January 16, 2025
Philadelphians can eat good in a neighborhood thanks to a returning promotion.
Over 100 Center City restaurants will offer discounted prix fixe meals for the area's restaurant week. It launches Sunday, but if you need something to do before that, check out a new exhibit at Magic Gardens or join an exclusive tour of the Philadelphia Zoo, which is closed to the public through Jan. 31.
Service opportunities are also starting ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This is your weekend guide:
See what the red pandas and snow leopards have been doing on their winter break during a special tour of the Philadelphia Zoo. Though the grounds are closed for the month, zookeepers will open the gates to anyone who buys a ticket to Keys to the Zoo. The tour brings guests up close with animals built for the cold — and they'll even get a chance to pet, brush or feed one of them. The behind-the-scenes visit costs $150 or $500, with the more expensive option coming with artwork painted by one of the zoo's otters or porcupines.
A nice dinner is only $40 or $60 during Center City Restaurant Week. Over 100 establishments are participating in the two-week promotion, which runs Sunday through Saturday, Feb. 1. Don't forget to claim your discounted parking, available each night.
Franklin Square and the Betsy Ross House are leaning into the service aspect of MLK Day with a clothing drive starting Saturday. The park and historic home will be collecting winter clothes for the Bethesda Project, a charity that supports people experiencing homelessness, through the Monday holiday. Donors will receive free tickets to the Franklin Square carousel or the Betsy Ross House for their contributions. The African American Museum and Museum of the American Revolution will also offer thematic programming through the weekend.
Fans of Isaiah Zagar's murals can see pieces of one of his largest works at Magic Gardens starting Friday. The museum will open an exhibit featuring tiles salvaged from the former Painted Bride Art Center, the 230 Vine St. property which was set to be demolished in 2023. (It's still standing, though its fate is unclear.) The collection will also explore the mosaic's creation and the community fight to save it. It will be on view until March 23.
Feel better about your own family at "The Exes," a production running at the Old Academy Players all weekend. The comedy concerns a billionaire and his best friend, who were each once married to the same woman. When she shows up unannounced on the day of the billionaire's daughter's wedding, the festivities are thrown out of whack. Catch the play on Friday or Saturday night or Sunday afternoon for $25.
Follow Kristin & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @kristin_hunt
| @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice
Have a news tip? Let us know.
