Philadelphia Marathon weekend, holiday light shows, ‘Symphonie fantastique,’ and more in this week’s ‘Things To Do’

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! As Philadelphia and its suburbs decorate for the holiday season, light shows are aplenty, including Astra Lumnia at the Abington Arts Center, LumiNature at the Philadelphia Zoo and A Longwood Christmas, just to name a few. In Delaware, the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library launches its Yuletide at Winterthur event, which runs through January. Philadelphia Marathon weekend marks one of the last races of the 2024 competitive running season. There are 37,000 registrants this year, making it the largest in event history.

Classical music lovers will appreciate Berlioz’s “Symphonie fantastique” at Marian Anderson Hall in the Kimmel Center on Friday and Saturday, and if you’re interested in a little healing and live music, head to the RainbowMoon Festival on Saturday at Snipes Farm for folksy sounds and more. But if the dropping fall temps mean you’d rather listen to music from your couch, you can find your favorite retro LPs at VinylCon at the 23rd Street Armory.

Delaware | New Jersey | Special Events | Arts & Culture | Kids | Comedy | Music

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Delaware

Yuletide at Winterthur

• Where: Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, 5105 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, Del.
• When: Saturday, Nov. 23 – Sunday, Jan. 5
• How much: $8 – $29

The annual celebration returns with holiday highlights, including an 18-room dollhouse, a gingerbread house and the traditional array of decorated trees. Events throughout the season include Brunch with Santa, a one-man performance of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens’ great-great grandson, and several wine and cocktail events.

New Jersey

The Weight Band

• Where: Scottish Rite Auditorium, 315 White Horse Pike, Collingswood, N.J.
• When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 8 p.m.
• How much: $39. 50 – $59.50

In its heyday, “The Band” was one of the most influential groups in the 70s Americana folk/rock genre. Their 1978 breakup concert was detailed in “The Last Waltz,” and had far-reaching implications for both members and fans. “The Weight Band” features former Band guitarist Jim Weider who replaced Robbie Robertson in the iconic group. He will lead a tribute to “Music from Big Pink,” the group’s 1968 debut, at a tour stop in South Jersey.

Special Events

Astra Lumina

 

• Where: Abington Art Center, 515 Meetinghouse Rd., Jenkintown, Pa.
• When: Thursday, Nov. 21 – Sunday, Dec. 15
• How much: $31 – $38

All the the lights are coming on at this holiday installation featuring a path that follows separate light scenes. Organizers say the light show is meant to bring the stars to attendees who traverse the hour’s length path. Each installation’s name references its celestial inspiration, from the Cosmic Choir to Stellar Visions.

LumiNature

• Where: Philadelphia Zoo, 3400 W. Girard Ave.
• When: Thursday, Nov. 21 – Saturday, Jan. 4
• How much: $28 – $32

The Philadelphia Zoo is of course known by day for its collection of animals, including lions and tigers and bears, oh my! But during the holidays, it lights up in the evening hours for LumiNature, the zoo’s annual light show. The 2024 version boasts more than a million lights across 16 illuminated zones. Those include a 100-foot-long jungle tunnel with 4,000 lights, a sparkling light waterfall and a vine wall with 20,000 lights.

Winter in Franklin Square

• Where: Franklin Square, 200 N. 6th St.
• When: Thursday, Nov. 21 – Sunday, Feb. 23
• How much: Free

Historic Franklin Square always has something going on. That’s especially true during the holidays. Its Winter in Franklin Square promotion includes the Electrical Spectacle Holiday Light Show, Chilly Philly Mini-Golf, Street Curling and places to play and eat. The light show is free, activities are separately ticketed.

Philadelphia Marathon Weekend

• Where: Multiple locations
• When: Friday, Nov. 22 – Sunday, Nov. 24
• How much: Expo is free, $15 children’s fun run registration, marathon registration closed

The Philadelphia Marathon welcomes its largest group of registrants ever, as over 37,000 are expected to participate. And that doesn’t include those who attend the free two-day Health & Fitness Expo at the Pennsylvania Convention Center or in Sunday’s Kid’s Fun Fun. (Registration is still open). Spectating, of course, is always free, but stake out your spot early to see the top runners. Here are a few suggestions for the best vantage points and other marathon info.

