🍂 The best Philly festivals this fall | Things to Do

It’s been a busy week, from the presidential debate at Philly’s National Constitution Center to last night’s splashy MTV Video Music Awards and this weekend’s eagerly-awaited Emmys. (Go Abbott Elementary!) Aside from national happenings, though, this month I’m most excited to explore the city’s incredible festival scene. What fest are you most looking forward to? Let me know!

It’s also the best time to sip Oktoberfest brews, don a costume and get silly at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, or try out rock climbing.

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

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It’s not officially fall yet but the season’s festival lineup already has me craving cider doughnuts and Oktoberfest brews. There’s the ongoing Fringe Festival, the upcoming Philadelphia Film Festival, neighborhood arts festivals, and so much more. We’ve got a roundup of 22 amazing festivals, street markets, parades, and block parties that will keep you moving and grooving all autumn long.

🪄 Grab your pointy hat: It’s Wizarding Weekend at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire at Lancaster County’s Mount Hope Estate & Winery, so suit up in your finest magical threads to enjoy turkey legs, sword fighting, jousting, and sing-alongs.

🍻 Perfectly paired with a pretzel: Time to say “prost!” Oktoberfest celebrations in Germany and around the world kick off in a couple weeks and Philadelphia breweries are totally prepared. From Märzen lagers to Festbiers, these are 16 excellent Oktoberfest and fall beers you can find around Philly.

⛰️ Climb the highest mountain: Or just the tallest indoor wall. We caught up with Philadelphians who have found community at rock climbing gyms in the city. Here’s where to get started.

🎥 From stage to screen: Philly rock and soul band Low Cut Connie takes the spotlight in a new concert film focused on front man Adam Weiner, who says he’s a shy square despite being a bona fide entertainer. Art Dealers digs into the band’s local history and explosive shows.

🎬 Live from Philadelphia: Saturday Night Live returns on Sept. 28 with new cast members including TikTok sketch comic Jane Wickline, who once worked as a copy editor in Philly.

📅 My calendar picks this week: Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Chestnut Hill Fall for the Arts, Scarecrows in the Village

This weekend is the 18th edition of Philly’s Black Women’s Arts Festival, running Sept. 14 and 15 at the Rotunda from 1 to 7 p.m. The free fest celebrates fine art, music, poetry, dance, and film from Black women in and around Philadelphia with numerous performances, food, and vendors. Festival founder Cassendre Xavier, a Haitian and Chinese American who calls herself the “renaissance negresse,” will perform her own songs playing guitar on Saturday. Here’s the full lineup.

🎭 If you’re in New York: Try to see incoming Philadelphia talent Anthony Roth Costanzo, who just took the top position at Opera Philadelphia. He’s delivering epic performances at the Little Island in Manhattan this month in The Marriage of Figaro — impressively singing all the lead roles.

🎂 Words of wisdom: Earlier this week, the legendary poet Sonia Sanchez turned 90 years old and several local organizations will host upcoming celebrations with her. We visited her home in Germantown to discuss her upcoming memoir, the presidential election, and her remarkable life.

🛼 Flying on four wheels: At Northeast Philly’s roller skating rink Philly Skateplex, the family of rink regulars is huge, but it’s open to people of all skill levels. Take a look inside the stylish spot.

🍂 Break out those boots: We’re on the cusp of fall, which officially begins on Sept. 22. We break down the Autumnal Equinox and Daylight Saving Time in this handy explainer.

🧑‍🍳 Yes, chef: Put on your chef’s hat and get ready to cook this season. A new cookbook shop opens in the Italian Market next month and we can’t wait to dig in.

Pop music critic Dan DeLuca breaks down the best upcoming shows.

🎸 Thursday: James McMurtry plays Ardmore Music Hall. The Texas songwriter is one of music’s sharpest lyricist, with a knack for novelistic detail that just might just be in his DNA; Lonesome Dove author Larry McMurtry is his father. James McMurtry’s infrequent albums — the most recent is 2021′s The Horses and the Hounds — are all stellar. Fellow Texas tunesmith BettySoo opens.

🎸 Also Thursday: Australian garage rock and power-pop band Hoodoo Gurus is best loved for its 1980s albums like Stoneage Romeos, which they will perform in its entirety at Underground Arts on Thursday. But the band has remained consistently creative up to and including 2022′s Chariot of the Gods.

🎸 Friday: PJ Harvey comes to The Met Philly for her first local performance since she played the Fillmore in 2018. Harvey is on tour for the first time since releasing her 2023 album I Inside The Old Year Dying that draws on Orlam, the epic poem that tapped into the mythology of England’s West Country, where she grew up on a sheep farm. Expect a career spanning show that includes a substantial dollop of the bone-rattling music with which she made her name in the 1990s.

🎸 Also Friday: Weezer sings the blues. Or at least, the River Cuomo-fronted veteran alt-pop band will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of their self-titled debut — known as The Blue Album — by playing it in its entirety at the Wells Fargo Center. Yes, that’s the one produced by Ric Ocasek that includes both “Buddy Holly” and “Undone (The Sweater Song).”

🎸 Tuesday: The War on Drugs arrives at the Mann on Tuesday on the Zen Diagram Tour in tandem with The National, the Matt Berninger-fronted band whose members include Bryce and Aaron Dessner, the latter of whom is a chief Taylor Swift collaborator. The Drugs is releasing its second in-concert album — appropriately titled Live Drugs Again — which includes a selection of songs from the band’s catalog brought vividly to life on tour dates in 2022 and 2023 with their new seven-member lineup which now includes recent addition Eliza Hardy Jones, who recently released an excellent solo album of her own called Pickpocket. Lucius, the duo of Jessica Wolfe and Holly Laessig, which is a frequent TWOD collaborator is sure to join the band on stage at the Mann.

Read more music picks.

Don’t just take it from me — New Hope, Pa., earned a rare shout out this week when Travel + Leisure named it one of the 10 best small towns in the country, specifically for its arts and culture scene. It’s no surprise to anyone who’s visited the quirky, charming town that was central to 20th century impressionism and the American craft movement. Did you know it once hosted performances from Liza Minnelli and Robert Redford? Those are some serious bragging rights. Do you agree? Or is there another small town in Pennsylvania that you would argue should have that title instead? Let me know!

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This week I watched the new Sopranos documentary, Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos, and caught up with director Alex Gibney. It’s such a fascinating look back at one of the best TV shows of all time — that not even the cast saw coming. Look out for my story coming out tomorrow!