Get ready for a Philadelphia summer! There is plenty of history to relish in, of course, as well as ways to stay active each week. Go outside with your family and celebrate the warmth and sunshine!
Pennsbury Manor Time Travelers Club
The Pennsbury Manor in Bucks County is taking kids on a trip back in time this year, with the last Saturday of each month through the end of the year (except July, when Colonial Camp will take place at the estate) serving as a session of the brand new “Time Travelers Club.”
Pennsbury Manor is the former home of the state’s namesake, William Penn, and is a living replica of 17th-century colonial life in America. The site includes a manor house, museum, farm animals, stables, a kitchen house, a kitchen garden, a blacksmith shop and more across 43 acres of property. Time Travelers, who should be ages 6 or older, will be able to take part in visits that are individually themed, which includes focuses like butter churning, wool spinning, laundry day, broom making and archaeology.
The cost to participate in the program held at the manor, a reconstructed estate on the Delaware River, is $12 per child and $3 per adult. Advanced registration is required. For more details, visit pennsburymanor.org. The fun takes place from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
We Walk PHL
We Walk PHL is a program that sees groups of Philadelphians meet up in parks around the city for walks led by volunteers. The spring season for We Walk PHL runs through June 30, with a number of free walks taking place during that time. Locations and times will be announced soon, and that information, as well as other details are available on the We Walk PHL public Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/wewalkPHL.
The program is a joint partnership between Fairmount Park Conservatory, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation.
Red, White & Blue To-Do
If you ask an older person in your life about the year 1976, they will likely recall the United States bicentennial. The celebrations were so pervasive that Americans from all corners of the country attended an event that had something to do with the United States’ 200th anniversary. Next year, 2026 may end up having a similar association, as it will mark the nation’s 250th year of independence. In Philadelphia—one of the homes of the American Revolution—those celebrations will be quite the spectacle.
The Philadelphia Historic District’s 250th Committee announced plans for a program called “52 Weeks of Firsts,” which will see every week leading up to America’s 250th serve as a week of some sort of first.
“The 52 Weeks of Firsts, running from January to December in 2026, will highlight the amazing ingenuity of our city and shine a spotlight on Philadelphia’s diverse history in the largest and longest celebration of its kind,” says Amy Needle, president and CEO of Historic Philadelphia, Inc., in a news release. “Each week in 2026, the Philadelphia Historic District partners will spotlight a historic first across the city honoring the city’s groundbreaking contributions over the past 250 years that continue to impact the way we live today.”
The action starts ahead of 2025 Fourth of July festivities with a “pomp and parade,” which was a phrase uttered by John Adams in 1776, at the “Red, White, & Blue To-Do” July 2. It will include all sorts of patriotic decorations, and participants will be able to explore local museums, historic sites and businesses.
For more information on the parade and the 52 weeks that precede the 250th, check out phlvisitorcenter.com/red-white-blue-to-do-philadelphia-pa.
