Acquaint yourself with Philadelphia’s parks with Fairmount Park Conservancy’s fall programming

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For those looking to get out and enjoy the change of seasons, the Fairmount Park Conservancy’s fall calendar is sure to offer something for everyone across Philadelphia’s 10,000 acres of parks, from salsa dancing to stargazing.

“We try to have a breadth of programs to be that impetus to get people out into these spaces to explore them, to maybe learn a new skill or about a new topic,” said Amanda Daws Cohen, the conservancy’s program manager.

While Conservancy programming is primarily hosted in Franklin D. Roosevelt Park, East and West Fairmount parks and the Cobbs Creek area, there are also citywide events and volunteer opportunities, such as the Love Your Park fall weekend from Nov. 14 to 16.

This fall brings several new programs, from paddleboating at FDR Park to Wellness Wednesdays in Strawberry Mansion. Popular favorites will return as well, including monthly salsa dancing at the FDR Boathouse, an event that organizer Daws Cohen said “has grown more and more popular each year,” and will continue to be offered.

“We’re really listening to our program participants that come out, and also looking at program numbers,” she said. “If there are things that people really love, the numbers are great, we might offer that again in the future. On the other side, too, if there is something that participants want to see that we’re not doing yet, [we’re] definitely listening to that and planning that for future years … where we can.”

Buddy Muhler is an astronomer and science educator at the Academy of Natural Sciences and hosts the popular “star parties” at Lemon Hill on the first Tuesday of every month. He’s been leading the program since 2021 and wants to dispel the idea that there’s too much light pollution to stargaze on a regular evening.

“You can get excited [about astronomy] on literally any night,” he said. “You don’t have to wait for those big events. As long as it’s clear outside, you can go out and have a cool experience with the night sky anytime.”

Muhler said the star parties, which are preceded by a short night hike, are an opportunity to share the wonder of looking through a telescope and educate Philadelphians about what is, at its core, a universal human instinct — looking up at the sky.

“Almost every culture around the world, almost every religion around the world has some astronomy element to it,” he said. “People have no idea how much of their lives depend on astronomy. Because of that, there’s such an opportunity to enlighten people.”

The Conservancy runs programs all year, but Daws Cohen said that fall is its busiest season.

See below for the current calendar, which is subject to change. For more information, visit myphillypark.org.