.
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NEW YORK — One of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell‘s most vocal accusers urged judges on Wednesday to grant the Justice Department’s request to unseal records from their federal sex trafficking cases, saying “only transparency is likely to lead to justice.”
Annie Farmer weighed in through her lawyer, Sigrid S. McCawley, after the judges asked for input from victims before ruling on whether the records should be made public under a new law requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his longtime confidante, who sexually abused young women and girls for decades.
Farmer and other victims fought for the passage of the law, known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Signed last month by President Donald Trump, it compels the Justice Department, FBI and federal prosecutors to release by Dec. 19 the vast troves of material they’ve amassed during investigations into Epstein.
The Justice Department last week asked Manhattan federal Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer to lift secrecy orders on grand jury transcripts and other material from Epstein’s 2019 sex-trafficking case and a wide range of records from Maxwell’s 2021 case, including search warrants, financial records, and notes from interviews with victims.
“Nothing in these proceedings should stand in the way of their victory or provide a backdoor avenue to continue to cover up history’s most notorious sex-trafficking operation,” McCawley wrote in a letter to the judges.
The attorney was critical of the government for failing to prosecute anyone else in Epstein and Maxwell’s orbit. She asked the judges to ensure that any orders they issue do not preclude the Justice Department from releasing other Epstein-related materials.
Farmer “is wary of the possibility that any denial of the motions may be used by others as a pretext or excuse for continuing to withhold crucial information concerning Epstein’s crimes,” McCawley wrote.
Epstein, a millionaire money manager known for socializing with celebrities, politicians, billionaires, and the academic elite, killed himself in jail a month after his 2019 arrest.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 by a federal jury of sex trafficking for helping recruit some of Epstein’s underage victims and participating in some of the abuse. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
In a court filing Wednesday, Maxwell’s lawyer again said that she is preparing a habeas petition in a bid to overturn her conviction. The lawyer, David Markus, first mentioned the habeas petition in court papers in August as she fought the Justice Department’s initial bid to have her case records unsealed. The Supreme Court in October declined to hear Maxwell’s appeal.
Markus said in Wednesday’s filing that while Maxwell now “does not take a position” in the wake of the transparency act’s passage, doing so “would create undue prejudice so severe that it would foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial” if her habeas petition succeeds.
The records, Markus said, “contain untested and unproven allegations.”
Engelmayer, who’s weighing whether to release records from Maxwell’s case, gave her and victims until Wednesday to respond to the Justice Department’s unsealing request. The government must respond to their filings by Dec. 10. The judge said he will rule “promptly thereafter.”
Berman, who presided over the Epstein case, ordered victims and Epstein’s estate to respond by Wednesday and gave the government until Dec. 8 to reply to those submissions. Berman said he would make his “best efforts to resolve this motion promptly.”
Lawyers for Epstein’s estate said in a letter to Berman on Wednesday that the estate takes no position on the Justice Department’s unsealing request. The lawyers noted that the government had committed to making appropriate redactions of personal identifying information for victims.
Last week, a lawyer for some victims complained that the House Oversight Committee had failed to redact, or black out, some of their names from tens of thousands pages of Epstein-related documents it has released in recent months.
Transparency “CANNOT come at the expense of the privacy, safety, and protection of sexual abuse and sex trafficking victims, especially these survivors who have already suffered repeatedly,” lawyer Brad Edwards wrote.
LOS ANGELES — A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the Friends star’s overdose death was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on Wednesday.
Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence plus two years of probation to 44-year-old Dr. Salvador Plasencia in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles.
The judge emphasized that Plasencia didn’t provide the ketamine that killed Perry, but told him, “You and others helped Mr. Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addiction.”
“You exploited Mr. Perry’s addiction for your own profit,” she said.
Plasencia was led from the courtroom in handcuffs as his mother cried loudly in the audience. He might have arranged a date to surrender, but his lawyers said he was prepared to do it today.
Perry’s mother and two half sisters gave tearful victim impact statements before the sentencing.
“The world mourns my brother,” Madeleine Morrison said. “He was everyone’s favorite friend.”
“My brother’s death turned my world upside down,” Morrison said, crying. “It punched a crater in my life. His absence is everywhere.”
Plasencia was the first to be sentenced of the five defendants who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death at age 54 in 2023.
