Many people like drama if it’s not their own. Many other people like to try ethnic food. If you find yourself falling into one of these two categories, then Philadelphia is the place to be on Saturday, July 11.   
    At 2:30 p.m., the London Grill, located at 2301 Fairmont Ave., will celebrate Bastille Day with an afternoon full of rioting and uprisings, including a reenacted beheading of Marie Antoinette. There will also be delicious French cuisine, live musical entertainment and other festivities to mark the events that set the French Revolution into action.
    A "mob" of enraged costumed Parisians will storm the historical Eastern State Penitentiary, which will be acting as a stand-in for the Bastille. Armed troops will fake-capture Antoinette and drag her to a real, functioning guillotine, ignoring her scathing cries to “Let them eat TastyKate!” as she tosses over 2,000 of the delicious, local treats from the prison’s towers. After the guillotine has fallen, London Grill will serve up the audience with champagne and divine French dishes created by culinary master Michael McNally.
    For more information, please visit www.londongrill.com or call 215-978-4545.
 

    South Street is an artistic Mecca of Philadelphia. From developers offering free and low-cost gallery space to artists with a vision, to the dozens of franchise shops that march to the beat of their own drummer, South Street is to Philadelphia what the Lower East Side is to New York City.
    One of the more noticeable oddities of South Street spans the length of half a city block on the corner of 10th and South streets. "The Magical Garden" is one artist’s combination of unique, urban renaissance with a dash of psychosis. The huge, indoor and outdoor mosaic mural was made and designed by local artist Isaiah Zagar, who began tiling South Street in the 1960s and basically never stopped. He constructed the Magic Garden out of found objects, including cement, bottles, ceramic pieces and bicycle spokes.
    Zagar has created more than 100 mosaic murals in Philadelphia, the majority of them within the South Philly area. Most of these hidden gems go unnoticed by the general public, but the team of people at Philadelphia’s Magic Garden is out to change that.
    Philadelphia Magic Gardens recently re-launched its mosaic mural tours that will continue through September 20. Spanning as far east as 4th and Bainbridge, the tour will introduce people to rarely noticed mosaic murals around Philadelphia. Guides on the tour will discuss the materials and techniques, as the stories behind the artwork. All of this will intertwine with local Philadelphia history stories as well.
    Tours cost $12 per person and are generally about an hour long. For more information, please visit the Web site at phillymagicgardens.org.

   The lazy days of summer are pretty fantastic. You can soak up the sun at the beach, throw a backyard barbeque or spend it tucked away in your apartment with your dog and a good book, the air conditioning on high. But, as the musical "Grease" made perfectly clear, one of the best parts about this season are the “summer nights.”
   Philadelphia understands how much you need those magical summer nights and so, beginning in August, the city's annual “Concerts in the Park” series will offer enjoyment for all. Each Wednesday, a different band will take the stage in Rittenhouse Square at 7 to 9 p.m. The lineup will be very eclectic and feature a wide variety of performances from different musical genres including jazz, R&B, and rock.  All of the concerts will be free and open to the public.
   This year, the promoters will even be having a contest for bands to have the chance to play at one of three concerts on either Aug. 12, 19 or 26. The judges include music experts such as POPPED! Music Festival’s talent coordinators, Rich Kardon and Jesse Lundy, and Point Entertainment’s David Niedbalski.
   So make the most of your summer nights, because they’ll pass you by very quickly! Head down to Rittenhouse Square this August and enjoy live music and fantastic weather. Plan ahead!
 

   Few of us remember a time before the Internet; a time when people actually played board games and read books for fun. Having been an English major in school, I revel in the thought that people, somewhere out there in the world, still love reading regular old books.
    Philadelphia made me proud when they announced their plans to host the annual Hybrid Book Fair at the University of the Arts', Gershman Hall, on June 5. The Hybrid book fair is free and open to the public. It will include books and artwork from more than 100 artists and writers.
    In addition to the book fair, the University of the Arts will also be hosting the "Hybrid Books: Intersection and Intermedia" conference. This three-day conference, scheduled to run June 4 through 6, is sponsored by the University of the Arts' MFA Book Arts/Printmaking program. Artists, publishers, collectors and educators will discuss the potential of "book arts" and its interdisciplinary aspects. Although the conference is closed now, everybody is welcome to the Hybrid Book Fair.
    For more information, please visit http://philadelphiacenterforthebook.org/.
 

