☀️ It’s festival time | Things to Do

As we’re still in this weird transitory weather, it might be hard to plan exactly what to do around town for the weekend, but luckily Philadelphia has lots going on both indoors (Record Store Day!) and outdoors (tulip fields in bloom!) to keep us busy. What are you looking forward to this spring? Let me know!

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

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Despite the recent chill, it’s a wonderful time to be outside in the sunshine, and there’s no better way to explore the city than through its rich and varied street festivals. Now’s your chance to hear wonderful jazz, taste new foods, celebrate pandas, find artisan crafts, and climb greased poles across the city. We’ve got your essential guide to Philly’s spring markets and street fests.

​​🌷 Floral fun: Millions of tulips in the region are blossoming, providing dazzling views and incredible photo backgrounds — as well as chances to pick your own flowers. Find the best tulip fields nearby.

🐢 Newborn cutie: International news broke at the Philadelphia Zoo last week when 100-year-old Galapagos tortoise Mommy delivered four hatchlings, breaking a record as a first-time mom. Ahead of their public debut later this month, take a look at the adorable and endangered tortoise babies.

🎭 Listen: The popular musical Dreamgirls is playing at the Walnut Street Theatre this month, bringing incredible vocals and some questionable set design choices. We break down the highs and lows in our review.

📺 Catch up: The disarmingly funny crime thriller Dope Thief — set and filmed partially in Philly — is currently airing weekly on AppleTV+. I caught up with star Brian Tyree Henry, who wound up living in Center City for more than a year while filming and fell in love with Philadelphia.

🪘 Dreamy combo: Celebrate National Poetry Month and National Jazz Appreciation Month at West Philly’s Abyssinia on Friday with an experimental and immersive jazz/spoken word concert from poet Marshall James Kavanaugh, drummer Karen Smith, and artist Jason Killinger. It’s called Dream Here Now.

​🧶 Broken threads: The beloved yarn display at Passyunk Square’s Singing Fountain was vandalized recently, but community members are already knitting a replacement.

📅 My calendar picks this week: Botanicals in Bloom – A Secret Garden Speakeasy, FashCon Philly 2025, Open Streets: West Walnut.

I’ve got a fun recommendation from my colleague Rita Giordano:

It’s PAWS’ Kitten Week! The Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society is hosting various kitten-related adoption events, including a foster open house this weekend in Old City; a kitten shower happy hour and cat quizzo at Carbon Copy West next week; and another happy hour at American Sardine Bar next weekend. It’s a great chance to learn more about fostering, and even if you’re not ready for the commitment you can still meet some furry friends.

🪕 Looking ahead: The Philly Folk Festival will be back in action in August at the Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford. The 62nd edition of the fest features headliners John Gorka and Sonia Disappear Fear. See the full lineup announced so far.

🎈 Big birthday: In honor of the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday in 2026, Philly will host 52 parties (one every week) to celebrate major firsts that happened in the city, from the first zoo to the first ice cream soda.

🍽️ Doors opening: Five new restaurants — two Japanese, one Korean, and three Italian spots — are opening in the suburbs of Philly. Here’s what we know so far.

🔥 Watch list: The celebrity interview series Hot Ones is known for making guests sweat. Eagles star Saquon Barkley made an appearance recently and did surprisingly well.

☕ Trendy and tasty: A Bryn Mawr couple just opened Haraz Coffee House, the first spot delivering a Yemeni coffee vibe in Philadelphia. We’re obsessed.

Pop music critic Dan DeLuca and classical music critic Peter Dobrin break down the best upcoming shows.

🪕 Thursday: Bluegrass banjo great Tony Trischka brings his Earl Jam — a tribute to banjo pioneer Earl Scruggs — to World Cafe Live.

🎤 Friday: Think Cory Booker’s 25-hour speech on the Senate floor last week was impressive? Los Angeles alt-rapper Murs — whose acronym stands for “Making the Universe Recognize and Submit,” among other things — rapped for 24 hours straight on Twitch in 2016. He plays MilkBoy Philly.

🎻 Friday and Sunday: Bernstein’s Candide comes to the Forrest Theatre. The overture we hear all the time. The operetta it was written to open, not so much. To help celebrate the school’s centenary, the Curtis Institute of Music mounts a production of a work by one of its starriest alums, Leonard Bernstein. David Charles Abell conducts, Emma Griffin directs, and Jeffrey Page choreographs.

​💿 Saturday: It’s Record Store Day. Main Street Music keeps the party going with a Michigander in-store at noon, followed by sets from Max Mason and All the Living and the Dead, and a listening party for the Tisburys’ upcoming A Still Life Revisited. Exclusive vinyl releases with Philly connections will be available at independent stores throughout the region and include vinyls by Lil Uzi Vert, Astrud Gilbert, John Legend, Skip James, the O’Jays, Todd Rundgren, and Sun Ra. Non-Philly prized products include releases by Taylor Swift, David Bowie, Prince, and Post Malone.

🎼 Wednesday: Picture four principal players from four orchestras: flutist Demarre McGill in the Seattle Symphony, oboist Titus Underwood in the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, clarinetist Anthony McGill in the New York Philharmonic, and bassoonist Bryan Young in the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. Now imagine them joining in the same piece, and you have Principal Brothers No. 1-4 by James Lee III. Also on the program are works by Valerie Coleman and Villa-Lobos, and the world premiere of a work by Errollyn Wallen. They play at the Perelman Theater.

Read more music picks.

This week, I watched the long-awaited Bad Bunny Tiny Desk, where he sang some of my favorite tracks from his latest album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, including “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii” and “LA MuDANZA,” with a really talented crew. Do you have a favorite Tiny Desk performance? I’d love to hear about it.