The doctor admitted to taking advantage of Perry, knowing he was a struggling addict. Plasencia texted another doctor that Perry was a “moron” who could be exploited for money, according to court filings.
Prosecutors had asked for three years in prison, while the defense sought just a day in prison plus probation.
Perry’s mother talked about the things he overcame in life and the strength he showed.
“I used to think he couldn’t die,” Suzanne Perry said as her husband, Dateline journalist Keith Morrison, stood at the podium with her.
“You called him a ‘moron,’” she said. “There is nothing moronic about that man. He was even a successful drug addict.”
She spoke eloquently and apologized for rambling before getting tearful at the end, saying, “this was a bad thing you did!” as she cried.
Plasencia also spoke before the sentencing, breaking into tears as he imagined the day he would have to tell his now 2-year-old son “about the time I didn’t protect another mother’s son. It hurts me so much. I can’t believe I’m here.”
He apologized directly to Perry’s family. “I should have protected him,” he said.
Perry had been taking the surgical anesthetic ketamine legally as a treatment for depression. But when his regular doctor wouldn’t provide it in the amounts he wanted, he turned to Plasencia, who admitted to illegally selling to Perry and knowing he was a struggling addict.
Plasencia’s lawyers tried to give a sympathetic portrait of him as a man who rose out of poverty to become a doctor beloved by his patients, some of whom provided testimonials about him for the court.
The attorneys called his selling to Perry “reckless” and “the biggest mistake of his life.”
Plasencia pleaded guilty in July to four counts of distribution of ketamine. Prosecutors agreed to drop five different counts. The agreement came with no sentencing guarantees, and legally Garnett can give him up to 40 years.
The other four defendants who reached deals to plead guilty will be sentenced at their own hearings in the coming months.
Perry died at age 54 in 2023 after struggling with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s megahit.
2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the first Rocky film. To coincide, the Philadelphia Art Museum announced on Wednesday there will be an exhibition exploring how the Rocky statue, at the foot of the museum, brings people together..
“Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” will open in April in the museum’s Dorrance Galleries.
The exhibition, curated by Monument Lab cofounder Paul Farber, will showcase over 150 works from more than 50 artists including Reading native Keith Haring, Rashid Johnson, Andy Warhol, Carrie Mae Weems, and Hank Willis Thomas, the artist behind the All Power to All People sculpture that stood on Thomas Paine Plaza in 2017. They will be joined by artists from Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Restorative Justice Program.
“Rising Up” will examine the changing role of monuments in creating spaces of recreation across time, with the Rocky statue by sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg at the heart of the exhibition.
Signage at the east entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, now called the Philadelphia Art Museum, or PhAM. The rebranding is part of changes in both style and substance as the museum aims to be more accessible to regular folks and revive attendance, which is still far below pre-pandemic levels.
Farber hopes the display will broaden conversations about identity, power, memory, and community, themes central to public art and Philadelphia’s cultural history.
“We have a statue that 4 million people visit a year. That’s extraordinary. It’s a statue of the most famous Philadelphian that never lived, in a city full of boxers who were legendary champs. How do we reconcile both of those thoughts? Well, we have to dive into it and understand it,” Farber said.
Researched for over five years and in development for two, “Rising Up” will include sculptures, paintings, video performances, film, photographs, prints, drawings, participatory experiences, new commissions, and other works.
“This show is a testament to the vitality and passion of Philadelphia’s arts, culture, and sports communities,” Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said in a statement. “It is more than timely as we approach our monumental Semiquincentennial year.”
Sylvester Stallone poses with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney in front of the “Rocky” statue at the Philadelphia Art Museum for a “Creed II” photo op, on Friday, April 6, 2018, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)
A year after the festival’s first run, organizers have canceled 2025’s festival and will pivot to a yearlong celebration in 2026, rather than offering a week of bus tours and fan experiences.
“Throughout 2026, we will highlight a series of major milestones and activations commemorating this iconic moment in Philadelphia and film history,” Kathryn Ott Lovell, president & CEO of the Visitor Center, said in a statement.
Lovell said next year’s “Rocky 50″ will include events currently in development, some of which will accompany the May release of Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming memoir, The Steps.
A full 2026 calendar of events will be released at a later date, Lovell said.