How to have Fun Memorial Day Weekend on a Budget

   This upcoming weekend is the official start of summer for most people. Many will be heading down to the shore, dipping their feet in the ocean water for the very first time in months and shopping on the boardwalk. Many others, myself included, will be dreading the crippling heat and rising electric bill summer promises.

   Memorial Day, however, is the perfect holiday weekend to celebrate if you’re on a tight budget. There are lots of fun activities to do that won’t leave you pan-handling on the side of the highway come next Tuesday.
    Barbecuing or having a backyard picnic is a great way to enjoy the nice weather this weekend. Have each of your friends bring over something different, including food, plates, cups, soda, or chips. You can organize a game of horseshoes or touch-football to heighten the festivities.    
    If grilling isn’t your thing, then head down to the shore for Wildwood’s annual Kite Festival, which will be running May 22 through 25. The festival will begin this Friday with the “Unlocking of the Ocean Ceremony” which is staged at the beach near the Wildwood Convention Center. There will also be nightly kite shows that features illuminated kites of every color, shape and size. For more information,  visit http://bestofnj.com/2009/04/20/wildwood-kite-festival-may-22-23-24-25/.
    On Sunday, May 24, Delaware River Front Corporation will be hosting Delaware River Day at Penn’s Landing. Delaware River Day is a free event that will include enjoyable and interactive activities for the whole family! There will be free kayaking, life jack fitting, a fashion show featuring the latest trends in water gear, live musical entertainment, face-painting and much more!  Delaware River Day will run from noon to 6 p.m. For more information on Delaware River Day, visit http://www.delawareriverwaterfrontcorp.com/index.php?module=delawareriverevents&image=49.
    What better way is there to finish your Memorial Day Weekend with a bang than a parade? The Port Richmond Parade will feature live music and hero Grand Marshal Walter Milewski, an Iraqi War Veteran and firefighter.
    So whether you decided to kayak, fly kites, or just lay around with the dog , try to enjoy yourself this weekend. You deserved it.

   One of the greatest pleasures of living in South Philadelphia is having the famous Italian Market just a couple of blocks away. I love to roam down 9th Street on a Sunday morning, indulging in all of the smells, sights and flavors the different stores and vendors have to offer. The produce and lunchmeat I buy there are always fresh and delicious, nothing like you would ever find in a supermarket.
   This weekend, the Italian Market will host its annual Italian Market Festival. The festival will run on both Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be mouthwatering food from local sponsors such as Cannuli’s Meats, DiBruno Brothers House of Cheese, Hollywood Meat Market, Lorenzo’s Pizza and Grassia’s Italian Market Spice Company.
   There will also be many family-oriented events at the festival. Rock out to classic rock bands Bughunters, Final Vinyl, Toonz and Dead Poets. Legendary sports-bar Chickee and Pete’s will host its new homerun derby event. A $10 ticket will buy you five swings and a chance to win a trip for two anywhere in the continental United States. On Sunday at noon, St. Paul Parish will have their Procession of the Saints, led by Father Gerald Carey. The Verdi Band will play the melodic “Italian Sinfonic,” as well as uplifting and enjoyable Italian parade marches at the head of the procession. The march will start at Saint Mary’s Church located at 712 Montrose St. and continue until it ends at Saint Paul Catholic Church on Hutchinson Street.
   If you have never experienced all that Philadelphia’s famous Italian Market has to offer, this weekend will be the perfect time to see what you have been missing! For more information, please visit www.9thstreetitalianmarketfestival.com.
 

