23 Things You Have to Do in Philadelphia This Year, From the Roots Picnic to Maifest
These are the must-hit festivals, food and drink events, art and entertainment events, and generally fun things to do in Philly this year.
No matter the time of year, Philly delivers. From romantic winter wonderland affairs to epic street festivals in the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods, a major event or festival is happening almost constantly. We’ve waded through every event that Philly has to offer on a yearly basis to bring you the best of the best the city has to offer.
Whether you’re visiting during leaf-peeping season or are stopping by during the dog days of summer, there’s plenty of fun to be had, ranging from one-day events like the Kensington Derby and Arts Festival to month-long festivals like Independence Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest. Bookmark this page and save it for all your future Philadelphia travels.
January
January 2025
Center City
One of Philly’s worst-kept secrets is our exceptional dining scene. Ever wanted to try some of said exceptional restaurants, like Amada, Buddakan, andForsythia, over the course of 10 days without breaking the bank? Enter Center City Restaurant Week, where some of the city’s top restaurants offer discounts for prix-fixe menus during the winter and fall. Select spots serve $20 two-course lunches and/or three-course dinners for $45 or $60. Restaurant Week happens in September, as well, so be on the lookout for that.
Book tickets here.
January 11–20, 2025
Center City
If you like shiny things on four wheels that go vroom, the Philadelphia Auto Show is for you. Showcasing new, exotic, classic, and celebrity cars from movies, the annual auto show is the spot to scope out your next (or dream) ride. Manufacturers like Lexus, Toyota, Aston Martin, and Lamborghini all make a showing at the event, held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Book tickets here.
February
February 14, 2025
Delaware River Waterfront
It may be cold, but your love will warm things up. Every year, Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest hosts a night of ice skating for lovebirds in honor of Valentine’s Day. Rent a pair of skates and glide across the riverfront ice rink and then warm up in the cabin or by a firepit (if you can get one) with boozy hot chocolate. Winterfest also boasts boardwalk games and a Ferris wheel for even more romance.
Book tickets here.
March
March 1–9, 2025
Center City
The world’s most tenured horticulture event makes for excellent garden inspiration—and a beautiful photo backdrop. Each year, the Pennsylvania Convention Center is packed with the best-of-the-best floral and garden displays from landscape architects, garden designers, horticulturists, and florists from around the world. Exhibits range from teeny-tiny miniature floral sculptures to large-scale designs you can even walk through. Be prepared for crowds and to say, “I didn’t know flowers could do that.”
Book tickets here.
April
April 5–6, 2025
West Fairmount Park
Celebrating peak cherry blossom season, the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia hosts a massive weekend-long festival—Sakura Weekend—to usher in springtime. Held at both the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center and the Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center, the fest promises traditional Japanese music and dance performances, a beer garden, tea ceremony demonstrations, and a vendor fair with Japanese food and wares.
2025 date TBD
East Passyunk
East Passyunk Avenue is home to some of the city’s greatest restaurants, representing a diverse array of cuisines: Caribbean, dim sum, tapas, southern, Mexican. Flavors on the Avenue is your opportunity to taste-test a little bit of everything. Neighborhood bars and restaurants serve up al fresco food and drink specials while boutiques offer discounts and sidewalk sales. If that isn’t enough, there’s an artisan market, kids’ activities, and live music, too.
April through October 2024
South Philly
Since the 1980s, Southeast Asian refugees have set up shop in FDR Park on weekends to share dishes from their native cuisines. Vendors specialize in Lao, Khmer, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indonesian fare that people from all over the city come to taste. Find the market in the park on weekends from April through late October.
May
2025 date TBD
Bella Vista
Get a little taste of Bavaria in Philly. German beer hall Brauhaus Schmitz hosts an annual Maifest, taking over the entire 700 block of South Street with steins of German lagers, wheat beers, pilsners, and cider, a pig roast, oompah music, and the state’s largest Maypole.
2025 dates TBD
Italian Market
You may have heard of the fabled Grease Pole competition wherein brave souls attempt to hoist themselves up a 30-foot pole slathered in lard for prizes. This is where it happens. But it’s not all that goes on during the South 9th Street Italian Market Festival. The two-day ordeal is a literal feast: meatball sandwiches, hoagies, cannoli, pretzels, seafood, tacos, street corn, artisan meats and cheese, and so much more.
2025 date TBD
Kensington
One of the city’s most unique events tasks creative minds to fashion “human-powered sculptures” (i.e., extravagantly adorned bikes or other wheeled contraptions) to parade around the neighborhood. Spectators can marvel at the unique pieces of artwork—including when they nosedive into a pit of mud at the end of the parade—and hang out at the all-day street festival. Grub on food and drink from neighborhood bars and restaurants and shop from a huge assortment of handmade merchants.
