Philadelphia and the Countryside - Press Room

The Calendar of Events is organized as follows:

May 2013
June 2013
July 2013
August 2013
September 2013
October 2013
November 2013
December 2013
January 2014
February 2014
March 2014
April 2014 

MAY 2013

Through May 5, 2013
PERMENANT COLLECTION. Inspired by events at Philadelphia’s Barnes Foundation, this gripping play at the Interact Theatre Company explores the controversy that arises when a suburban museum’s newly appointed Executive Director puts forward a proposal to change the permanent collection. The show is a part of Interact’s 25^th anniversary season. (215) 568-8079, interacttheatre.org

Through May 12, 2013
STARGIRL. In this world

MAY 2013

May 4-5
GORUCK CHALLENGE. For those adventure seekers who wish to recreate the experience of participating in urban military combat, this 15- to 20-mile overnight challenge sends teams across the city to navigate a course while wearing backpacks stuffed with bricks. The challenges are led by Green Berets, and a portion of every entry fee benefits the Green Beret Foundation. goruck.com

May 5
BLUE CROSS BROAD STREET RUN. The largest and one of the fastest 10-mile runs in the nation goes from North Philadelphia down the length of Broad Street to The Navy Yard to raise money for

Philadelphians love their festivals. Whether it’s local artisans and craftspeople sharing their wares in West Philadelphia, a traditional Yoruba-style street fair on South Street, a craft beer party on East Passyunk Avenue or a re-enactment of the storming of the Bastille in Fairmount, there’s always a reason to celebrate in the authentically Philly neighborhoods outside of Center City. The following are some mark-the-calendar happenings for 2013:

Fishtown & Northern Liberties:

• Lining the cobblestone street with artists of all stripes and genres, the Trenton Avenue Arts Festival includes the storied Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby, a quirky competition for the most

The perfect girls’ getaway awaits mothers, daughters and granddaughters in the Philadelphia region this fall—From Philadelphia To Monaco: Grace Kelly, An American Icon, on view at the James A. Michener Art Museum from October 28, 2013 through January 26, 2014.

Grace Kelly may be the closest America has ever come to having a princess, and her too-short life captivates people as much today as it did when she hit the silver screen and later married the prince of Monaco. The Bucks County museum will be the first American venue to host the comprehensive exhibition, which illustrates the fairytale—Philadelphia girl

Philadelphians love their festivals. Whether it’s local artisans and craftspeople sharing their wares on Penn’s Landing, a celebration of the fall season in Midtown Village, a traditional Yoruba-style street fair on South Street or a craft beer party on East Passyunk Avenue, there’s always a reason to celebrate in neighborhoods in and around Center City. The following are some mark-the-calendar happenings for 2013:

CENTER CITY

Benjamin Franklin Parkway:

• For the third year running, the Philadelphia Science Festival will unleash 10 days of exploratory exhibitions, lectures, debates and hands-on activities on campuses, museums and other venues around the city, culminating

Art lovers, garden enthusiasts, film connoisseurs and sports fans keep coming back year after year for festivals, athletic events, art shows, parades and cultural events in Philadelphia. Here’s what’s going on in the region in 2013*.

January:

• Thousands of decorative strutters kick off the New Year by marching up Broad Street in the festive day-long Mummers Parade that ends with the Fancy Brigade Finale at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. January 1, 2013. phillymummers.com
• The region gets revved up in the 2013, thanks to the Philadelphia Auto Show. The Pennsylvania Convention Center transforms into a car lover’s dream, with 700

Some spectacular art installations and displays are lighting up the night skies of Philadelphia this fall: The Association for Public Art will illuminate the Benjamin Franklin Parkway with the first-of-its-kind Open Air, a towering visual extravaganza that combines public art with interactive mobile technology; PECO will embark on the third year of its high-in-the-sky Art in the Air digital art initiative; and Longwood Gardens will wind down the run of its wow-the-crowds light installation by Bruce Munro. Elsewhere in the region, the ground and sky are aglow all year round thanks to luminary displays of dazzling varieties. Here’s how to

Only in Philadelphia this fall, Prohibition, Titanic, Maya and Dead Sea Scrolls join such recent additions as the Barnes Foundation and the renovated Rodin Museum, making the region a must-see, must-do. A new Kimpton hotel even gives visitors a new way to stay—right on Independence Mall. Here’s a peek at what’s awesome this autumn in Philadelphia and The Countryside®:

Anticipated Accommodations:

• The 100-year-old Lafayette Building, located on Independence Mall, recently found new life as a Kimpton-owned Hotel Monaco. The 10-story, four-star hotel houses 268 rooms; a bevy of luxury suites; 120-seat Red Owl Tavern, serving modern American fare and

As if making an international name for itself in the 19^th and 20^th centuries with an underdog championship boxer movie character, dueling cheesesteak purveyors, the Mummers and, well, a cracked bell didn’t make Philadelphia quirky enough, it seems the 21^st century will continue to propagate that fun-loving mystique with strange and wonderful annual events held every month of the year. Here’s a look at the city’s quirky side:

January:

• Setting the standard for quirky events, the Mummers Parade kicks off every New Year with more than 15,000 men, women and children spending thousands of dollars on

Greater Philadelphia pairs its annual fall events and Halloween haunts with big-name and curiously quirky exhibits—ranging from Rembrandt and Wyeth art showings to events centered around creepy crawlers, mummies and Jim Henson Company™ puppets. Plus a new month-long exhibit takes landlubbers to the sea. Here’s a look at what’s making Philadelphia and The Countryside® an exhibit town this fall:

Autumn Openings:

• To mark the 100^th anniversary of the publication of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, which included illustrations by Chester County artist N.C. Wyeth, the Brandywine River Museum will display all 16 paintings—the first time they will be

Philadelphia offers three new reasons to visit this fall, with the openings of venues where people can take in public works, wood art and a rock concert. These newest spots join other recently debuted attractions, including the Race Street Pier on the Delaware River Waterfront, the National Museum of American Jewish History and The President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation. Here’s what’s opening this fall in Philadelphia:

• The city’s newest open-air space and its latest piece of public art debuts at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts’ (PAFA) Party on the Plaza on

Journalists are taking notice of Philadelphia as a hot urban destination, as evidenced by the many accolades bestowed on the city in September and October 2008. Here’s a look at what some national magazines and a Web site had to say:

• Business Facilities chose Philadelphia as one of seven destinations for its “Editors’ Location Picks 2008” list featured in the September issue of the publication. Editors were particularly impressed that the region “has a ‘CEO Council for Growth’ that was so determined to create a high-powered entity to market the region it raised $16 million four years ago to establish