May 01, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The 10-mile Broad Street Run, pictured above, returns Sunday. Other weekend activities include the Southeast Asian Market, which opens in FDR Park on Saturday, and multiple Star Wars Day festivities.
It's finally May, which means it's time to put down the NSYNC memes and firm up your Memorial Day plans. As we inch closer to summer, warm-weather classics continue to open in Philly for the season, the latest being the Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park. Street festivals are still dominating the calendar, as seen by the upcoming Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival, and runners are capitalizing on the shorts-friendly temperatures with a race down Broad Street.
The culture scene offers a jukebox musical, fan con and "Star Wars"-themed haunted house on — when else? — May 4. But if you haven't booked a brunch table for Mother's Day, you probably should spend part of your weekend browsing Resy. (If all else fails, take her to Jim's.)
Gorge on noodles, sticky rice and so much papaya salad at the Southeast Asian Market, which is finally returning for the 2024 season. The seasonal market opens Saturday in FDR Park after a nearly month-long delay due to "operational needs." Traditionally a haven for Cambodian and Lao refugees searching for specialty food items, the market now hosts Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian vendors, as well. It will be stationed near the park's Broad Street entrance every Saturday and Sunday through June, before relocating to an area across from the Taney baseball field from July to October.
Do visions of bloodthirsty Ewoks haunt your dreams? Then you're just the right audience for an unusual event at the Lincoln Mill Haunted House. Though the Manayunk attraction thrives on Halloween, it's taking on a different holiday, Star Wars Day, with its Saturday (May 4) programming. The venue will feature actors in Sith-inspired makeup and ultraviolet lighting to set the scary, sci-fi mood — and, as always, the story will feature the house's main villain Viktor Kane, the sadistic former owner of the mill who vaguely resembles Emperor Palpatine.
Also on Saturday, artists and vendors will line Walnut and 18th streets for the returning Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival. The offerings will cater to all ages, with face painting and games for children and cocktail gardens for the adults. Purchases at the Rittenhouse Square Flower Market will support the nearby Albert M. Greenfield School.
Even if you didn't score a coveted Broad Street Run bib, you can still watch 40,000 racers speed through the city on Sunday. The run starts at 7:30 a.m. at Fisher Avenue and Broad Street, near Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital, and passes City Hall, Marconi Plaza and FDR Park. Competitors cross the finish line at the Navy Yard, which is closing the run for the first time since 2019. Spectators can cheer on their friends along Broad, or head to Xfinity Live! for the official afterparty. Just be mindful of the road closures and bus detours.
Make sure your phone is fully charged for selfies at Fan Expo Philadelphia this weekend. The convention gives fans a chance to meet voice actors and familiar faces from movies and television, including Marisa Tomei, Rosario Dawson, several regulars from "The Office" and Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen. Visitors also can shop comics along Artist Alley and play tabletop games at the expo, which will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from Friday until Sunday.
It's not too late to see "Beautiful," the Carole King musical that closed on Broadway in 2019. The Walnut Street Theatre will host one final weekend of performances before it closes out its 2023-2024 season. Tickets are still available for the 8 p.m. shows on Friday and Saturday or 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday, but some sections had nearly sold out as of Wednesday afternoon. The jukebox musical stars Sara Sheperd, who also played King during the Broadway production's North American tour.
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