A Longwood Christmas

• Where: Longwood Gardens, 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, Pa.
• When: Friday, Nov. 22 – Sunday, Jan. 12
• How much: $8 – $42

Longwood Gardens knows how to do landscapes, and they know how to do Christmas. Their annual celebration is among the most popular holiday attractions in the region. This year, Longwood introduces new displays and a new dining room as part of Longwood Reimagined, a three-year improvement project. So expect those improvements to be incorporated into the holiday celebration, which boasts hundreds of thousands of lights. Through Dec. 17, Longwood offers multiple, online and in-person ticketed classes in holiday decorating as well.

Yuletide at Liberty Hill

• Where: Union League, Liberty Hill, 800 Ridge Pike, Lafayette Hill, Pa.
• When: Friday, Nov. 22 – Sunday, Jan. 5
• How much: $23 – $72

Happy kids with rosy cheeks, time with Santa, a little shopping and a crisp fall breeze in the air? Those are all good reasons to head to a holiday festival. This 34-day suburban fest goes through January with over 30 vendors, ice skating and other attractions, including a ferris wheel.

VinylCon!

• Where: 23rd St. Armory, 22 S. 23rd St.
• When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 24, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• How much: Saturday early entry, $27.50, Saturday, general admission $10, Sunday, free

Vinyl is seeing a resurgence as folks have a renewed appreciation for physical media. More than 70 vendors are heading to Philly with a mix of rare records and other items that hearken back to what can be perceived as simpler times. Wherever you are on that spectrum, you may find something you love, or better still, a gift for someone you love.

Miracle on American Holiday Gift Market

• Where: NextFab Makerspace, 1800 N. American St.
• When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• How much: Free, pay as you go

Block party or seasonal shopping market? Let’s say both. The annual event brings the community together with Olde Kensington Boutique to offer more than 80 local vendors. In addition, there’s a maker space, free giveaways, workshops, food trucks and live demonstrations.

Arts & Culture

Latin Rhythm & Reels – Julia Alvarez: A Life Reimagined

• Where: Esperanza Arts Center, 4261 N. Fifth St.
• When: Thursday, Nov. 21, 6 p.m.
• How much: Free with registration

WHYY and Esperanza Art Center are partnering on a new film series, Latin Rhythm & Reels. At the inaugural event, “Julia Alvarez: A Life Reimagined,” a film about the acclaimed Dominican writer who penned “How the García Girls Lost Their Accents” and “In the Time of the Butterflies,” will be shown after the evening kicks off with a cocktail reception with food and live music.

CinéSPEAK Best of Fests

• Where: The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St.
• When: Thursday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m.
• How much: $10 suggested, pay what you wish

If you couldn’t make it out to any of the city’s film festivals this year, CinéSPEAK brings them to West Philly, focusing on shorts. Selections include films screened at the Black Star Film Festival, the Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival, the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival and the Diamond Screen Film and Media Arts Festival at Temple University. Screenings are followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

Elf – The Broadway Musical

• Where: Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St.
• When: Through Sunday, Dec. 29
• How much: $35 – $127

It’s the age-old story of what happens when a human is raised as an elf and has to travel from the North Pole to New York City in search of his real father. OK, well, maybe not age-old; it sprung from the imaginative minds of Philly-born screenwriter David Berenbaum and was brought to life by Will Ferrell in 2003. It became the crowd-pleasing Broadway musical that returns to Philly for a seasonal run.

Limón Dance Company

• Where: Penn Live Arts at the Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St.
• When: Friday, Nov. 22, 10:30 a.m., 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 23, 2 p.m., 8 p.m.
• How much: $39 – $89

The acclaimed dance company founded by Mexican-born dance icon José Limon brings two Philadelphia premieres to Penn Live Arts, including “Scherzo,” which hasn’t been performed anywhere in the past few decades. “The Traitor,” originally produced in the ‘50s, is also on the bill.

