Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation

CONTACT:

Caroline Bean

GPTMC

(215) 599-7433

PHILADELPHIA TOURISM NEWS
Summer/Fall 2002

Philly’s More Fun When You Stay Up Late

This summer, visitors to the region are invited to see for themselves why Philly’s More Fun When You Stay Up Late. With the new Philly Triple Night Hotel Package, developed by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) and the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association (GPHA), visitors can check into their favorite hotel any Thursday or Friday from June 27 through September 8, stay two nights and receive the third night free. The Philly Triple Night Hotel Package, available at more than 40 hotels throughout the city and region, also includes a fun gift upon check-in and a Stay-Up-Late Guide with information about what to do after the sun sets. Rates for the three-night hotel package start at $168. Incredible Stay-Up-Late Rates are also available at most hotels for one-night stays. To reserve the hotel package, visitors can log on to www.gophila.com or call their favorite hotel.

In addition to an eclectic selection of restaurants and nightclubs, the city is host to plenty of special events and cultural happenings that will keep night owls entertained all evening long. Here’s just a sampling:

Festival of Fountains, an illuminated, musical fountain display is the thrice-weekly show at Longwood Gardens. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until August 31. (610) 388-1000, www.longwoodgardens.com

The Peco Energy Multicultural Series celebrating Islamic, Italian, Irish, German, Hispanic, Indian, Caribbean African American and Mexican cultures keeps Penn’s Landing bustling through September. (215) 922-2FUN, www.pennslandingcorp.com

Cheer on the Phillies and the Philly Phanatic during a baseball game at Veterans Stadium. Through September. (215) 463-6000, www.phillies.mlb.com

The X Games, ESPN’s 8^th annual action-sports competition at the First Union Center Complex, will feature daredevil athletics on land, sea and air, plus an interactive village with activities for kids. August 15-August 19. Broad Street & Pattison Avenue, www.philadelphiaxgames.org

Modeled after the festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, Old City’s Fringe Festival is a forum for national and international artists to perform their works, ranging from poetry and dance to video and puppetry. August 30-September 14. (215) 413-9006, www.pafringe.org

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts Hosts Festive Summer Programming

The Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, a $265 million, glass-enclosed performing arts facility on the Avenue of the Arts, kicks off its summer season on June 21 with an all-night Summer Solstice Celebration. The 12-hour event features a variety of musical performances, poetry readings, storytelling, dancing and more. The Center’s summer programming continues with themed weekend festivals on weekends in July and Wednesday Night Dance Parties throughout July and August.

The Kimmel Center’s resident companies include The Philadelphia Orchestra, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops^®, PHILADANCO, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and American Theater Arts for Youth. (215) 893-1999, www.kimmelcenter.org

Step Back In Time This Summer in Philadelphia

Philadelphia is a living textbook for American history. This summer, visitors can explore a celebrated war ship, relive the Revolution or talk politics with Ben Franklin. And that’s just the beginning.

Celebrate America’s birthday in its birthplace from June 28-July 7, 2002 during Sunoco Welcome America. The festival features readings of the Declaration of Independence, fireworks, concerts, parades, a tapping of the Liberty Bell and more than 50 free events. This year, the USS Cole and the Magna Carta will be in Philadelphia over July Fourth, bringing even more honor and history to the celebration. The Magna Carta will remain on display at the Independence Visitor Center through spring 2003. (800) 770-5883, www.americasbirthday.com

Lights of Liberty Show, a nighttime sound and light spectacular that brings the nation’s most historic square mile to life after the sun sets, entertains visitors for the 4^th season in Philadelphia’s Independence Historical National Park. The show recreates America's struggle for Independence with 3-D sound, five-story projections, music by the Philadelphia Orchestra and the voices of celebrities like Walter Cronkite. This summer, Family Friday Nights at Lights debuts, featuring activities geared towards families. (877) GO-2-1776, www.lightsofliberty.org

