Philadelphia Events and Festivals

(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - PA, USA)

Philadelphia offers visitors an enticing calendar of festivals, events and things to do throughout the year. The birthplace of the nation takes its Fourth of July festivities seriously and Philadelphia's massive Mummers Parade which kicks the year off is an exciting 300-year-old event, attracting thousands of dressed-up participants on New Year's Day.

Food, flower and arts festivals are also popular and the city of Philadelphia hosts a major men's and women's international pro cycling event, one of the biggest of its type in the country.

National Public Holidays

• 1st January - New Year's Day
• Third Monday in January - Martin Luther King Day
• 12th February - Lincoln's Birthday
• Third Monday in February - Washington's Birthday
• Last Monday in May - Memorial Day
• 4th July - Independence Day
• First Monday in September - Labor Day
• Second Monday in October - Columbus Day
• 11th November - Veterans Day
• 4th Thursday in November - Thanksgiving
• 25th December - Christmas Day

Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015

January

• Mummers Parade - New Year's Day, a parade of some 15,000 Mummers along the streets of Philadelphia consisting of comic clubs, fancy clubs, fancy brigades and string bands
• Chinese New Year - late February, starting on the New Moon and ending with the Lantern Festival on the next full moon two weeks later, Philadelphia's Chinatown is host to this annual event

February

• Philadelphia International Auto Show - late January to early February, an impressive display of more than 700 classic and luxury vehicles held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center
• South Street Mardi Gras for Fat Tuesday - Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, Philadelphia's bohemian neighborhood, South Street, celebrates the colorful Mardi Gras
• African American History Month - throughout February, celebrating African-American history with various events held around the city

March

• Philadelphia Flower Show - early to mid-March, this 100-hundred-year-old festival of color sees North America's largest collection of orchids
• St. Patrick's Day Parade - March 17th, the annual Irish parade is one of the biggest in the country and features numerous floats and participants followed by vast consumptions of Guinness

April

• Spring Splash on South Street - Easter, masses of Easter revelers with their Easter bonnets parade down the city's hip South Street

May

• Dad Vail Regatta - mid-May, America's largest college regatta sees schools from across the country competing on the Schuylkill River
• Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival - late May, the spring celebration of gallery exhibits, music and dance takes place at the trendy Rittenhouse Square and from Broad to 19th on Walnut Street

June

• First Union US Pro Cycling Championship - early June, starting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, this pro cycling championship is the oldest in the country and the best of the Pro Cycling Tour, which includes the steep wall climb up the Manayunk Wall
• First Union Liberty Classic - early June, an international race for women cyclists, the most revered in America
• Manayunk Arts Festival - late June, with hundreds of thousands of spectators, the Manayunk Arts Festival is the Delaware Valley's largest outdoor arts and crafts show with hundreds of artists from across the nation displaying their works here

July

• Fourth of July - July 4th, Independence Day celebrations kick off in America's birth place with scores of free events lasting throughout the day

August

• No significant festivals or events in Philadelphia in August

September

• Puerto Rican Week Festival Parade - late September, this 40-year-old parade celebrates Puerto Rican culture through the grand Desfile Puertorriqueño parade and the Miss Puerto Rico-Philadelphia pageant
• Philadelphia Fringe Festival - from early to mid-September, over one thousand artists give performances in dance, theater, music, poetry, puppetry and visual arts
• Popnoise Festival - mid-September, held at the University of Pennsylvania, the Popnoise Festival promotes artistic development in the city

October

• Columbus Day Parade - mid-October, a colorful parade on Broad Street marking the day of the great explorer in Philadelphia
• OutFest - mid-October, popular Gay Pride event
• Manayunk Annual Antiques and Collectibles Festival - late October, a gathering of around 250 dealers from across the US, with numerous antiques and collectibles on offer covering all genres

November

• Thanksgiving Day Parade - late November, a three-hour parade consisting of several floats and marching bands as well as a youth choir and a Santa show

December

• Matzo Ball - December 24, a holiday party for the Jewish singletons population of Philadelphia, this event also takes place in other major cities across the country
• New Year's Eve - December 31st, the main event of the evening is a dazzling fireworks display over the Delaware River