Everyone’s favorite season is a few weeks away, here are some of the best events happening all through September to round out the end of the summer and the start of fall. Share your event by tweeting us @citywidestories or tagging us on Facebook.
Screening: Give me Liberty
Wednesday, September 4th
7 pm
Lightbox Film Center
3701 Chestnut St.
Cost: $12
GIVE ME LIBERTY follows Vic, a young, well-meaning Russian immigrant and medical transport driver for people with disabilities. Upon discovering his grandfather and a group of elderly Russian-Jewish neighbors stranded en route to their dear friend’s funeral, Vic reluctantly agrees to drive them, but needs to stop along the way to pick up other passengers – including regulars like Tracy, a young black woman with ALS. With his mother and supervisor hounding him with phone calls, hiccups and detours along the way due to a protest gaining momentum in downtown Milwaukee, Vic’s day surely could not get any worse – or could it?
10th Annual Philadelphia Honey Festival
September 6-8
Multiple locations
Cost: Free
Come out for the 10th annual Philadelphia Honey Festival, celebrating all things bee-related! This fun, free and educational festival was created to raise awareness about the importance of honey bees to our environment, our food supply and our economy, and to promote urban beekeeping and gardening.
From the Vault: Photos by Paul Havelin
Friday, September 6th
5 – 8 pm
Khyber Pub Pass
56 S 2nd St
Cost: Free
Check out a photo showcase of punk rock history at the Khyber in the 90s and 2000s! Come share a story while you view the epic photos from Paul Havelin’s amazing archives. DJ Sideswipe will bring us on a musical journey back to the 1990s & 2000s.
Rashaad Newsome: To Be Real
Thursday, September 12th
Philadelphia Photo Arts Center
1400 N American St Suite #103
Cost: Free
Looking for a cool new art exhibit to check out? Well look no further. To Be Real is a multimedia exhibition that meditates on the contemporary magic and radical future of artificial intelligence.
Jacolby Satterwhite: Room for Living
Friday, September 13th
6 – 8 pm
The Fabric Workshop and Museum
1214 Arch Street
Cost: Free (donations welcome)
In Jacolby Satterwhite’s animated videos, human avatars interact with 3D models in an amorphous, liberated realm; neither time, space, scale, nor societal normativity limit the expression of his characters or architecture. Collaborating with FWM as an Artist-in-Residence, Satterwhite has reimagined elements from his acclaimed digital animation work spanning nearly a decade in Room for Living, his first solo museum show.
Boxers’ Trail 5K
Saturday, September 14th
9:30 am
East Fairmont Park
Cost: 5k Run: $20; 5k Walk: $15. Prices increase after 9/6.
When Muhammad Ali wanted to challenge Joe Frazier, he came to the Boxers’ Trail because he knew he could find Frazier there. Even today, young boxers still jog along the trail. Walk or run the scenic cliff paths of the Boxers’ Trail in East Fairmount Park. Proceeds from the Boxers’ Trail 5K benefit East Fairmount Park and Mander Playground, which organizes youth programs.. On-site registration for the Boxers’ Trail 5K begins at 8:30 am; start time is 9:30 am. Registration is free for Strawberry Mansion residents and children. Advanced registration open until September 6.
Garden Party: Brewerytown
Thursday, September 19th
6 – 9 pm
Brewerytown Garden
27th and Masters St
Cost: $65
Come out for a garden party featuring custom cocktails served in a commemorative glass, light fare, and music. Help support the award-winning community garden in Brewerytown by attending this fun-filled event!
For The Record: Archives to Action
Thursday, September 19th
6 – 8 pm
Philadelphia City Archives
548 Spring Garden St
Cost: Free
Check out the first panel discussion of the series, For the Record: Archives to Action presented by the Philadelphia City Archives. Enjoy networking, light refreshments, and interactive elements in the Philadelphia City Archives’ new office space!
Making Home Movies Premiere
Saturday, September 21st
12 – 2:30 pm
Philadelphia Film Center
1412 Chestnut St
Cost: Free (Suggested Donation of $15)
6 films, 6 distinct communities, countless Philadelphia stories. Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Porch Light program presents the premiere of Making Home Movies, a collaborative film project created with newly-arrived immigrant and refugee communities in Philadelphia. Making Home Movies partners adult and youth English language learners with filmmakers and poets to explore the language and imagery of home and to create community together.
This premiere event includes screenings of all 6 short films, special performances and poetry readings, popcorn and movie snacks, and a celebration of home and community.
