Regional arts and entertainment events

Sunday

Rockin' the Fourth What better way to celebrate Independence Day than with the lead singer of Free? Paul Rodgers, also well-known for helming sensational '70s stars Bad Company, headlines the Let Freedom Rock Fest, which includes a 25-minute fireworks spectacular and starts at 6 p.m. at Cooper River Park, South Park Drive and East Cuthbert Boulevard, Pennsauken. Admission is free. Call 610-667-8500.

Monday

Cool off Here's a rarity: The Philadelphia Museum of Art is open on a Monday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.). In this heat wave (known colloquially around here as "summer"), we recommend the exhibit Water Work, which features works on liquid themes by Ellsworth Kelly, Ed Ruscha and Georgia O'Keeffe, among others. For us, the standout piece is the print To Raise the Water Level in a Fishpond by One Meter by the avant-garde Chinese artist Zhang Huan, documenting a project in which Huan invited 46 migrant laborers to enter a pond in Beijing with the idea of precisely raising it - accomplished when the artist carried the 5-year-old son of the pond's owner on his shoulders into the water. The show is at the museum, 26th and the Parkway, until July 18. Admission is $16; $14 seniors; $12 students; ages 12 and under free. Call 215-763-8100.

Tuesday

Intense sound Melodic Kentucky hardcore punks Coliseum headline a four-band bill at the Barbary, 951 N. Frankford Ave. Tickets are $10. Call 215-634-7400

Wednesday

Daft antics A celebration of the zany, the Monty Python Fest features a screening of The Life of Brian, the troupe's take on biblical history, plus a Silly Walk Contest and more. The nonsense starts at 7 p.m. at the County Theater, 20 E. State St., Doylestown. Tickets are $9; $6.75 seniors and students. Call 215-345-6789.

Super team Two legendary singer-songwriters, the bluesy Joan Armatrading and the countryish Shawn Colvin, team up at 7:30 p.m. at Longwood Gardens, Route 1, Kennett Square. Tickets are $35 to $55. Call 1-800-745-3000.

Thursday

Classics at the Shore The 11-piece Carnegie Ensemble plays works by Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Rossini, Albinoni, Shostakovich, Piazzolla, and Brahms at 7:30 p.m. at Ocean Grove's Great Auditorium, Pilgrim and Ocean Pathways, Ocean Grove. Tickets are $13. Call 1-800-965-9324.

Scary movies The intrepid Andrew's Video Vault delivers a double bill of typically obscure horror films: The Body Beneath, from 1970, is an old-school vampire film (i.e., you don't want to kiss them, girls) with a surprising political undertone, filmed by grindhouse auteur Andy Miligan, about a family of bloodsuckers disguised as clergy. The 1991 Door to Silence, by Italian "splatter king" Lucio Fulci, stars John Savage as a salesman thrust into a terrifying nightmare in backwoods Louisiana. The films screen at 8 p.m. at the Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. Admission is free. Call 215-573-3234.

As himself Best known for his role as an on-the-make politician in the TV comedy Parks and Recreation and his hosting of the MTV Movie Awards show, Aziz Ansari has shown his mad improv skills and way with character comedy. But he's also a deft observational stand-up comic, as he'll show at 8 p.m. at the Tower Theater, 69th and Ludlow Streets, Upper Darby. Tickets are $38. Call 610-352-2887.

Friday & Saturday

Go outside A summer night amid the vines, a delightful tune, a jug of wine . . . and you? Presenting an array from classic opera to traditional show tunes, Opera New Jersey performs at Crossing Vineyards and Winery, 1853 Wrightstown Rd., Washington Crossing, at 7 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $15; bring lawn chairs. Call 215-493-6500.

Pure pop The dynamite Colorado pop quintet Onerepublic brings its gems to Electric Factory, Seventh and Willow Streets, at 8:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $30. Call 800-745-3000.

His day job Given that he's still got his job as host of The Late Late Show and everything, we have no idea what Craig Ferguson will have to talk about. But we imagine he'll come up with something when he performs at the Keswick Theatre, Easton Road and Keswick Avenue, Glenside, at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $49.50. Call 215-572-7650.