Historic re-enactors take to the streets of Philadelphia each day (through October) to welcome visitors to the country’s most historic square mile. Re-enactors such as Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin use drama, dance and interactive storytelling to teach visitors about the events of the American Revolution. The actors perform more than 270 performances weekly, including a new play about Betsy Ross. (215) 629-5801, www.historicphiladelphia.org

Patriots or Traitors?, a two-year celebration of the 225^th anniversary of the struggle for Philadelphia, kicks into high gear this June with events running every weekend day throughout the month. (610) 834-1550, www.valleyforge.org

Go Up, Up and Away at the Philadelphia Zoo This Summer

A major new attraction will float into the Philadelphia Zoo just in time for the summer season. The Channel 6 Zooballoon, a tethered, helium-filled balloon, is one of only three such rides in the country. Guests on the region’s only passenger-carrying balloon will be treated to a spectacular view of the zoo, as and the city skyline. Zooballoon is airborne June-November. (215) 243-1100, www.philadelphiazoo.org

Concerts (and Movies) Under the Stars

For an unforgettable summer night, grab a blanket, a picnic basket and a buddy and head to a concert under the stars. There are plenty to choose from in the Philadelphia region. Below is just a sampling:

The Arpeggio Jazz and Music Ensemble returns to the 36^th Street Plaza in University City on Thursday evenings through August for the free 36^th Street Jazz concert series.

Harry Connick, Jr., Frederica Von Stade, Tony Bennett and the Irish Tenors are among the performers who will take the stage at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts during the 2002 summer season. (215) 546-7900, www.manncenter.org

Summer Nights Under the Stars resumes this May at the Chaddsford Winery. The concert series, featuring jazz, swing, oldies and opera, also includes a wine tasting. (610) 388-6221

Those who prefer movies to music need not fret. The Mercer Museum is hosting an Under the Stars Movie series every Tuesday in July and August. Among the feature films are It Came From Outer Space and The Truman Show. (215) 345-0210, www.mercermuseum.org

Also showing movies is Marathon on the Square, a restaurant on Rittenhouse Row in Philadelphia. Every Wednesday night this summer, movie fans can grab a seat and a themed drink and watch favorites such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s (accompanied by the Holly Golightly Martini) and The Graduate (with the Mrs. Robinson Special Drink). (215) 731-0800

Special Event Hotel Packages Help Visitors Truly Experience Philadelphia

The word is out – Philly’s More Fun When You Sleep Over. That’s why visitors attending special events are encouraged to stay the night in order to truly enjoy their city experience. Hotel packages include:

Sesame Place "Declaration of Fun," Through September 2, 2002

The nation’s only Sesame Street^TMtheme park and the nation’s first children’s museum have buddied up for a Center City hotel package, which includes two nights accommodations, two one-day passes to Sesame Place, two tickets to Please Touch Museum^® and the Stars & Stripes value book. Hotels include the Embassy Suites Hotel Center City, (215) 561-1776; Doubletree Center City, (215) 893-1600; Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing, (215) 928-1234.

Bloomsday Weekend, June 14-16, 2002

Bloomsday is the Rosenbach Museum & Library’s annual holiday celebrating James Joyce’s Ulysses, a manuscript that holds a treasured place in their collection. The central event takes place on June 16 with a public reading of the book, in honor of the day the novel’s hero walked through Dublin. Hotels participating in the package include: Rittenhouse Square Bed & Breakfast, $167 and up, (877) 791-6500; Sheraton Rittenhouse Square, $149.95, (800) 325-3535.

American Sublime, June 15-August 25, 2002

Exhibit at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) showcases the work of 19^th-century American landscape painters. PAFA is the first of only two venues in the United States to display the exhibit. Hotels offering a package are The Four Seasons, Clarion Suites, The Latham and the Rittenhouse Bed & Breakfast. (215) 972-7600, www.pafa.org

"Room, Reel and Rail" for The International Gay and Lesbian Film Fest, July 10-22, 2002

Film debuts, panel discussions and special activities highlight the 12-day Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. The package includes breakfast for two, one-day cinema pass for two and discount savings on Amtrak. Westin Philadelphia, $139 per night,
(215) 563-1600, (877) YES-RAIL