Philadelphia Jazz Heritage Walking Tour: Green Book Edition
September 21st and September 22nd
11 am – 1 pm
200 S Broad St
Cost: $15
In 1961, John Coltrane’s “Song of the Underground Railroad” was released. To celebrate the legendary jazz saxophonist’s birthday (September 23, 1926), All That Philly Jazz will lead the Philadelphia Jazz Heritage Walking Tour: Green Book Edition. A travel guide, Green Book listings were an invisible map of safe spaces where African Americans could avoid the indignities of Jim Crow accommodations in the South and racial segregation in the North. The tour will stop at Green Book sites associated with Coltrane and other points of interest. The walking tour begins at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel (now The Bellevue Philadelphia) and ends at the repurposed Attucks Hotel (distance: 0.7 miles)
CiderFest
Saturday, September 21st
12 – 5 pm
Multiple Locations
Cost: $45-$70 (VIP tickets)
The celebration of local hard cider will be taking place at six historic houses in Fairmount Park! CiderFest features samples from more than 20 local cideries, live music, pay-as-you-go food trucks, and tours of the historic houses.
Oktoberfest: The Bourse Beer Hall
Saturday, September 21st
12 – 6 pm
The Bourse Food Hall
Cost: Pay as you go
In Motion, In Place: Trisha Brown Dance Company
September 24th – 28th
Various locations
Cost: Free
A park in motion. Three free works by a groundbreaking choreographer will change the way you think about Philadelphia’s favorite outdoor spaces. In Roof Piece (9/24-9/25), the rooftops of iconic cultural institutions around Logan Circle serve as an expansive stage for 360-degree choreography. The newly reopened Strawberry Mansion Reservoir at the Discovery Center becomes a stage in Raft Piece (9/28-9/29). In Foray Forêt (9/28-9/29) the wooded grounds of Mount Pleasant mansion host dancers in golden costumes designed by artist Robert Rauschenberg. Together, these works invite Philadelphians to experience their park in a whole new way, leaving us inspired by motion, and by place.
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
Wednesday, September 25th
7 – 9 pm
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Cost: $15
Check out this screening of the documentary Anthropocene: The Human Epoch, and stay after the screening for a discussion and audience Q&A with experts from Drexel University and the Academy of Natural Sciences.
Panel: Punks of Color
Friday, September 27th
6 – 9 pm
Institute of Contemporary Art
118 S 36th St
Cost: Free
Six guest panelists kick off the ICA’s inaugural #Blkgrlswurld Punk Fest & Zine Fair! The panelists will discuss their personal journeys as black and brown youth in underground music and their relationships to music as self-expression. Moderated by #Blkgrlswurld ZINE’s Senior Editor Courtney Long, the discussion will also explore the cultural implications of punk music made for and by marginalized communities and the future of this punk scene.
Orange Crush: Young Professionals Night
Friday, September 27th
7 – 10 pm
The Barnes Foundation
2025 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy
Cost: $35
What is better than networking surrounded by beautiful artwork? Join fellow art lovers and industry leaders for cocktails, late-night art, and beats by Mole Street Artists at the Barnes!
Elizabeth Anne Wood discusses her new book, Bound
September 27, 2019
Shakespeare & Co. Rittenhouse
Cost: Free
Join Elizabeth Anne Wood for a conversation about caregiving, aging, illness, and sexuality as she discusses her new memoir, Bound: A Daughter, a Domme, and an End-of-Life Story.
West Craft Fest: Fall 2019
September 28, 2019
The Woodlands, 4000 Woodland Avenue
Cost: Free
Shop artisan jewelry, handmade ceramics, clothing, candles, children’s items, and much more at the West Craft Fest. The fest is family friendly and will include live music, food trucks, children’s activities, and acrobatic performances.
Bloktoberfest
September 28, 2019
Washington Ave between Broad & 17th Street
Cost: Free, Drink Tickets available for purchase pre-event
Bloktoberfest started 11 years ago as a fundraiser and continues to give back to the community by donating drink to Philadelphia-area community organizations. Enjoy live music, food trucks and of course beer!
Motivation Meditation Mimosas
September 29, 2019
The Deck
Cost: $19-49
Work out your body and mind and then enjoy a delicious bottomless brunch! The program includes a HIIT workout, yoga flow, guided meditation, and a motivational exercise, called Two-Word story.
Glass Etching at Tattooed Mom
Sunday, September 29th
2 – 4 pm
Tattooed Mom
530 South St
Cost: $30
Want to get a little crafty? Come out for this 2 hour, hands-on introduction to glass etching! Your ticket includes two pint glasses per person for your creative customizations and access to all materials including stencils, xacto knives, gloves and etching cream.