Lace up your sneakers for the Penn Relays | Things to Do

Hey all, Sam Ruland here, deputy Service editor, filling in while Rosa is out this week.

Get ready for an action-packed weekend in Philadelphia, where the thrill of competition meets the buzz of the city. This weekend, the spotlight is on the Penn Relays, a historic track and field event that’s been a staple since 1895. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a first-time attendee, we’ve got you covered with everything from event times and ticket info to parking details.

If you’re visiting and looking for a bite in University City, discover the perfect spots to refuel and relax after the races with our guide to the neighborhood’s best bites. Maybe consider a post-race toast while unwinding at one of the area’s rooftop bars?

Lace up your sneakers, grab your tickets, and join us for a weekend of record-breaking runs and community fun at the Penn Relays.

— Sam Ruland (@sam_ruland, email me at thingstodo@inquirer.com)

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If you’re in town for the Penn Relays, be sure to check out our guide for the best spots to grab food and drinks around University City. Whether you’re looking for a quick bite between events or a relaxing meal after a day at the races, our guide has you covered with the top picks for eateries and bars in the area. From the kick of spicy Korean fried chicken and the fizz of espresso tonics to the decadence of traditional Palestinian dishes like knafeh, and smooth pints of Guinness and other local brews at cozy Irish pubs, there’s a place for everyone to refuel.

And if you like that guide, check out staff picks, neighborhood guides and more from Inquirer reporters and critics at our Philly’s Best page.

🏃 Penn Relays: Catch the excitement of the nation’s oldest track and field event at Franklin Field this weekend. Join over 15,000 athletes as they compete in a series of races that promise both speed and spectacle. Don’t miss the custom merch, food, and games too!

🌈 Philly Black Pride: Celebrate the vibrancy of Philly’s Black queer community with four days of events starting Thursday. Enjoy an open mic night, poetry slam, the Black Joy Summit, and more. It’s a perfect blend of culture, pride, and community.

🐾 Run Wild for the Zoo 5K & Fun Run: Lace up for a unique morning run through the Philadelphia Zoo. Whether you’re racing or cheering, your ticket includes zoo admission and helps support its resident animals.

🍽️ Flavors of the Avenue: Savor the tastes of East Passyunk Avenue as over two dozen restaurants and bars offer their best dishes outdoors. Enjoy this vibrant block party with live music and local crafts.

📅 My calendar picks this week: Flavors of the Avenue, West Chester International Short Film Festival, and checking out this year’s Parks on Tap setup.

Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, came out over a week ago and I’m still trying to get through all 31 songs. Our critic Dan DeLuca dives into how tracks like “The Alchemy” showcase Swift’s happier notes, while the majority serve up a feast of payback to past flames. Curious about other lyrical dissections of Swift’s lengthy album? Check out the full review to see why Swift might just be the Shakespeare of breakup bops.

And in a twist that could only happen in a Swift saga, the album has also sparked a typewriter frenzy, thanks to a cameo by an antique model in one of her videos. Yes, you read that right: typewriters are cool again. Fans are losing their minds over a missing ‘1′ key, spinning conspiracy theories faster than you can say “QWERTY.” Reporter Emily Bloch takes us through this analogue anomaly and points out that despite their theories, Swifties don’t actually know much about typewriters.

☀️ Watering holes: If you’re looking for a good spot outside for brunch or happy hour, we’ve got you covered with our neighborhood guide to rooftop and outdoor dining.

💐 Fresh cuts: If you’d rather bring flowers home to spruce up your space, we’ve got you covered. Pick your own lavender, dahlias, sunflowers, and more at these flower farms near Philly.

🍪🥐 The Crookie Craze: Dive into the latest pastry fusion taking TikTok by storm — the crookie. The mix between a croissant and a cookie joins the ranks of beloved hybrids like the Cronut and the cruffin, and its now touched down in Philly. Here’s where to get one.

🎟️ Explore with ACCESS Card: If you have an ACCESS Card or Art-Reach ACCESS Card, you can unlock $2 admission to over 80 museums, theaters, and gardens across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Whether you’re a local or visiting, take advantage of this amazing access to enriching experiences.

🧀 24/7 Cheese Vending Machine: Meet Philly’s first around-the-clock cheese vending machine in Kensington. Satisfy those cheese cravings any time of day? Count me in.

Dan DeLuca breaks down some of the best shows coming to town this weekend:

🎤 Friday: Brooklyn post-punk band Bodega — formerly known as Bodega Bay — have a new album called Our Brand Could Be Yr Life that’s a hat tip to Michael Azzerad’s classic book about the 1980s underground rock Our Band Could Be Your Life. The newalbum is actually a rebooted version of the band’s 2018 release, which they’ve re-recorded, Taylor Swift-style. They play two shows Friday, with a Free at Noon at World Cafe Live followed by a a headlining spot on a four band bill at the Latvian Society’s Baltic Hall that evening.

🎤 Also Friday: It’s closing weekend at the Living Room in Ardmore, as club owner and booker Laura Mann moves on from the BYO venue that opened in 2018. Mann and Dan Navarro play Friday.

🎤 Saturday: Philly songwriters Ben Arnold and Jim Boggia team up for early and late shows, while blues singer and saxophonist Vanessa Collier plays around the corner at the Mason Hall that was home to a former iteration of the Living Room Details here. Also, the free Haddonfield Music Festival kicks off at noon with Smash Palace and carries on into the evening with a bill that includes Matt Cappy, Oceanator, The National Reserve, Snacktime and Jeffrey Gaines. And Burlington County-raised country-rap artist Breland brings his Little More Countrier Tour to the Foundry at the Fillmore.

🎤 Sunday: Garage rocker Ty Segall is at Union Transfer, 1970s Laurel Canyon stalwart and co-author of many Eagles hits J.D. Souther plays the Sellersville Theater and always electrifying Providence, R.I. punk rock band Downtown Boys play PhilaMOCA.

This week, features reporter Zoe Greenberg dives into the pronunciation conundrum of “Passyunk,” a word that stirs as much local passion as a good cheesesteak debate. Are we saying it wrong? Is there even a “right” way to say it? As it turns out, how you pronounce “Passyunk” could reveal more about you than you think — it’s not just a street; it’s a litmus test for your Philadelphia credentials!

Inspired by a certain recent New Yorker article (ugh) claiming it’s pronounced like “passion” with a ‘k’, we embarked on a quest to find the truth, only to discover that “Passyunk” is a word with as many variations as there are pretzel twists in Philly. Some say PASS-ee-unk, others PASH-unk, and a few brave souls venture into Pah-SIGH-unk territory, which harkens back to its Lenape roots. The word, meaning “in the valley,” has morphed through the ages, much like the neighborhood itself.

What did you think of Taylor’s new album? Did you have a favorite song? Let me know!

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