🍂 The ultimate Fall Arts Guide to Philly | Things to Do

Today’s the first time I’ve felt a whisper of chill in the air and I’m not mad at it. It’s still warm of course and I can’t say I want summer to end, but I do love Halloween and I’m currently sipping on a pumpkin latte. Are you doing anything to get in the seasonal mood? Let me know!

This weekend, explore everything coming to town this season with our Fall Arts Guide, catch the new Jason Kelce documentary, dance salsa at FDR Park, and, yep, find pumpkin spice everything.

— Rosa Cartagena (@_RosaCartagena, Email me at thingstodo@inquirer.com)

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Speaking of seasonal changes, The Inquirer just published our Fall Arts Guide with a look at what’s coming to theaters, concert halls, museums, and galleries around Philly. We’ve got a roundup of the big concerts, must-see comedians, the best new exhibits, artists to watch, and where to go for dinner and a show. Below is a preview but you can see the full guide here.

🎭 Dinner and a show: We can’t wait to see Fat Ham, The Philly Fan, Wicked, Les Blancs, and other wonderful plays, and food reporter Jenn Ladd provided restaurant recs to enjoy beforehand.

🎤 Scream and shout: Janelle Monae, Pink, Lil Uzi Vert, and Boygenius are all coming to town, along with other killer acts.

😆 Laugh along: Catch classic stand-up comics like Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Martin, and Martin Short as well as recent TV darlings Michelle Buteau and Nicole Byer (if you haven’t watched Nailed It, you’re missing out) — plus many other funny folks.

🎨 A closer look: See a critique of U.S.-Chinese relations through Taylor Swift lyrics, glitter-filled portraits of Black queer folks in their safe spaces, and the eerie silhouettes of a longtime Philly artist still creating at 89 in these gallery shows.

🎻 Listen closely: Genre-bending classical music with Audra McDonald, Chill Moody, the new ensemble ModernMedieval Voices, and so many more.

💃 ¿Quieres bailar?: Brush up on your Spanish skills by watching movies outdoors and try out new steps with salsa dancing with free events at FDR Park for Hispanic Heritage Month.

🎥 Philly’s “Fat Batman”: A new documentary about Jason Kelce is a behind-the-scenes look at the famous Eagles player who is typically pretty private. It also reveals his love for… farming?

🏈 Catch the game: The Eagles take on the Vikings tonight. Here’s where to watch the action.

🗣️ Hear a rare language: The play Bulrusher follows a clairvoyant multiracial teen in a mostly white small town near San Francisco where they speak the real hyper-local English dialect Boontling. The Pulitzer finalist opens at Princeton’s McCarter Theatre Center this weekend.

💪 Get well-ish: Sunday’s annual Self-ish wellness conference features smoothie samples, reiki, massages, and other ways to act on self-care.

📜 Free speech, free admission: The National Constitution Center just opened a new gallery dedicated to the First Amendment and this weekend they’re offering free admission for Constitution Day celebrations.

📅 My calendar picks this week: See the hand-crafted Scarecrows in the Village, sip brews at the South Street Oktoberfest, and peep very cool kicks at the Fitler Club Sneakerball.

My notebook is currently filled with dispatches from the Fringe Festival (look out for more next week!). For now, I’m struck by not just the breadth of what’s being shown — more than 300 performances this month alone — but the intimacy of the settings. It’s my first time at most of these venues and I’ve loved stepping into the quirky arts spaces all around the city because it’s such a fun and effective way to get to know the local arts scene.

At the Painted Mug Cafe, I laughed hard at the five-actor ensemble all named Betty as they played with toy trucks and debated the merits of theater in Collective Rage. In the Fidget Space (which is, full disclosure, a four-floor walkup), I cried over Hannah Parke’s unforgettable vulnerability in Birth. Sparkle. Death., which bares her struggle with epilepsy and undergoing brain surgery through original songs and dark humor. At the Icebox Project Space, I cheered on the attitude-filled Billie Joe Armstrong character who visits Manflor’s protagonist Zeta in a peyote trip where he confronts gender, identity, and the King of Cumbia.

(Birth. Sparkle. Death. runs one more time at Fidget Space on Sept. 18; Manflor runs at the Icebox Project Space on Sept. 19 and 27.)

🎃 The spice of autumnal life: Yes, I’m talking about the notoriously beloved pumpkin spice. We’ve got a list of 22 Philly restaurants, bakeries, and bars where you can order pumpkin spice to your heart’s delight.

🧟 Frights for the whole family: Start planning for Halloween fun with these kid-friendly events from the South Street PumpkinFest to a Not-So-Spooky costume party.

😋 New tastes to try: Rittenhouse Square’s Bolo offers surprising Puerto Rican dishes like a lobster mofongo and red snapper with sofrito brulee — and, of course, a 60-bottle rum bar.

🍹 Zero-proof fun: Looking for a mocktail that’s actually worth drinking? We’ve got a guide to nonalcoholic spirits and zero-proof wine and beer around Philly.

🧛‍♀️ Look ahead: Fresh off her new super-catchy album, Olivia Rodrigo announced her Guts Tour and it’s coming to the Wells Fargo Center next summer.

Which one of these stars coming to Philly this fall is actually from here?

A) Lauryn Hill

B) Lil Uzi Vert

C) Janelle Monae

D) Travis Scott

📮 To let me know which of the above is correct, write me back.

This week, I watched the Philly-set lesbian classic The Watermelon Woman and I can’t recommend it enough — it’s hilarious and very ‘90s in the best way. Any old films on your watch list? Let me know!