Sugarhouse Casino: Roll The Bones

If you’re looking to gamble in the City of Brotherly Love, locals recommend the Sugarhouse Casino. This popular establishment was opened in 2010 to a mixed response from the community, but it has quickly developed a dedicated clientele for table games and slot machines. Located in the Fishtown neighborhood along the Delaware River, the casino boasts a 1,300,000 square foot facility on the site of the former Jack Frost Sugar refinery. The Sugarhouse Casino floor sports over three thousand slot machines, from penny slots to high roller machines, as well as table games that include blackjack, craps, roulette, and even Pai Gow poker. A variety of dining options are available as well. The Refinery Restaurant and Bar has become a popular party spot, with weekly themed nights focusing on 80s music, reggae and more. The Sugar Express shuttle bus even provides free service from a number of Philly’s neighborhoods right to the Sugarhouse Casino's door.

Sugarhouse Casino
1001 North Delaware Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19125
(877) 477-3715
www.sugarhousecasino.com

Please Touch Museum: Interactive Fun

Don’t let the title ‘museum’ scare off your youngsters! The Please Touch Museum is a far-cry from big, quiet halls where you have to keep your hands to yourself. In fact, as the name implies, Please Touch is a highly interactive educational experience. Parents will have fun guiding their children through the varied activities that encourage critical thinking and coordination. Future city planners can build their personal Utopia at City Capers, while future pilots earn their wings at Flight Fantasy. Explorers can tumble through and manipulate various features of Wonderland and Rainforest. For a dose of history, check out Centennial Exploration and Liberty Arm & Touch. Other activities include perusing the extensive contemporary and historical toy collections or seeing a play at the Playhouse Theater. The Please Touch Museum is open daily.

Please Touch Museum
4231 Avenue of the Republic
Philadelphia, PA 19131
(215) 581-3181

Philadelphia School of Circus Arts: Flying Trapeze

For people who always dreamed of running off to join the circus but never had the nerve, The Philadelphia School of Circus Arts lets you live out your dreams under the guidance of trained performers. This unique school offers the curious of all ages and backgrounds a number of ways to either dip their toes in or plunge right into contemporary circus arts. Kids can enroll in summer camp to expend their energy and creativity into basic trapeze, juggling, tumbling, and clowning classes. Adults can try out their balance in $25 Intro classes, at one-of-a-kind corporate team building courses, or group events such as bachelor parties or family reunions. If you’re particularly intrepid and athletic, the School offers beginner to intermediate classes in aerials (trapeze and rope/ fabric), Corde Lisse, acrobatics, juggling, unicycling, and more.

Philadelphia School of Circus Arts
5900A Greene Street
Philadelphia, PA 19144
(215) 849-1991

Mural Arts Program Tour: Philadelphia Public Art

Begun in 1984 to discourage graffiti, the Mural Arts Program has since been filling the Philadelphia horizon with scenes from city life, messages of hope, and love letters. If you're curious to learn the stories behind these grand-sized paintings, hop onto one of the Mural Arts Program Tours. Mural Arts offers roughly ten tours using different types of transportation and offering various viewpoints. The trolley tours explore different neighborhoods depending on the week, while bicycle tours offer a two hour trek around Fairmount and Spring Garden. To get a taste of the local cuisine or beer, sign up for the Ale & Arts or Mural & Meals tours. You can snuggle up with your sweetie on the Love Letter Train Tour or bond with your family through painting on an Experiential Tour. Visit the Mural Arts website to find schedules and book tickets!

Mural Arts Program Tour
1727-29 Mount Vernon Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 685-0750

Where to Catch a Movie in North Philly

AMC Theatres is the second largest movie theater chain in all of North America, so you can be sure that the individual venues live up to expectations. Founded in 1920 by three brothers, the company has been dedicated to bringing the best entertainment to its customers for nearly a century. Credited with introducing stadium style seating to cinema theaters, AMC has continued to be at the head of movie-going innovation and specialization since its inception. These days, the company boasts more than 4,000 screens, so there’s a good chance that whatever you want to see is going to be available.

AMC Woodhaven
1336 Bristol Pike
Bensalem, PA, 19020

The Woodhaven location features ten screens, so check the listing times, or stop by and check out the next available show.

AMC Franklin Mills Mall
1455 Franklin Mills Circle
Philadelphia, PA 19154-3131
(215) 632-1500

If you’re busy hitting all the outlet shopping hot-spots and you need a rest—or some revitalization—stop by AMC’s 14-screen theater within the massive enclosed complex. If you live nearby (or just really like visiting the outlets), it’s also worth checking out the MovieWatcher program for the chance to get concessions and ticket purchase rewards after repeat visits.