The Comeuppance

• Where: The Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St.
• When: Through Sunday, Dec. 8
• How much: $35 – $88

At just 39, Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins is the acclaimed playwright who won a Tony in 2023 for his Broadway debut “Appropriate.” He’s also a 2016 MacArthur Fellow or “genius grant” recipient, which may have helped give him the mental clarity he needed for his latest work, “The Comeuppance,” which is at the Wilma for a few more weeks.

Chestnut Hill Circle of Trees

• Where: Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Ave.
• When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 5:30 p.m.
• How much: Free

Kick off the holidays in Chestnut Hill at its seasonal celebration, where you can meet Santa and see the museum’s 2024 holiday exhibits. Hot chocolate, cider, cookies and kid’s goodie bags will be available as the museum counts down to when they flip the switch to turn on their holiday lighting. Admission is free, but the donation of a new, unwrapped toy or children’s book is suggested.

Kids

Christmas Underwater

• Where: Adventure Aquarium, 1 Riverside Drive, Camden, N.J.
• When: Saturday, Nov. 23 – Tuesday, Dec. 24
• How much: $29.99 – $47.99

Scuba Santa, baby! He’s back along with the snow-tundra and what they say is the world’s tallest underwater tree at the aquarium’s annual holiday attraction. We have to admit it’s pretty inventive to get a Christmas tree into a water tank, but they’ve obviously mastered it.

Comedy

Michelle Wolf

• Where: Punch Line Philly, 33 E. Laurel St.
• When: Thursday, Nov. 21, Friday, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m.
• How much: $50

Hershey, Pa.’s own Michelle Wolf built her comedy chops in improv classes and then found her way into writer’s rooms at “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.” From there, she embarked on her standup career, drawing controversy and a series of  Netflix specials along the way. Love her or hate her, you can see her back (near) home in person this weekend.

Music

WXPN Homegrown Live! at World Cafe Live

• Where: World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.
• When: Thursday, Nov. 21, 8 p.m.
• How much: Free with RSVP

Local musicians Best Bear, Mackenzie Johnson and Yuneer Gainz have made it to the finals of the WXPN 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge. Check out the talent that was nurtured right here in Philly on Thursday at a free showcase where they will all perform.

Symphonie fantastique

• Where: Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center, 300 S Broad St.
• When: Friday, Nov. 22, 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 23, 8 p.m.
• How much: $25 – $121

French composer Hector Berlioz was going to follow his family into medicine, but music called, and he answered. An innovative composer in his heyday, his work is now appreciated as the groundbreaking music it was. His “Symphonie fantastique” was inspired by his wife, Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson, who Berlioz was rumoredly “obsessed” with for years before meeting. If you’re new to his work, find out if the music matches his devotion when it’s performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Stéphane Denéve this weekend.

David Hayes conducts Bernstein

• Where: Perelman Theater, 300 S. Broad St (inside the Kimmel Center)
• When: Friday, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 24, 2:30 p.m.
• How much: $29 – $104

Composers Aaron Jay Kernis, Leonard Bernstein, and Béla Bartók all have ties to New York. They will be showcased in a concert focusing on three of their works when David Hayes conducts violinist Sandy Cameron for two performances at the Kimmel Center.

RainbowMoon Fest at Snipes Farm

• Where: Snipes Farm and Education Center, 890 W. Bridge St., Morrisville, Pa.
• When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 10 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
• How much: $20 – $25

Community and healing are the focus of the RainbowMoon Fest. The festival includes performances by “Gypsy Funk Squad”, “Om Saloon”, “Loose Bricks” and more, along with healthy food and arts and crafts vendors, yoga and wellness workshops, and a drum circle jam finale.

Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumblers

• Where: Ardmore Music Hall, 23 E. Lancaster Ave.
• When:  Saturday, Nov. 23, 8 p.m.
• How much: $33 – $55

Philly band Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumblers broke out with a rock hit in 1986 with “I’m Not Your Man.” Since then, they’ve bounced around the local music scene, establishing a following and released several albums, including 2019’s “Showboats and Grandstanders.” They stop in for a show at Ardmore Music Hall on a fall/winter run of local venues.