⛳ Party at the parkway pop-up | Things to Do

Hi y’all, it’s great to be back in the swampy streets of Philadelphia! The heat is still kicking, so I hope everyone is staying safe and hydrated out there. The good news is that summertime fun is easy to find all over the region — and some great options are free.

Head to the Oval for a beer and mini-golf match, see Abbott Elementary’s Lisa Ann Walter at one of her three Helium Comedy Club shows, or find a family-friendly hike near you.

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

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Recently opened for the summer, the Oval is Benjamin Franklin Parkway’s seasonal beer garden and festival with family-friendly arts and crafts, movie nights, and live music scheduled every weekend through Aug. 25. The lineup includes cumbia, break dancing, traditional Chinese and Indonesian dancing, and a drum line, with concerts curated by Philly’s own Snacktime. Plus, there is Quizzo, yoga, mini-golf, and other fun. Food and drinks are pay-as-you-go and admission is free.

🎤 On the record: Lisa Ann Walter, one of the many icons in Abbott Elementary, is in town this weekend for a three-night stint at Helium Comedy Club, where she’s recording her debut comedy special. We asked her about how she nailed the Philly accent with tips from Bradley Cooper.

📽️ Classic Philly: The 1987 rom-com Mannequin (ranked #9 on our best Philly movies list) is screening outdoors at Mifflin Triangle in East Passyunk on Friday with a special guest appearance from Emmy, the titular mannequin. Bring your own chair, it’s free.

👟 Take a forest bath: Find the right hike for you and the family near Philadelphia. From Four Mills Nature Reserve to John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, these are the best family-friendly hikes for the summer.

📺 Root for your local faves: Head to the Bok Building on Thursday night to see dazzling work by Philly musicians and filmmakers in the Music Video Showcase. Plus, it’s free.

🖼️ An art mystery: Of all the Pennsylvania artists represented in the State Capitol building, painter Mary Cassatt is, strangely, missing. Turns out, she was meant to be there — and even created two paintings for the Lieutenant Governor’s suite that are now on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art — but she mysteriously never sent the artworks. Here’s why.

🎥 Indie films: The Scribe Video Center in West Philly kicks off a series of outdoor film screenings this weekend, highlighting Philadelphia activists and artists making short documentaries, poetry, comedy, and music. The Street Movies! series runs through Aug. 31 in venues across the city with a lineup representing a diverse array of artists and experiences in free, family-friendly, and community-minded settings.

⚽ For fútbol fans: Copa América and the Euros are over (shoutout to Messi forever and to the victorious Argentina team’s hilarious clapback at Drake betting against them) but soccer fans don’t have to wait long for another match. Philly will host the English Premier League this month, with Arsenal and Liverpool playing July 31 at the Linc. Here’s what you need to know.

📅 My calendar picks this week: The Katika Food Truck Festival, Summer Ale Festival, and Chinatown Summer Festival

Ben Franklin’s wooden music stand, pickle-shaped candy molds from Young’s Confectionery, and Abe Lincoln’s Philadelphia-made bowler hat are part of more than 650 unique artifacts, objects, and artworks in the new exhibit, “Philadelphia Revealed: Unpacking the Attic.” The show presents an array of historic treasures from the Atwater Kent collection (a.k.a. the former Philadelphia History Museum) stewarded by Drexel University. There’s sports memorabilia like former Mayor Michael Nutter’s 2008 World Series ring, souvenirs from Philadelphia celebrations of the nation’s Centennial and Bicentennial, and notable instruments, like the first piano made in the U.S., as well as salvaged artifacts that were nearly lost to time (or the trash can). Look out for my preview of the most fascinating things to see!

A sneak peek: I asked curator Page Talbott why she’s calling this particular slice of the collection the attic. “It’s sort of the found objects that you haven’t really paid too much attention to. Oftentimes, things move to the attic when they’re no longer fitting for your day-to-day life, but they still hold value. So many of these items were not recently displayed, if ever, but they are iconic in the sense that they hold wonderful stories that people can relate to,” she said. Visit the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to explore the collection and boost your Philly history trivia skills.

🎤 Turn up the volume: Meet N3WYRKLA, the singer whose name belies her true Philly ties. Fresh off her set at the Roots Picnic last month, she released her latest single “CH3RRY” and caught up with The Inquirer to tell us her favorite late-night taco spot.

⛴️ Live on the water: What does “lake life” look like in Pennsylvania? For some, it’s renting houseboats. If you’re looking to experience (a smidgen of) what Marcus from The Bear enjoyed in Copenhagen, there’s only one lake in Pa. where you can still rent them.