Relive Philly Movie Moments on a Philadelphia Movie Sites Tour

Experience Philadelphia movie magic on a Philadelphia Movie Sites Tour! You’ll visit over 50 sites throughout the city where your favorite movies were filmed, like Rocky, The Sixth Sense, Trading Places, 12 Monkeys, and more! Guests ride around the city on a luxury bus that showcases movie clips on a flat plasma TV—so you can relive each movie moment at the very spot they were filmed.

Tours typically last 2 1/2 hours and depart from the Independence Visitor Center at 6th and Market Streets. Tickets are $35 a person. For more information, visit www.moviesitestour.com.

Get Ready for Philly Beer Week 2011, June 3 – 12

Starting this week, from June 3 – 12, 2011, Philadelphia will play host to one of the biggest beer festivals in the United States. As one of the 14 Best Beer Cities in the Entire World according to Frommer’s (the travel authority!), Philadelphia is home to more than 30 breweries and brewpubs and has more than 400 beer bars featuring the best in craft beer. So it should come as no surprise that hundreds and hundreds of fantastic events are scheduled during the ten days of Philadelphia Beer Week in both the city and the suburbs.

Kick of the week at Opening Tap 2011, where you can sample a variety of ales and lagers at the Independence Visitor Center (6th and Market Streets) starting at 7:30 p.m. From there, the week just gets better and better! Events include a Philly on Tap Walking Tour leading guests to Philly’s best beer spots on foot, Food and Beer pairings at the city’s best restaurants, special bar events featuring breweries like Yuengling, Sly Fox, and Bells, and so much more. At many of the events you can actually meet the brewers of the featured breweries, and find out about their amazing beers. Click here to learn more about this year’s scheduled festivities.

Learn more about Philadelphia Beer Week at www.phillybeerweek.org.

The Wachovia Center: Philadelphia's Hub for Sports and Live Entertainment

Though it has gone through several renovations and name changes over the years, the Wachovia Center is a true city sports hub. Home to Philadelphia’s Flyers hockey team and 76ers basketball team, the indoor arena can hold up to nearly 22,000 people for games. Located at the southwest corner of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex (which also includes Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field), the Wachovia Center is the most versatile of the complex’s venues by also acting as an arena for large live concerts (upcoming acts include Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, and U2!). In addition to its sports and entertainment attractions, the center also offers the AT&T Pavilion with its range of restaurants and bars—from the legendary Chickie’s & Pete’s to Campo’s Authentic Philly Cheesesteaks to The Bud Light Zone (the world’s largest arena bar). For more of a sit-down atmosphere, head over to P.J. Whelihan’s Pub, which serves award-winning food and a range of pub beers. Whatever you’ve come to see, the Wachovia Center will not disappoint.

Wachovia Center
3601 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19148
www.wachoviacenter.com

National Museum of American Jewish History: A Glimpse Inside the Jewish Experience

The Jewish experience is a vital part of the American story—from early immigrants fleeing the pogroms of Europe to the evolution of the religion in the United States and our increasingly complex national relationship with Israel, there’s a lot to document. The National Museum of American Jewish History was opened in association with the Smithsonian Museums in 1976 to give that story a place to be told. With tales pulled from over 350 individual’s experiences, the Museum’s collections offer an unparalleled peek into the creation of this nation. Boasting over 10,000 artifacts in its collection, the museum’s only permanent exhibition “Creating American Jews” is the big attraction, but a number of other themed exhibits merit multiple trips. In 2010, the museum relocated to a much larger space, and has expanded with a number of interactive exhibitions as well as a gift shop. The staff is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable as well.

National Museum of American Jewish History
101 South Independence Mall East
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 923-3811
www.nmajh.org

Philadelphia Museum of Art: Famous for Its Steps, Known for Its Wealth of Artistic Treasures

Everyone knows the Philadelphia Museum of Art, even if they don't know that they do. It's the site of Rocky Balboa's famous run up the massive row of steps (now the ""Rocky Steps"") leading to one of the largest museums in the U.S. But besides being a cinematic hot spot, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is a true national treasure. Founded more than a century ago, the stunning, neo-classical building houses more than 250,000 works of art that represent a range of exceptional human creativity and innovation. With landmark collections of American art, the second largest collection of arms and armor in the U.S., and works dating back to the third millennium B.C., there is an incomparable array of history and achievement. The labyrinthine galleries make it easy to get happily lost, so taking your time exploring and discovering stunning new works. Temporary collections change every few months, so keep an eye on the calendar to stay up to date with the museum’s contemporary acquisitions and thematic overviews.

Philadelphia Museum of Art
2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 763-8100
http://www.philamuseum.org

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