May 31, 2023
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Rowers will take over the Schuylkill River on Saturday for the annual Independence Dragon Boat Regatta.
Summer is basically here, and that means your social calendar is about to get more crowded.
The first weekend of June offers a jam-packed preview of seasonal events to come, including the first series of Pride Month programming. Two long-running musical festivals also return to Philadelphia this weekend, both featuring homegrown talent, while an oyster festival will mount its comeback at Liberty Point and rowers gather to test their mettle in a Schuylkill showdown.
On Saturday, residents of West Philly will once again open their porches, stoops and lawns to musicians for concerts between noon and 6 p.m. West Philly Porchfest showcases hundreds of solo acts and bands, all from the porches of Cedar Park, Spruce Hill and the wider West Philly area. Anyone on the sidewalk can stop and listen for free — no tickets or registration required.
Philly hip-hop legends the Roots will host concerts, live podcasts and stand-up comedy featuring their famous friends this Friday through Sunday. The annual festival opens at the Wells Fargo Center on June 2, with performances from Dave Chappelle and the Roots, and then moves to the Mann Center for the rest of the weekend. Usher, Lil Uzi Vert and Lauryn Hill will headline that portion of the Roots Picnic. While tickets to the Chappelle show are sold out, one-day and two-day passes to the Mann Center are still available.
Grab your lemon wedges and hot sauce, because Shuckfest is back at Liberty Point. The oyster festival returns Sunday after a three-year hiatus to the Penn's Landing restaurant at 211 S Columbus Blvd. Between noon and 3 p.m., sample shellfish from 12 local growers, take part in an interactive shucking tutorial and watch the pros compete in a shucking competition. Kids ages 10 and under can enter for free, but tickets are $75 for everyone else.
Nearly 100 teams will pick up their oars and hit the Schuylkill on Saturday for the Independence Dragon Boat Regatta. As the name might imply, a dragon boat is a long canoe-like structure traditionally carved with dragon heads and tails at the ends. Each year, a small fleet of these boats take over the Schuylkill River for a series of races, featuring rowers of all ages and experience. Teams will be broken into divisions, and those divisions will be split into smaller groups, each of which will race in a qualifying first round, semifinal and championship, starting at 8 a.m. Spectators can gather in Fairmount Park along Kelly Drive to watch the regatta or stream it on Facebook Live.
Philadelphia will celebrate the first weekend of Pride Month with a march through Center City on Sunday. The Pride March and Festival starts at 6th and Walnut streets at 11 a.m. and will work its way west to the Gayborhood, ending at 1100 Locust St., where the festivities commence. Marchers can grab snacks from food trucks, dance, shop and access free health services from 12-7 p.m.
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