🐉 Celebrate the Year of the Horse| Things to do

Last week was for the lovers. This week, well, it’s for the culture. The region will be booming with celebrations all weekend.

Fashion lovers can catch the latest from local and international designers at Philly Fashion Week runways. Home improvement-obsessives and amateur DIYers can stop by the annual Philly Home + Garden Show for gardening and landscaping tips.

Then there’s Lunar New Year, which marks the arrival of spring, and another year of good fortune. Dozens of parades, tai chi demonstrations, dance performances, and other celebrations will continue throughout the region.

And I can’t forget about the Barnes Foundation’s new exhibition, celebrating the work of famed post-Impressionist painter Henri Rousseau, running through Sunday.

Read on to find more exciting celebrations happening this weekend.

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

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Once again, there will be music on the beach in Atlantic City this summer, thanks to a new collaboration between Visit Atlantic City and Live Nation.

Electronic dance music trio Rüfüs Du Sol will kick-off a wave of ocean-side shows after their Aug. 29 concert at the A.C. boardwalk this summer.

Their performance will mark a return to the tradition of A.C. beach shows, which have included ocean-side concerts that have included Pink in 2017, the Vans Warped Tour in 2019, the pop-punk Adjacent Music Festival in 2023, and others.

For the last two years, there’s been an absence of large-scale A.C. beach shows, though Philly impresario Dave P.’s Making Waves festival drew a crowd last year.

The collaboration between Visit Atlantic City and Live Natioon means more shows at the shore, and not just in the summer.

Read more of my colleague Dan Deluca’s story here. And don’t miss out on some of his concert picks for this weekend below.

🖼️ Make-it-POP!: Join InLiquid on Thursday at Crane Arts for an inside look at Make-it-POP!, a vibrant group exhibition showcasing InLiquid members’ bold portfolios, cultural commentary, and playful imagery.

🎨 Meet me at the Barnes: Explore the work of artist Henri Rousseau, which will fill the Barnes Foundation as part of a collaboration between the Benjamin Franklin Parkway museum and the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris.

🎶 Musical down the Shore: Compassion Cafe in Beach haven is a nonprofit that employs neurodivergent adults. It is launching its sixth season with Be Our Guest, performed by its employees and inspired by the evergreen Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast.

🧵 Step into your best: Join thousands of fashion lovers for Philly Fashion Week, now in its 20th year. From now through Saturday, there will be runway shows, design competitions, pop-up shops and more throughout the city.

📅 My calendar picks this week: Black History Month Family Fun Night at the Constitution Center and Punk Rock Flea Market at 23rd Street Armory.

The Year of the Horse is charging its way into Center City this weekend.

Head to Dilworth Park to celebrate the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar, signifying the start of spring and the ushering of good fortune.

The celebration includes a red envelope giveaway to the first 100 guests, a Kun-Yang Lin/Dancer performance, Chinese opera by Jiaye Xu of Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance.

The celebration closes out with the Philadelphia Suns performance at 6:30 p.m.

Check out some more Lunar Year celebrations happening this weekend.

🏡 A little home improvement: Nearly 300 exhibitors will be at Montgomery County’s Greater Philadelphia Expo Center for the annual Philly Home + Garden Show. Specialists will offer tips on everything from gardening to landscaping, architecture, construction, electronics, interior design, and more.

⛸️ The Winter at Dilworth wrap-up: The Winter at Dilworth Park will wrap up select attractions starting this Sunday. The Rothman Orthopedics ice Rink and Cabin will pack things up this week, so bundle up and put on your best ice skates for a final lap this weekend.

🐉 Lunar New Year festivities: Among the most popular Lunar Year celebrations is at Rail Park. Head there to see live lion dances, tai chi performances, K-pop workshop, and an appearance from the Fletcher Urban Riding Club on Saturday from 1-4 p.m.

🎡 A festival of multiple traditions: Stop by the Mummers Museum for the Festival of Many Colors. The new multiweek event series highlights the Mummers Parade, Philly Caribbean Carnival and Carnaval de Puebla. There will be hands-on workshops to design garments, forge tools, and learn traditional dance that run through May 17.

Pop music critic Dan DeLuca lists the top concerts this weekend and a few holiday pop-up jams happening this month.

🎸 Thursday: After playing in Philly for his solo tour last year, songwriter Alejandro Escovedo is back, plugged in, and ready to rock with his band Electric Saints at Sellersville Theater on Thursday.

🎸 Friday: Philly songwriter Ben Arnold is home to promote his new solo album, XL. He will perform at WXPN’s Free At Noon with the 48 Hour Orchestra on Friday.

🎤 Saturday: R&B superstar Miguel, who’s played multiple times at the Made in America festival, returns to Philly for a headlining show at the Met Philly for his 2025 album, CAOS.

🎤 Tuesday: Mariah the Scientist, who’s enraptured fans with her sultry vocals and chilling love songs since her major label debut Master in 2019, will headline the Met Philly on Tuesday.

— Earl Hopkins

Enjoy everything the region has to offer this weekend. And per Lunar New Year tradition, avoid wearing black and white if you can. Trust me, nobody likes a killjoy.