The Redevelopment of the Country’s Most Historic Square Mile Continues

The $38 million Independence Visitor Center, located on Independence Mall, opened in November 2001 to orient visitors to Independence National Historical Park (INHP), the City of Philadelphia and the region. In late summer, 2002, a new sculpture will be unveiled on the building’s south wall that depicts a most unusual view of the Declaration of Independence – words pertaining to slavery that were drafted but cut from the document will be shown once again, but filled in with crushed glass. (800) 537-7676

The Liberty Bell, the nation’s most beloved symbol of freedom, is getting a new home. Work on the $12.4 million facility is expected to be complete in March 2003. The Center will be built along 6^th Street between Chestnut & Market Streets. It will feature a chamber to house the Liberty Bell and an indoor and outdoor area with exhibits and interpretive displays. (215) 597-0660, www.nps.gov/inde

The $185 million National Constitution Center, a stirring interactive museum and the first dedicated to honor and perpetuate the ideas embodied in the U.S. Constitution, is scheduled to open on July 4, 2003. Its goal is to increase understanding of the relevance of one of the greatest documents ever written.
(215) 923-0004, www.constitutioncenter.org

BYOBs Are Gaining Popularity Throughout the Philadelphia Region

Fabulous food doesn’t need to cost a fortune. Getting great food at a great price and being able to bring your own wine while you’re at it explains the popularity of the new crop of BYOBs around town.

The word is out about Django, owned by husband and wife team Bryan Sikora and Aimee Olexy. The neighborhood restaurant features European dishes, regional ingredients and moderate prices. 526 S. 4^th Street, (215) 922-7151
Mustapha Rouissiya, the Moroccan-born chef behind Figs, cooks up a Mediterranean feast that includes Israeli, Moroccan and Spanish cuisine in this sunny Fairmount space painted with colors that evoke Rouissiya’s homeland. 2501 Meredith Street, (215) 978-8440

Gilmore’s, owned by Peter Gilmore, who was chef de cuisine at Le Bec-Fin for 22 years, is a casual, family-friendly restaurant featuring self-assured and affordable French cuisine.
133 E. Gay Street, West Chester, (610) 431-2800

Pif, a tiny bistro run by chef David Ansill and his French wife, Catherine, is a new BYOB charmer in the Italian Market area of South Philly. The menu changes daily, depending on what looks good at the Market. 1009 S. 8^th Street, (215) 625-2923

Major Developments and Events Are on the Horizon in Philadelphia

With the Republican National Convention, the X Games and NBA All-Star Weekend taking place in Philadelphia in recent years, the city has enjoyed being the center of the country’s attention. With more major developments and events on the horizon, Philadelphia doesn’t have to give up basking in the glow of the national spotlight anytime soon. Here’s what’s coming up:

The Philadelphia Museum of Art welcomes Degas and the Dance from February 12-
May 11, 2003. Through some 150 works in all media, the exhibit explores Degas’ 40-year exploration of the dance world.
New stadiums are currently under construction in South Philadelphia for two of Philadelphia’s sports teams. The Eagles will move into their new home in August 2003. The 66,000-seat, state-of-the-art Lincoln Financial Field features improved seats and sight lines, dramatically improved entertainment systems, an exterior plaza and luxury seats. Just a few blocks away is the Phillies Ballpark, a 43,000-seat, natural grass and dirt field, expected to open in April 2004.

Lewis and Clark 200^th Anniversary Tour (1803-1806) is a major, traveling exhibit of expedition artifacts going to five cities between January 2004 and September 2006. The tour visits Philadelphia from November 6, 2004–March 4, 2005.

An international celebration of Benjamin Franklin’s life is taking place in Philadelphia in 2006. Hosted by six Philadelphia institutions in honor of Franklin’s 300^th Birthday, the commemoration includes special events and exhibits including a traveling display entitled The Creation of Benjamin Franklin, American Citizen of the World.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation is a non-profit organization dedicated to generating awareness of and visitation to Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the new Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.

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Note to Editors: For story angles and photographic images of Philadelphia and its surrounding countryside, visit www.gophila.com/pressroom. June 2002

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