It’s officially October! No more telling yourself, “It’s still September so it’s still kinda summer, right?” It’s autumn in Philadelphia, and there is a ton of stuff going on in our city this fall that can keep you busy. So get your flannels, boots, and scarves on, hit the town, and check out some of these fall activities this fall.
1. Philly’s First Cheesesteak Festival
The timeless Philadelphia dish is getting a festival of its own this year and it’s a chance to taste of over 40 different Philly’s Cheesesteaks. The Philly Cheeseteak festival is taking place at Lincoln Financial Field on Oct. 24th from 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Along with the world famous food, there will be carnival games, live music, and a visit from baseball legend, Darren Daulton. Order your tickets now here.
2. Eastern State Penitentiary: Terror Behind the Walls
While this old prison is open year round for tours, the Eastern State Penitentiary offers a much creepier second option for fear seekers during the fall months. Terror Behind the walls is open now until Nov. 7th after 7 p.m. Walk through the depths of the jail and get spooked by creepy inmates, zombies, evil scientists, and many other scary figures. Test your bravery this fall and visit their website for tickets.
3. Harry Potter Festival
Calling all wizards, the Annual Harry Potter Festival is coming for two days to Chestnut Hill. There will be fun events for the youth such as mazes and scavenger hunts; and for the adult wizards, the events kick off with a pub crawl. Feel the magic of Hogwarts from Oct. 16th to the 17th. Tickets can be found here.
4.Bloktober Fest
On Oct. 3rd from noon to 9 p.m. at South Street West, hang out at Bloktober fest, a celebration of “Beer, Food, Music, and Philly!” Satisfy your tastebuds with 30 different types of beer and tasty local food. You can also to some live music as you take in the local scenery. Visit this page for more details.
5. Temple Football vs. Notre Dame
Yes, one of the biggest events this fall involves Temple University’s own football team. On Saturday, Oct. 21st, Temples 3-0 team will take on the no. 6 team in the nation, Notre Dame. Temple has already upset Penn State this year after a 74-year losing streak to the Nittany Lions, and they beat early conference favorite Cincinnati on the road. Cheer on the Cherry and the White! For more info, visit here.
6. The Philadelphia Film Festival
Grab your over-priced popcorn and soda and enjoy dozens of films from around the world starting now until Nov. 1st. Academy Award winning Birdman premiered at last years film festival, so expectations are set high again for this years festival. Click here for more information on The Philadelphia Film Festival.
7. DesignPhiladelphia
Philadelphia is known to be on the cutting-edge for new design and art. This citywide festival displays design and art and features six different programming tracks. For 9 whole days, Oct. 8th – 16th, there will be plenty of time to observe art from around the world. With this year’s theme being SHIFT, many of the projects will be based on the constantly evolving style of Philadelphia. Most of the events are free of charge and open to the public. For more details, click here.