🔔 History on the move: Queen Elizabeth II gifted the U.S. the Bicentennial Bell as a birthday gift in 1976, but it hasn’t been seen publicly since 2013. Now visitors can see the 12,000-pound bell — which was cast in the same foundry as the original Liberty Bell — in the Benjamin Rush Garden. The inscription reads “Let freedom ring,” a line from “My Country, ‘tis of Thee” and the new Pa. license plate. Head to Old City to see the bell for yourself.

🍅 Take a bite: It’s tomato season, which means it’s a perfect time for a refreshing BLT. I’m already hungry reading our great guide to Philly’s best BLTs and tomato sandwiches.

Inquirer pop music critic Dan DeLuca and classical music critic Peter Dobrin break down the best concerts coming up this weekend and next week.

🎸 Friday: Yes, Bruce Springsteen, Zach Bryan, Pink, Usher, and Green Day are all playing Philadelphia before autumn rolls around. But the Olivia Rodrigo show at the Wells Fargo Center this Friday is the hottest ticket of the summer, if we’re going by resale ticket price. If you don’t already have ducats in hand — or on your phone — you’re not going to be able to get a resale ticket on StubHub for less than $600, and seats near the stage are going for $1,100 and up.

🎸 Also Friday: Haitian American flutist and Princeton University music professor Nathalie Joachim plays Free at Noon at World Cafe Live, and Dave Matthews Band begins its annual two night stand at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden.

🎸 Thursday: Fans of Anvil: The Story of Anvil, the classic 2008 rockumentary about the Canadian heavy metal band, can see their heroes in the flesh at the Sellersville Theater on Thursday. Also on Thursday — appropriately enough — Thursday plays the Anchor Rock Club in Atlantic City. That same night, Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band is at the Dell Music Center. Sug Daniels and the Sweet Boys are at Johnny Brenda’s, and Ethiopian American rapper Sideshow headlines a triple bill at the mystery venue known as Dumpsta Out Back. Ticket info and a venue address reveal via handstamp.com/e/sideshow.

🎸 Saturday: Saturday’s pick-to-click is Queen of Jeans at PhilaMOCA. The Miriam Devora-fronted four-piece Philly band has just released All Again, its third and best album, a confident and catchy song cycle about a relationship that you can’t quit, hard as you might try. “Let’s start at the top,” Devora sings on “Horny Hangover,” “I fell desperately in love with someone I knew was bound to [blank] me up.” Rather relatable, no? Can we get a song of the summer redo? I desperately need to add this to my playlist. Shalom opens the show.

🎻 Monday: The Baroque orchestra visits Mount Gretna Playhouse, about an hour and a half west-northwest of Center City, for Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with Apollo artistic director Jeannette Sorrell and violinist Alan Choo. The rest of the Gretna Music season in the open-air theater includes string quartets, pianists, and other chamber music from now through Sept. 7.

🎸 Tuesday: Two stadium shows are also rolling in on Tuesday: Foo Fighters at Hershey Park Stadium in the band’s first tour since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins. It’s the Foo Fighters’ only Philly-vicinity appearance. Plus Def Leppard, Journey, and Steve Miller Band at Citizens Bank Park.

🎻 Wednesday: Assistant conductor Tristan Rais-Sherman leads the Philadelphia Orchestra in a program at the Mann Center that also includes Adolphus Hailstork’s An American Port of Call, Florence Price’s Symphony No. 3, and James P. Johnson’s Victory Stride, which might be one of the most lusciously ecstatic four minutes in all of American music.

Emmy nominations are out this week! Looks like the comedy categories will once again see Abbott Elementary duking it out with Chicago restaurant dramedy The Bear (among other nominees for outstanding comedy series, like Reservation Dogs and Hacks). Abbott and Bear are such different shows with one that’s ha-ha funny and the other that’s more like an anxiety trip with some sideshow antics. Still, I love how both shows feel like love letters to their respective cities.

“We know Quinta Brunson’s mockumentary about life at a Philadelphia public school is hilarious. But is Jeremy Allen White’s brooding Chicago chef Carmy that funny? We aren’t sure,” writes my colleague Elizabeth Wellington. “We are sure, however, The Bear is great.” What do you think? Which show is your favorite? Let me know!

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This week I’m starting The Acolyte because I love Star Wars and Manny Jacinto (whom you might remember as the lovable doofus Jason Mendoza in The Good Place). What are you watching or reading this week? Let me know!