To do this week: Stay cool, go out, have fun
We’ve got a collection of road trips to Pennsylvania’s wine country, a group of great events, both in-person and virtual, and lessons from Elizabeth Wellington’s grandmother about how to keep your cool in the summer heat.
Summer’s slow, but there’s lots to do this week. We’ve got a collection of road trips to Pennsylvania’s wine country, a group of great events, both in-person and virtual, and lessons from Elizabeth Wellington’s grandmother about how to keep your cool in the summer heat. And for more where that came from, we’re collecting everything you need to make the most of your summer at inqurier.com/summer.
Stay healthy, stay safe, and, as much as possible, it’s still a good idea to stay home.
Plan this
Some events to keep you busy over the next seven days. Get our full events calendar at inquirer.com/calendar
🦖 The Academy of Natural Sciences’ Public Reopening (Museum / In-Person) The Academy of Natural Sciences reopens to the public with safety precautions — timed ticketing, limited building capacity, required face coverings for guests and staff, hand sanitizer stations. On display: the museum’s permanent collection (dinosaur hall, its diorama showcase and more) and special exhibitions like Survival of the Slowest. (Free-$22, Fri. July 31, The Academy of Natural Sciences, map, add to calendar)
🚗 Parking Lot Social, Week 2 (Festival / In-Person / Multi-day / Kid-friendly) In response to a popular first week, The Parking Lot Social returns to the Navy Yard with a full slate of socially distanced drive-in fun. Events include drive-in movie nights (Dirty Dancing, Pulp Fiction, Scream and more), family trivia and car-a-oke. ($39-$64, Fri. July 31- Sun. Aug. 2, Marine Parade Grounds at the Navy Yard, map, add to calendar)
🗡️ Hamlet — Live from Laurel Hill Cemetery (Theater / Virtual) Rev Theatre Company reinterprets Shakespeare’s Hamlet at a live theatrical reading of the classic at Laurel Hill Cemetery. The Zoom show is free, but donations are suggested and online RSVP is required. (Donations encouraged, Sat. Aug. 1, 7:30 p.m., thelaurelhillcemetery.org, add to calendar)
🎥 Street Movies 2020 (Movie / In-Person / Free) Independent films ranging from documentaries to animated features to youth-produced work fill outdoor movie screens in communities throughout Philadelphia for Scribe Video Center’s roving 2020 Street movie series. (Free, Aug. 1, 4, 5, 8 p.m., Street Movies 2020, add to calendar)
🌠 The Franklin Institute’s Night Skies at Home (Stargazing / Virtual / Kid-friendly) Chief Astronomer Derrick Pitts brings the wonder of the night sky to you with an at-home version of his Night Skies series. Learn to recognize planets, look for constellations and ask a true pro all your questions about galaxies far, far away. (Free, Tue. Aug. 6, 7:45-8:45 p.m., fi.edu, add to calendar)
» READ MORE: Things to do in Philadelphia this week
Do this
Need another road trip? Nick Vadala has a new road trip to-do list, this time that takes you to Pennsylvania’s wine country. See some scenic countryside and pick up a bottle of local wine to enjoy. Here are some of the spots on his list:
For a quicker trip: Karamoor Estate. (Fort Washington, 21 miles from Center City) One of Craig LaBan’s favorite suburban Philadelphia wineries in 2017, this spot captures the “Forth Washing terroir” with its wines — a favorite of which is their chardonnay. Book a tour and wine tasting with an al fresco dining experience featuring a menu by nearby restaurant From the Boot.
A little further: Folino Estate Vineyard & Winery. (Kutztown, 67 miles from Center City) You might not be able to fly to Tuscany right now, but you can head to Folino Estate, which is modeled after an Italian villa and features Italian fare like wood-fired pizzas and handmade pastas. Reservations for the tasting room are required, but there’s outdoor seating in the piazza and terrace (noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, 7 p.m. for the tasting room). Curbside pickup is also available.
For a full day trip: Galen Glen Winery. (Andreas, 85 miles from Center City) You can have wine by glass and flights on Galen Glen’s outdoor patio and pavilion, which provides a panoramic view of their rolling Schuylkill County digs. Packaged food is available, and food trucks — such as Bad Bones BBQ — sometimes make appearances. Bottles and cases are also available to-go and for curbside pickup.
» READ MORE: More wineries, plus bonus spots to visit nearby each pick, in Nick’s full piece.
And in case you’ve missed them, here are some other road trips worth taking this summer:
Read this
This is a summer for being outside, where it’s safer, and, if we’re careful, we can see our friends again. But it’s really hard when it’s hot out. Which made Elizabeth Wellington reflect on her grandmother, who didn’t have air conditioning in those hot summers when Elizabeth was a kid. Here are some of the lessons she learned from her grandmother about how to keep cool when it’s really hot out, which Elizabeth writes about in this moving personal essay:
“My grandmother’s Southern ways stayed with her especially when the heat that day threatened to be oppressive. She rose before dawn to wash clothes, sweep and get most of the day’s cooking done. She kept the blinds closed so the broiling sun wouldn’t make her hardwood floors, “too damned hot to walk on.” She only wore cotton house dresses because only a fool would wear “head-to-toe black like Johnny Cash,” one of her favorite entertainers. And although she loved a statement ring, she took off all of her jewelry.
“When she wasn’t fanning herself with an old magazine or a church fan, my grandmother was handing out Dixie cups of ice cream or plastic mugs of sweet lemonade to those of us who jumped rope on her block. Opening up the fire hydrants was not allowed. (Only kids that had no class did that, she said.) Sometimes she’d wash our hair, part it in sections, plait it and let it air dry. The hot air cooling our necks as it hit our damp hair. Only in the summertime could you get the hair to become bone dry. That makes for a smooth press the next day. Mama carried a damp cloth with her at all times, too. Perfect for calming down an overheated child.”
» READ MORE: Who knew our grandmothers’ ways to stay cool in the summer would come in handy now?