Philadelphia and the Countryside - Press Room

When it comes to celebrating America’s birthday, nobody rocks it like Philadelphia, America’s birthplace, and 2012 will be no exception thanks to a calendar filled with festive happenings before, during and after the Fourth of July. This year’s revelry includes patriotic ceremonies; a hometown-style parade that features a salute to the U.S. military; the nation’s largest free outdoor Independence Day concert starring The Roots, Queen Latifah, Joe Jonas, Common and Daryl Hall; dazzling displays of pyrotechnics; historic storytelling; outdoor movies; and much more.

With the value-packed Philly Overnight® Hotel Package, visitors can join in America’s birthday blowout without blowing the

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) is about to make the most romantic month of the year even more romantic with its 29 Nights of Dates promotion running throughout the month of February. A component of GPTMC’s popular With Love, Philadelphia XOXO® campaign, which is heavily focused on couples this winter, the facebook.com/visitphilly sweepstakes features nearly 70 prizes, including a Vespa—all valued at more than $13,000.

Fox 29 is GPTMC’s media partner for the 29 Nights of Dates promotion and the official station of love this winter.

How It Works:
From February 1-29 (yes, it’s a leap year),

Philadelphia, aptly dubbed the City of Brotherly Love, caters to lovers looking to re-energize their relationships at cultural sites, romantic eateries, outdoor attractions and other swoon-worthy spots. Couples can make it a weekend—or longer—by booking special hotel packages, some of which are romantically themed, on visitphilly.com/hotels. One popular deal, the Philly Overnight® Hotel Package comes with two nights and free hotel parking.

Here are a few suggestions for embracing the region’s romantic side:

Cozy Cuisine:

• Tucked in a corner brownstone a few blocks off Rittenhouse Square, Friday Saturday Sunday has long been a local favorite of amorous couples craving

This season, savvy holiday shoppers have a creative option for finding the perfect present: They can pop by the excellent museum stores of Philadelphia and The Countryside®. Gallery-side vendors from Center City to Bucks County to the Brandywine Valley offer artisan-made jewelry and ceramics, mini modern design marvels, classic kids’ toys, humorous gifts, historic tomes, fair-trade crafts, silk scarves, signature home accessories and Philadelphia-themed treasures—and support the venues that host them. Most museums also promote great seasonal deals on annual memberships that score members free admission throughout the year—and discounts in their shops. Here, find some museums that make shopping

New Year’s Day is about celebrating, and there’s no better place to fete than at the Philadelphia’s Mummers Parade, a 112-year-old tradition in which 10,000 men and women dressed in colorfully lavish costumes dance, strut and entertain during a three-mile trek up one of the city’s main streets. An unforgettably wild ritual, the parade and subsequent performances are all family-friendly, yet exciting enough to entertain everybody. While a carnival-like atmosphere welcomes anyone who decides to stop by at the last minute, a little advance preparation guarantees a clear view. Better still, spending the night in the city ensures an early

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

Experienced cooks and novices looking to create an Easter meal or Passover Seder can head to Philly Homegrown™’s visitphilly.com/food for information on where to buy the freshest local ingredients and recipes on how to use them. Here’s a look at what’s cooking in April on visitphilly.com/food:

For Passover, foodies will find:

• Bakeries selling locally baked matzo
• Restaurants offering Seder catering options
• How Chef Michael Solomonov of acclaimed Israeli restaurant Zahav does Passover, along with his Charoset recipe using local apples and honey

For Easter, the site features:

• A round-up of local bakeries (think South Philly legends Termini Bros.

Shoppers making their lists and checking them twice can give the gift of Philly this holiday season thanks to new lines offering Philadelphia-inspired goods. From retro tees and soft pretzel-adorned onsies to authentic sports gear and Liberty Bell-emblazoned chocolates, the gifts are perfect for Philly fans of all ages and persuasions. Here’s how gift givers can show some Philly love this holiday season:

• Retrophilly.com: This newly launched online boutique pays homage to Philadelphia neighborhoods, schools, nightclubs, restaurants and more from the 1950s through 90s—think The Black Banana nightclub, St. Maria Goretti High School, Electric Factory and The Arena for

Experienced cooks and Turkey Day novices eager to give their Thanksgiving dinner extra yum appeal can head straight to Philly Homegrown™’s visitphilly.com/food to score recipes for all aspects of their mammoth meal, which they’re encouraged to use local ingredients to prepare. Submitted by top local chefs, the recipes—from a classically prepared turkey to a not-so-typical oyster hash—will satisfy seafood lovers, vegetarians and others partaking in the annual dining feast. Here’s a look at what’s cooking in the Now in Season section of visitphilly.com/food:

• Appetizers: Oyster hash recipe courtesy of Mike Stollenwerk, chef/owner of Fish and Fathom Seafood House; blended

IgoUgo travel blog, a partner of Travelocity, named Philadelphia one of  “10 US Cities with Tourism Sites to See” this month. The trip planning Web site called gophila.com, Greater Philadelphia’s official tourism Web site, “undeniably fresh” and “full of multimedia options” and went on to say, “But besides being up-to-date, informative, and easy to use … it’s just plain fun.”

To mark the 100^th anniversary of Mother’s Day, started by Philadelphia resident and West Virginia native Anna Jarvis to honor her mother Anna Marie, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) and the Office of the City Representative are organizing the City of Motherly Love" celebration on Saturday, May 10, 2008. The open-to-the-public event will take place at 12:00 noon at the Wanamaker Building, where the first Mother’s Day celebration took place in 1908 thanks to Philadelphia entrepreneur John Wanamaker. (Another Mother’s Day commemoration took place simultaneously in West Virginia.) The building is located at 13th and Market Streets

Couples seeking to sweeten up their sweeties with chocolate this Valentine’s Day have many delectable choices in Philadelphia and The Countryside. For starters, every weekend in February, Chaddsford Winery is inviting couples to sample sweet wines paired with chocolate from nearby Eclat Chocolate. And, when it comes to wine, chocolate and love, there’s little reason not to indulge in further temptations:

Sensual Snacking:

• With a name like Naked Chocolate Café, it’s no surprise locals are buzzing about the city’s newest confectionary shop. Already known for its frozen hot chocolate and Aztec drinking chocolate, Naked Chocolate cultivates the sensual

Real shoppers know museums are more than repositories of cultural exhibitions: museums, they know, make for excellent retail, and Philadelphia’s museums are no exception. With its amazingly dense array of distinguished, distinctive cultural centers, the Philadelphia area offers, by extension, seriously great shopping. In Philly, holiday shoppers can find Latin American folk furniture for sale near Old Masters. In Philly, nature ornaments inspire retail stampedes just steps from a trifecta of Wyeths. And only in Philly are slimy stocking stuffers up for the grabs just a few meters from the country’s most historic collection of medical oddities.
 

• Anatomical Stocking