Haunted bars and movie magic | Things to do

It’s officially spooky season in Philly, so last week I stopped by Uptown Beer Garden to see how the sprawling outdoor space had transformed into a haunted mansion.

The place certainly understood the assignment.

Scarecrows, tombstones, ghosts, and ghouls filled the space, alongside familiar villains from Stranger Things and The Monkey. Even the drinks got the Halloween treatment, with themed cocktails served in blood bags and pumpkin cups.

I’m not much for specialty cocktails. They tend to be too sugary for my taste. But I can appreciate a good Halloween setup, and the decorations brought me right back to childhood nights spent roaming my neighborhood in search of the best candy.

Uptown is hardly the only bar getting into the Halloween spirit. Tomorrow, check out the Inquirer for my guide to 10 more Philly bars going all out for the holiday, complete with elaborate decorations, spooky cocktails, and plenty of reasons to wear a costume before Oct. 31.

And if haunted bars aren’t your thing, there’s no shortage of ways to spend your weekend:

— Earl Hopkins (@earlhopkins_, Email me at thingstodo@inquirer.com)

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The Philadelphia Film Festival is officially here.

This year’s celebration features more than 140 screenings, including world premieres and highly anticipated screenings from filmmakers Jesse Eisenberg, Ava DuVernay, and James Gray.

The 35th annual festival kicks off Thursday night with the fantasy-horror film Never After Dark at 6:30 p.m., followed by writer-director Noah Segan’s The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, starring John Turturro.

The remaining festival, which runs from Thursday through Oct. 25, includes a slate of international cinema, independent films, documentaries, and animation.

Click here for festival badges and passes.

Forget making dinner plans. The Inquirer Food Fest is returning to the Fillmore in Fishtown on Nov. 14, bringing together some of the city’s best chefs and plenty of food worth clearing your calendar for.

The festival is a chance to sample dishes from Philly restaurants, discover new favorites, and spend the day celebrating the city’s food scene, all under one roof.

And you don’t have to settle for just one restaurant. That’s part of the fun.

Tickets are available now, so grab yours and start planning your appetite.

Get your tickets to The Inquirer Food Fest.

🍏 A Pennsylvania classic: Roll up to the Reading Terminal Market for a day to celebrate a Pennsylvania breakfast tradition. The annual Scrapple & Apple Festival is happening on Saturday. The free event welcomes visitors with family-friendly activities, live entertainment, cooking demos, and scrapple-inspired bites.

🍂 Fall has come to Manayunk: Food trucks, vendors, and artisans will line Main Street for the return of Manayunk Fall Fest. The one-day event will also include family-friendly games, live music, and a mac n’ cheese crawl.

👣 A neighborhood walk for all: Join the four-mile processional performance in honor of Vámonos Pa’l Monte, a collaborative, neighborhood-based public art project conceived by artist Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz. She and others will walk from Center City to Norris Square on Saturday, charting a path that highlights both civic and colonial symbolism.

🎃 Pumpkin Patch at Franklin Square: Stop by Franklin Square to join the hunt for the best pumpkin in the patch. Decoration supplies will be provided for guests. While registration is full, limited walk-up tickets are still available. Children 10 and under are free to attend.

📅 My calendar picks this week: Arts of India Festival, Lucky Girl Night Market, The Big Pivot Block Party Weekend. Here’s our full list for the week.

Thousands of cyclists will take over Philadelphia streets Saturday for the annual Philly Bike Ride, a 20-mile, car-free ride through Center City, along the Delaware River, and into Manayunk.

There will be several road closures and parking restrictions to ensure a safe, car-free experience for the bikers and the regional cycling community that will be in attendance.

For more information on this year’s bike ride, read my colleague Henry Savage’s story here.

👻 Take a spooky tour through Chestnut Hill: Join the annual Ghost Walk Stories event in Chestnut Hill this Saturday. Guests will venture from the Chestnut Hill Library to Hilltop Books, as guides share stories of the area’s haunting past. The tour ends with refreshments at Hilltop Books.

🎶 Rock on this weekend: The 10th Annual Philly Music Fest concludes this Sunday with more than 25 bands and musicians performing at Solar Myth, Underground Arts, Johnny Brenda’s, and other independently owned venues.

🏞️ Where art meets nature: A new large-scale exhibition, featuring more than 50 sculptures by Philadelphia native Steve Tobin, is now on display at Tyler Arboretum. The showcase, titled Steve Tobin: In The Light, demonstrates Tobin’s work across Tyler’s woodlands, gardens, and meadows. The exhibition is on view through October 2027.

🦸🏽‍♂️ From comics to culture: The Black Hero’s Journey is a new exhibition at the University of Pennsylvania that explores race and representation in American comics. The free exhibition, located on the 6th floor of the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, is on view now through May 13, 2027.

Here’s a list of the best concerts this weekend.

🎤 Thursday: Grammy-winner Steve Lacy, fresh off the release of his new album, Oh yeah?, will hit the stage at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion on Thursday.

🎸 Friday: Pop artist Rebecca Black, who recently released her second album, Age of the Exhibitionist, drops into Philadelphia to perform at Union Transfer on Friday.

🕺🏽 Sunday: Beck, the genre-bending artist who nearly got the Taylor Swift treatment from Kanye West after beating out Beyoncé for Album of the Year at the 2015 Grammys, is back on the road for his “Ride Lonesome” tour. He’s slated to perform at the Met, alongside supporting acts Ioanna Gikt and Wayne Faler.

Where was the first Philadelphia Film Festival held in 1992?

A) Film Society East

B) International House Philadelphia

C) Landmark Ritz Five

D) Philadelphia Film Center

Here’s the answer to last week’s question: What’s the oldest rodeo in the world? Answer: The Prescott Rodeo in Prescott, Ariz.

Every week, I tell you how to spend your time in Philly. This week, I want to know how you’d spend your money.

If you had just $50 to spend on a Saturday night in Philly, what would you do? Where would you eat? What would you see? Would you spend it all in one place or stretch it across a whole night?

Email me your ideal $50 Saturday night. I might share some of my favorite answers in a future newsletter.

Okay folks, that’s all for this week’s edition of Things To Do. I hope you added some of the events to your itinerary for what will be another exciting time in the region.

I‘m heading to the Philadelphia Film Festival’s opening screenings tonight, so keep an eye out for my thoughts in Saturday’s Best Art This Week column. Until then, enjoy your weekend, Philly.

– Earl Hopkins

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