February 28, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
It's the first weekend of East Passyunk Restaurant Week and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Flower Show, which is celebrating its 195th year. A floral display from the 2018 event is pictured above.
Groundhogs, despite their weird monopoly on the subject, are not reliable indicators of seasonal change. But you know what you can trust to tell you spring is around the corner? Rita's water ice beer and bushels of flowers.
For the first weekend of March, Philly is ditching the ice festivals that dominated the past two months for more temperate activities. The main event is the Philadelphia Flower Show, the long-running fundraiser for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society that brings bursts of color and fragrance to town for nine days. Neshaminy Creek Brewing Co. will also debut its newest beer inspired by Rita's Italian Ice, and the Adventure Aquarium will welcome mermaids back into its waters.
Finally, diners can consider an affordable al fresco meal with the many discounted menus for East Passyunk Restaurant Week.
Philly's premier event for green thumbs and amateur florists returns to the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The 2024 Philadelphia Flower Show will feature rare buds, gardens inspired by city neighborhoods and an "aquatic floral spectacle" right at the entrance. New this year are cheaper pricing options on weekdays and evenings. The blooms will be in town from Saturday through Sunday, March 10.
The Adventure Aquarium's little blue penguin chicks aren't the only new additions to the Camden attraction. This weekend, the aquarium will also introduce mermaids to its tanks. The mythical creatures (who may or may not be women in fluorescent fake tails) will roam the 550,000-gallon shark exhibit and shallower stingray waters, pausing by the glass to vamp for photos. Kids can also get an up-close portrait with one of the mermaids at a special photo-op station. The mermaids will appear Thursdays through Sundays between Feb. 29 and March 17.
Neshaminy Creek Brewing Co. and Rita's Italian Ice are willing warmer weather into the atmosphere with a new beer that tastes like summer. The collaborators have again brewed an ale inspired by Rita's water ice flavors, which will make its debut in Neshaminy Creek taprooms on Saturday. The Cherry Lemonade Tart Ale is the latest Rita's Fruit Brew, joining its 2023 predecessors Mango Blonde Ale and Peach Ring Tart Ale. All three flavors will be available in Neshaminy Creek locations or as a variety pack in local retailers for a limited time.
South Philly foodies can sample award-winning restaurants for less during East Passyunk Restaurant Week. Over two dozen eateries will offer prix fixe menus at $20, $30, $40 and $55 price points for the promotion, which runs through Friday, March 8. The lineup includes Ember & Ash, Townsend, Bing Bing Dim Sum and Gabriella's Vietnam, which made the New York Times' best restaurants list in 2022.
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