Philadelphia Moms

Fourth Annual Fall Festival in Midtown Village

Do you know what Midtown Village is?  I didn't either until this time last year, when Midtown Village hosted last fall's festival.  At any rate, it's an organization of businesses either on or clustered around 13th Street.  Now when I first moved to Philly 12 years ago, 13th Street was not necessarily an area where you'd want to hang out.  But over the years, it's been transformed, with many lovely restaurants and boutiques.  Among my personal favorites are Open House and Duross and Langel. 

At any rate, Midtown Village is hosting its annual fall festival this Saturday, October 3rd, from 12p.m.-8p.m. at 13th and Sansom Streets.  The event is rain or shine, and unfortunately, the weather forecast is calling for rain at the time of this post, but let's hope it holds out for awhile.  There will be music, food and a "little villagers" area that I believe will involve a moonbounce.  Because what party is complete without a moonbounce?

So let's do an anti-rain dance and head on over on Saturday.  Turns out you don't have to leave the city to get in a little fall fun after all.

Happy 4th of July! Plus Fireworks!

Okay, it's a bit early, but with the the BBQs and the whole celebrating liberty thing and what-not, I'm not sure when I'll post again.  So I'm wishing you a Happy 4th now.

There are lots of family-friendly activities planned for Independence Day.  There's a parade around the historic district that begins at 11a.m.  And then, on the other side of the city, there is a July 4th Festival on the Parkway that begins at 1p.m.

If you've never been, the fireworks on the Parkway are totally and completely worth it.  This year Sheryl Crow and The Roots are performing and I find that totally awesome.    Fireworks don't begin until about 10:30p.m. and yes, that is awfully late if you have small children, but...it's only one night, right?  If you're okay with not being able to "see" the performers, pick out a spot further away (and that might mean blocks and blocks away) from the stage area where it's less crowded.  Spread out a blanket and let the kids rest.  You'll still be able to see the fireworks with no problem.

Personally, I'm going to try to catch some of the concert, but I can't see my almost-two year old making it much past 9:30 p.m.  Plus, while I think he'd love looking at the fireworks, I'm not sure he'd enjoy hearing them, as he's currently going through a phase where everything is "loud."

Click here for the entire 4th of July itinerary (including tips on where to watch the fireworks). Have fun!

I Scream, You Scream

So, many folks are off this Friday for a long holiday weekend, and day care centers are closed.  For those of us stuck (and I do mean that affectionately) in the city for the weekend, there's lots of family-friendly activities courtesy of Welcome America as mentioned in my last post.

This Friday, July 3rd is the Ice Cream Festival, which starts at 12p.m. at Penn's Landing.  Count me in.  That evening at the same location is Peter Nero and the Philly Pops giving a free concert.

I love me a long weekend.

Taste of Philadelphia

We're approaching one of my favorite times of year in Philadelphia: 4th of July.  Because where better to be than Philly on the nation's birthday?  They do it right here and have over a week of fun, free, family-friendly events to celebrate.

Sunoco's Welcome America begins tomorrow with a weekend-long event: Taste of Philadelphia.  Restaurants from all over the Philadelphiaarea will be at Penn's Landing selling delectable goodies for, rumor has it, no more than $5 a pop.  Taste of Philadelphia begins tomorrow, Friday, June 26th at 5pm and starts back up again Saturday and Sunday at 11a.m.  Admission is free, you just pay for whatever food you'd like!

In addition, Angie Stone is performing at Penn's Landing at 7:30p.m., Saturday, June 27th and there is a fireworks display following the concert.  Again, it's all free.  Do I expect it to be crowded?  Of course.  But at least those of us who live in Center City  don't have to sit in traffic trying to  get to  these events.

Also, next week brings a series of educational events for kids.  The "Go 4th and Learn" events (as well as the entire roster for Welcome America)  can be found here.

So get out there, people, and go ahead, don your red, white and blue!