Art Star Craft Bazaar
Each spring, we gladly brave the concrete heat of Penn's Landing to check out the 150 or so artisans selling the coolest presents we've ever laid eyes on. Now in its sixth year, Art Star cops to being a craft show, but feels like a shopping bonanza of handmade stationery, irresistible knickknacks, and a bunch of other stuff that keeps gift closets stocked into winter The Great Plaza at Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, PA 19106, artstarcraftbazaar.com.
Fairmount Park Art Association
Download the Fairmount Park Art Association's new and free audio guide to about 50 of our city's public sculptures (museumwithoutwalls-audio.org) to your iPod and start walking. You determine the pace and how much ground to cover, all the while getting a thorough oral history of each work of art. And nobody will stop you from sipping a $5 black-and-white milkshake from Frog Burger (222 North 20th Street, 215-448-1100) while you take it all in. 1528 Walnut Street, Suite 1000, Philadelphia, PA 19102, associationforpublicart.org.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art
For $125, two adults and all the kids in your life (seriously!) get a year's worth of admission; free tickets to special exhibits; and discounts on parking, shopping, food, events and the amazing art classes. But the really irresistible part of the deal is that you get access to all the rad and free family activities the PMA hosts -- play dates, drawing classes, art projects, stroller tours, themed story times and more. Hear that? That's free climate-controlled, culture-focused year-round activities, people. 2600 Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103, philamuseum.org/_.
Michener Art Museum
American novelist James Michener gave away much of the money he earned during his lengthy career, including the funds used to establish this museum, which focuses on the art of our region. It just wrapped a retrospective of Reading native Keith Haring, but there’s still plenty to see, including furniture by renowned Bucks County woodworker George Nakashima (his tables can sell for more than $100,000) and the paintings of PAFA/UPenn grad Elizabeth Osborne. 138 South Pine Street, Doylestown, PA 18901, michenerartmuseum.org.
Cry Baby Pasta
Against all odds, spaghetti pomodoro, fancy fried potatoes and an obscure movie theme became a place so popular that you need reservations on a Tuesday night. 627 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, Crybabypasta.com.
Love & Honey Fried Chicken
Learning to make perfect fried chicken is easy – all it takes is a decade of practice and a willingness to spend the rest of your life in pursuit of one thing. Lucky for us, Todd Lyons made that sacrifice, and he and his wife, Laura, showcase the results in this little takeaway spot on the ragged edge of NoLibs, serving excellent plates of chicken, drizzled with a kiss of honey, to an ever-growing legion of fans. 1100 N Front St, Philadelphia, PA 19123, loveandhoneyfriedchicken.com.
Yoga at the Art Museum
How's this for an evening out? During Wednesday's pay-what-you-wish nights at the Art Museum, there's a free hour-long yoga class on the second-floor east balcony overlooking the Great Stair Hall. Afterward, you can explore the collections for nearly two hours until close. Feel free to tell your date you thought of this brilliant plan yourself. 2600 Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130, philamuseum.org/wednesdaynights.
Art Museum steps
Yes, it’s obvious. And yes, you have to dodge hordes of hyperactive children and hawkers slinging overpriced Gatorade. But the best place for an alfresco sweat session in this city will always be the Art Museum steps, 72 tiny limestone mountains that will kill your calves and tone your butt. At the bottom, you roll your eyes at the selfie-taking out-of-towners. On the way up, you curse the goddamn class trips blocking your ascent. But once you’ve made it, you turn around – legs aching, lungs burning – and look back over the city and feel like you’ve conquered it. And that will never not be a rush. So go practice yoga on some fancy rooftop, or do your Pilates in the park. As for me, I’ll be running the Art Museum steps with the tourists. See you at the top. – Gina Tomaine
The Philadelphia Museum of Art
Each Friday, the city’s buttoned-up institution lets loose with extended hours (it’s open till 8:45 p.m.), cocktails, tapas, live music, and access to the galleries. Go, so that you don’t feel as guilty about spending the rest of the weekend binge-watching Netflix on your couch. 2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19130, philamuseum.org.
Muhammad Ali’s Mansion
For $1,000 (and up) per night, you can party in the 7,000-square-foot Tuscan-style villa that the Champ occupied during the early 1970s. There’s a huge deck, a bar, a pool, a tennis court and, of course, a hot tub. It’ll be the backyard barbecue of the century. 1121 Winding Drive, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003, .
Brandywine River Museum of Art
“Visitors” can use Brandywine’s audio guide platform to pretend they’re actually standing inside the museum. Pins point to where in the repurposed Chadds Ford mill various galleries and artworks are located, and users can click through to see images and hear a guide discuss the Brandywine Conservancy’s American art collection. 1 Hoffman's Mill Road, Chadds Ford, PA 19317, brandywine.org/brandywine-home.
The Philadelphia School of Circus Arts
When your kid finds out that she could be learning trapeze, unicycling and tightrope instead of pottery, yoga and clarinet, you're gonna be in big trouble. 5900A Greene Street, Philadelphia, PA 19144, phillycircus.com.
Scrapple poutine at Shoo Fry
Poutine may have been invented by Canadians (Quebecois, really) as a way to soak up excess Molson between hockey games. But topping our northern neighbor’s single greatest culinary invention with Pennsylvania’s favorite regional meat is Philly’s goddamn genius. Multiple locations, shoofry.com.
Scratch Night at FringeArts
FringeArts hosts these nights (once a month or more) at which you can see works-in-progress from a diverse range of Philly artists. They’re free, and you should definitely stick around to have a cold one with the talent at Fringe’s Haas Biergarten. 140 North Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19106, fringearts.com.
Crab Fries at Varga Bar
There are Crab Fries and there are crab fries. The former are a bunch of crappy fries dusted with Old Bay and presented as though that idea deserves to be celebrated. The latter are fries covered in lump crabmeat, fontina bechamel and a drizzle of truffle oil that actually deserve to be celebrated. 941 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, vargabar.com.