Saturdays just got more interesting.
Sign upThe 30th AACR Philadelphia Marathon saw thousands of people pack the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Sunday to pursue the 26.2 mile journey in front of them. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)
The pre-Thanksgiving weekend arrives packed. Tribute band Creedence Revived brings the ‘70s swamp-rock vibes to the Keswick in homage to Creedence Clearwater Revival. Friday kicks off the Philadelphia Marathon Weekend, the debut Philly Animation Festival and the return of A Longwood Christmas, a local holiday season favorite. Saturday brings everything from “Back to the Future: The Musical” to Brandy and Monica’s tour stop in Atlantic City and Ana Gasteyer’s holiday show. And Sunday caps things off with the OperaDEathmatch finale and the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra’s season opener.
Delaware | New Jersey | Special Events | Arts & Culture | Food & Drink | Outdoors | Comedy | Music
OperaDelaware, in partnership with former boxing champion and community leader Dave Tiberi, has created a unique opera and sports performance where singers and local boxers are combatants. OperaDEathmatch features singers competing on dramatic duets and rival arias from composers like Verdi and Puccini, alongside real sparring matches with local boxing personalities. Co-hosted by Tiberi and Kerriann Otaño, the competition celebrates the parallels between opera and boxing that include stamina, discipline, showmanship and emotion.
Brandy and Monica’s careers first intertwined with their 1998 blockbuster duet “The Boy Is Mine,” a song that ruled the Billboard Hot 100 for 13 weeks and won them a Grammy for best R&B performance by a duo or group. Since then, both have built stellar solo careers. Dubbed by fans as the “vocal Bible,” Brandy’s hits include “Almost Doesn’t Count,” “Have You Ever?” and “Full Moon.” Monica charted with songs including “Before You Walk Out of My Life,” “Why I Love You So Much” and “So Gone.” Despite rumored tensions between them years ago, they’ve now reunited for The Boy Is Mine Tour, which stops in Atlantic City on Saturday night. Joining them for the South Jersey date is Muni Long and 2025 “American Idol” winner Jamal Roberts.
Downtown Haddonfield kicks off the merriest season of the year with an adults-only street festival that’s not your typical school fundraiser. Expect music you can dance to, a varied lineup of bites and sips from local favorites and a festive open-air vibe under twinkling lights. Your ticket includes tasting portions, five drink tickets, raffle opportunities, lawn games and lots of good energy for a good cause — supporting student mental health and wellness programs at the middle and high schools.
We know you’ve barely finished your Thanksgiving meal shopping, but the Christmas holiday season is nigh. The good news is that there are plenty of entertainment options for families. Here are some of the seasonal attractions kicking off this weekend.
The Philadelphia Zoo’s annual holiday light show incorporates dozens of illuminated zones featuring larger-than-life animal sculptures, glowing tunnels and interactive light displays. There’s everything from a 40-foot penguin made of 40,000 lights to a 25-foot flamingo tree created from 1,500 glowing lawn ornaments. New for this year is the Philly Zoo Pherris Wheel, which rises 110 feet in the air for aerial views of both the lights and the city skyline. Throughout the night, roaming animal characters entertain, while attendees can warm up with hot chocolate or seasonal cocktails and/or roast s’mores over firepits.
It began in 1994 as a modest race with just 1,500 runners. Now the Philadelphia Marathon is one of the top 10 marathons in the U.S., drawing more than 35,000 participants from around the world. The main event runs on a Boston-qualifying course that weaves through the city’s historic landmarks, neighborhood streets, Fairmount Park and the Schuylkill River before finishing at the Philadelphia Museum of Art — where you are certainly welcome to take a triumphant finish photo near the Rocky statue! Marathon weekend also features a half-marathon, an 8K race, a kids’ run and a free two-day Health & Fitness Expo. Pro tip: Runners and spectators should note that many streets will be closed around the city throughout the weekend, so plan ahead.
Founded by local animators Ava Haitz, Meaghan Dunn and Amy Lee Ketchum, the inaugural festival was created to strengthen the city’s animation community by offering independent animators a platform to share work that rarely gets screen time elsewhere. To that end, it serves as a showcase for an eclectic mix of narrative shorts, experimental films, student work and innovative visual art from Philadelphia and beyond. The event also features a juried selection of movies, hands-on workshops, filmmaker talkbacks and family programming designed to highlight the craft behind hand-drawn, stop-motion, digital and mixed-media animation.
Directed by Quintessence Theatre Artistic Director Alex Burns, this classic Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera tells the story of Frederic, a young pirate apprentice who discovers his birthday falls on Feb. 29, meaning he must remain bound to the pirate life much longer than expected. That revelation ultimately sets off a chain of funny mishaps and romantic entanglements. Local favorites like Chris Patrick Mullen (Major-General Stanley), Nalani Matthias (Mabel) and Brandon Walters (Frederic) are part of the 2025 cast.
Billed as “a podcast, but live and on stage,” Back Pocket Media and The Philadelphia Inquirer host the 2025 fest with the theme “No Small Wind Is Blowing,” centering on stories of “immigration, transition and the invisible forces that inspire movement.” Philly’s media ecosystem is well accounted for, featuring storytellers from outlets including The Philadelphia Inquirer, WXPN, WURD, Mother Jones, The Philadelphia Citizen, Streets Dept and more, along with local artists, musicians and narrators who bring their uniquely Philadelphia tales to the stage.
