June 19, 2025
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The Chinese Lantern Festival opens in Franklin Square on Friday. The annual event features illuminated lanterns shaped like pandas, dragons and other animals.
It's a guaranteed party this weekend in South Philly, where both drag queens and soccer hooligans will roam the streets.
Drag performers are putting on a free show — with bonus lawn games, crafts and food — in FDR Park as part of Pride Month. Just steps away, Lincoln Financial Field will host multiple Club World Cup games featuring teams from the United Kingdom, Morocco, Brazil and Italy.
Juneteenth festivities also are happening through Sunday, and the Chinese Lantern Festival is opening for its latest annual run. A hybrid event in Strawberry Mansion offers visitors a chance to groove to DJ sets and get a health screening, too.
A glowing dragon is invading Franklin Square, and he's bringing a bunch of friends with him. The Chinese Lantern Festival kicks off a new season Friday with 43 themed displays. Visitors can wander through clusters of illuminated birds, pandas and flowers — or say hi to the event's showstopper, a 200-foot-long dragon. Jugglers and acrobats take the stage three times each night of the festival's run, and food vendors sell dumplings, drinks and burgers on the park grounds. Weekend admission ranges from $16-$29.
The soccer pros are in Philly for the the next two weeks for the Club World Cup. The Linc is hosting two games this weekend: CR Flamengo vs. Chelsea on Friday and Juventus vs. Wydad AC on Sunday. Tickets are still available for each, with seats to Friday's game starting at $85 and tickets to Sunday's game starting at $42.
Juneteenth, the federal holiday marking the end of slavery in America, falls on Thursday this year. But the celebrations are continuing throughout the weekend, and culminating in a parade Sunday. The procession starts at 12:30 p.m. on South Concourse Drive across the street from the Mann Center. Marchers will make their way to Malcom X Park, where a marketplace and musical festival awaits.
You might have seen drag at brunch or a bar, but what about a park? Queens from the La Gatita collective are coming to FDR Park on Saturday for a free, family-friendly Pride event. The festivities also promise music, lawn games, arts and crafts and snacks.
The Dell Music Center is throwing a "beats and wellness" party Saturday in tribute to its longtime house DJ. Gary Odom, who spun records at the amphitheater as DJ Gary O, died of cancer in December. The venue is honoring his memory with sets from some of his friends, food and free on-site health screenings and resources from 2-7 p.m. Though the event is free, registration is required.
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