The Flavors of Philly Tour
   I am a native Philadelphian. Over the years, I have come to realize that the citizens of this city have peculiar taste in food. We are obsessed with our soft pretzels, TastyKakes, and cheesesteaks "wit whiz." Many other people who aren’t familiar with the our culture would immediately turn up their noses in disgust over our less-than-desirable cravings, but that doesn’t dissuade the hundreds who flock to Geno’s or Pat's weekly to get a taste of their favorite local delicacy.
    The Flavors of Philly Tour is out to prove that there is nothing wrong with a little grease in your cheesesteak. This brand new, two-and-a-half-hour-long tour takes people across the city to sample a wide variety of famous Philadelphia flavors. Participants can indulge themselves in the city’s food, culture and history. You can try an authentic Italian Hoagie and learn why we don’t call it a sub or a hero. Learn the right way to order a Philadelphia cheesesteak and taste Philadelphia’s doughy, warm soft pretzels and find out why they take on a different shape in Philly. You can even satisfy your sugar craving with the city’s famous chocolate-covered pretzels and chocolate chip cookies!
    This delicious and entertaining tour takes place in the heart of Philadelphia and includes six stops. You can get inside information on Philly’s food history and learn some quirky and funny stories about how some of these iconic foods came into existence. Walk away with a full stomach and a much happier mood!
For more information and to purchase tickets,  visit http://www.zerve.com/CityFoods/Flavors.
 

   Immediately after the arrival of spring people start spending more time outside. Whether they are walking, biking or inline skating, people are simply thankful for the warm weather. I love to ride my bike along Kelly Drive and Delaware Avenue. Both roads have amazing views of the different rivers that cut across Philadelphia, and there is always a pleasant "offshore" breeze to cool me off.
    One of my favorite parts of the Delaware River are the many gallant ex-battleships that now call Philadelphia and Camden, N.J. home. One of these massive ships is the Battleship New Jersey. It was redesigned into an educational museum and tribute to American sailors in October 2001. The Battleship New Jersey was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and launched on December 7th, 1942. This was merely a year after the Pearl Harbor attack that drew the United States into WWII.
    The Battleship New Jersey Museum will host the 13th annual Garden State Craft Brewers Festival on Saturday, June 20 from 1 to 5 p.m. This will be the fifth consecutive year that the Brewers Festival will take place onboard the ship. The event will be held on the fantail of the Battleship New Jersey under large tents, providing much needed shade for the attendees. The tickets are $40 a piece and will include a self-guided tour of the ship, a commemorative tasting glass, live entertainment by the band The Cabin Dogs and beer tasting samples from 14 different regional breweries including Iron Hill, Ship Inn Triumph, Tun Tavern, Flying Fish, Cricket Hill, Basil T’s RB, JJ Bitting, and Harvest Moon. Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available, as well.
    This is the perfect way to enjoy the gorgeous weather outside and support local breweries throughout the area. To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit www.battleshipnewjersey.org.
 

   I am a lover of the simple things in life. The crossword puzzle, a lazy afternoon on the couch with my dog and a delicious meal can all brighten up my mood. Even childhood games can put a smile on my face, and my friends and I have started a weekly board-game night to break up the monotony of the work week.
    When I first heard that Philadelphia was going to be hosting its own season-long, Pabst Blue Ribbon-sponsored Rock-Paper-Scissors City League Championship tournament, I was beside myself with giddiness. Not only is Rock-Paper-Scissors a game I am seriously awesome at, the winner of the tournament gets to go home with a $1,000 cash prize.
    Contestants are allowed to organize their own teams and compete in weekly face-offs with other competitors at different bars across the city including Dirty Franks, the Raven Lounge, and the Dive. Competitors wishing to form a new team can submit a new team registration request via e-mail to urbanus@rpscityleague.com, and all teams must have a minimum of two players. The competitor that accumulates the most points at the end of the season will win the grand prize. A $250 prize will be awarded to the runner-up.
    For more information on registering a team, and for event listings, please visit www.rpscityleague.com.