Comedian, actress, singer and all-around entertainer Ana Gasteyer comes to Philly with her Sugar & Booze Holiday Spectacular in support of her album by the same name. Best known for her 1996-2002 run on “Saturday Night Live” and her work on Broadway and television, Getseyer reimagines seasonal classics along with comedic originals like the title track and “Secret Santa,” backed by a full horn section with a retro big band sound.
In 1985, Michael J. Fox starred in “Back to the Future,” which is now considered one of the most iconic films of its time — if not of all time. Adapted by the original film’s creators, the stage version includes music by multi-Grammy winners Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, who combined on the sing-along songs “The Power of Love,” “Johnny B. Goode,” “Earth Angel” and “Back in Time.” This Olivier Award-winning production heads to Philly for an almost two-week run.
On Saturday, the Penn Museum opens a new 2,000-square-foot Native North America Gallery showcasing more than 250 historic objects and contemporary Indigenous art in a multimedia setting. Created in partnership with eight Indigenous consulting curators, the gallery highlights themes of self-determination among Native Nations from four U.S. regions: the Northeast with the Lenape; the Southeast with the Cherokee and Muscogee; the Northwest with the Lingít and Alutiiq; and the Southwest with the Pueblo peoples. The opening celebration includes guided tours, a community gathering and storytelling to honor Indigenous creativity and heritage.
Creative collective Almost Famous hosts its fall festival, featuring artists, vendors, live performances and a movie screening. The festival also includes food, games, live painting and a bonfire. Participating artists include Idalis Reign and Kenneth Art Monster, who will create live onsite. The film being screened is Pharrell Williams’ “Piece by Piece,” a Lego-led version of his life story.
The fall version of this festival is an upscale tasting experience featuring dozens of wines from local, regional and national wineries. Participating local pourers include Mazza Wines and The Inn at Grace Winery, plus others like City Winery and Harvest Ridge Winery. Beyond wine, the festival is expanding this year to include spirit samplings and live musical performances.
One of the year’s most anticipated annual attractions transforms Longwood’s gardens and grounds into a holiday wonderland with installations including floating sculptures, an embellished wildlife tree and a miniature, lit-up railroad that snakes through the garden’s paths. Inside the conservatories, decorated trees, hanging crystals, seasonal poinsettias and living wreaths are featured. Highlights include the Music Room’s 12-foot fir coming out of an oversized jewelry box. That’s along with carolers, live musicians and five-minute fountain shows of cascading water designs.
“Stand-Up with Strings” is a unique take on your average stand-up show as it includes live bass accompaniment. Every joke is enhanced, echoed or harmonized by a professional bassist who becomes part of the show. Co-hosted by Philly-based comedian and podcasters Na’im Ali and Ben Staab, this show allows music to punctuate the comedy, making for a memorable night out.
Creedence Clearwater Revival remains one of America’s most iconic rock bands, known for their “swamp-rock” sound and a run of hits including “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son,” “Bad Moon Rising” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” before internal tensions between brothers John and Tom Fogerty led to their breakup in the early ’70s. Tribute band Creedence Revived stepped in where the original band left off, led by frontman Rich Perez, along with J.D. King, Graham Czach and drummer Tony Montana. Expect the full CCR experience when Creedence Revived heads to the Keswick; anthems and deep cuts, along with extended jams akin to what the band played in its short heyday.
Cornelius Cardew’s “Treatise” is unlike any traditional score with nearly 200 pages of abstract symbols, geometric shapes, swirling lines and marks that resist specific interpretation. Composed between 1963 and 1967, it instead gives performers radical freedom with each page functioning as a visual prompt rather than literal musical notation. The Arcana New Music Ensemble, founded in Philadelphia in 2015, performs its interpretation with Nicholas Handahl on flute, Noa Even on saxophone, Melinda Rice and Carlos Santiago on violins, Alyssa Almeida on cello, and Andy Thierauf on percussion. They are tasked with interpreting the work through their own lens, not through any fixed composition, with results only they can predict. You can see how it turns out on Friday night at the Rotunda.
The Crossing, the Grammy-winning professional chamber choir under the direction of Donald Nally, is set to present the world premiere of Christopher Cerrone’s “Of Being Numerous,” a work inspired by the poetry of Pulitzer Prize-winning author and activist George Oppen. Cerrone, a New York-based composer, draws on five sections of Oppen’s text, as well as the work of Walt Whitman and William Faulkner. A pre-concert talk starts at 6 p.m.
All Time Low, the Maryland pop-punk made up of Alex Gaskarth, Jack Barakat, Rian Dawson and Zack Merrick, dropped their 10th studio album, “Everyone’s Talking!” this week. It was preceded by singles including “Butterflies” and “Sugar” featuring JoJo. Over the years, the band has teamed up with artists such as Blackbear and Demi Lovato, racking up multiplatinum certifications, billions of streams and critical praise. Currently, they’re touring in support of “Everyone’s Talking!” featuring support from Mayday Parade, Four Year Strong, The Cab and The Paradox. They stop in Philly this weekend.
Louis Scaglione and the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra open their 86th season with an all-Italian program, joined by world-class soloists in arias and ensembles by Verdi, Puccini and Bellini, alongside Respighi’s “Pines of Rome.” This program, which includes mezzo-soprano Alice Chung, soprano Meryl Dominguez and tenor Luke Norvell, celebrates the 50th anniversary of the National Italian American Foundation.
Saturdays just got more interesting.
Sign up