2025 dates TBD
West Fairmount Park
Philly’s own The Roots curate their annual festival, highlighting emerging, A-list, and legacy hip-hop, R&B, and soul artists, always with a headline artist with assistance from The Roots. Past lineups have included Kid Cudi, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, Usher, and Mary J. Blige.
June
2025 dates TBD
Gayborhood
One of the biggest events during Pride Month in Philly is the Pride March and Festival in early June. Look out for the 400-foot rainbow Pride flag weaving through the streets of Old City and the Gayborhood during the march. Afterward, live it up at the festival which features over 200 small businesses and organizations, performers, entertainers, artists, vendors, local bars, food trucks, and community organizations.
June 8, 2025
Fitler Square
The largest African American street festival in the country consistently draws attendees by the thousands each year for a procession to the Schuylkill River and a major block party. 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the festivities, so you know things will be even more special. Look out for an African marketplace with international vendors selling merchandise from African nations, the Caribbean, and Brazil. Plus, live music, excellent food, jewelry, art, and so much more.
2025 date TBD
Cobbs Creek
The city honors Juneteenth in West Philly with a day’s worth of activities, beginning with a parade featuring dancers, drumlines, and floats. By afternoon, Malcolm X Park is the place to be for an art marketplace, food, and tons of vendors. The day culminates with a music festival with plenty of live acts and dancing.
2025 dates TBA
Chinatown
The ultimate summer date night activity, the Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival brings dozens of massive steel-framed and silk-wrapped illuminated sculptures to Franklin Square for the season. Crowd-pleasers include the 200-foot dragon display and cutesy animals. Fill up on delicious Asian cuisine and don’t miss the cultural performances on the festival stage.
Book tickets here.
July
June 19–July 4, 2025
Various locations
Philly goes hard in the lead-up to the 4th of July (naturally). The city celebrates for two weeks leading up to the 4th, starting on Juneteenth and culminating in a free concert and fireworks show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Independence Day. Events include outdoor movie nights, free admission to many of the city’s museums, and tons of free musical performances.
August
2025 dates TBD
Various locations
This annual film festival celebrates the work and stories of Black, Brown, and Indigenous from all over the world. Multiple days of programming include film screenings of shorts, features, and documentaries, panels, and parties.
Book tickets here.
September
September 7–8, 2024
Kennett Square
The Mushroom Capital of the World welcomes fungi appreciators to town for a weekend of mushroom magic. Take a peek inside the Mushroom Growers’ Tent to learn how mushrooms grow, taste savory mushroom soup, fried mushrooms, and any other mushroom-based dish you can think of, and shop from local vendors.
September 20–22, 2024
Camden, N.J.
In a town that has seen music festivals come and go (looking at you, Made in America), XPoNential Music Festival has been a mainstay for three decades. Hosted by local noncommercial radio station WXPN, the lineup is perfect for laid-back people with great taste. Case in point: 2024’s lineup includes The Walkmen, Pete Yorn, Rosanne Cash, Phosphorescent, and Guster.
Book tickets here.
September 28, 2024
Midtown Village
The neighborhood with some of the best bars and restaurants and shops gets its moment in the spotlight every fall for a day of live entertainment, plenty of food and drink, shopping, kids’ activities, and more. Drink a beer in the open air, grab a burger from Darling Jack’s Tavern or nachos from El Vez, and enjoy the good vibes.
October
September 20–November 9, 2024
Fairmount
What’s spookier than an abandoned centuries-old prison at nighttime? Not much. No Halloween season in Philly is complete without a visit to Eastern State Penitentiary for their annual spookfest, Halloween Nights. Five distinct haunted attractions are housed within the cell blocks, complete with stilt-walking clowns, possessed machine shop workers, and blood-thirsty vampires. Reward yourself with a post-scare with a beer and pizza at the Fair Chance Beer Garden.
Book tickets here.
November
November 28, 2024
Benjamin Franklin Parkway
The oldest Thanksgiving Day parade in the country, the 6abc Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade offers all of the quintessential parade trappings: celeb appearances, dance troupes, musical performances, marching bands, huge balloons, and, of course, Santa.
December
2024 dates TBD
Center City
The most wonderful time of the year is made more wonderful by an outdoor ice rink, a holiday market featuring local vendors, lovely greenery and lights, al fresco seating, and plenty of mulled wine. It all takes place in the park adjacent to City Hall.