Memorial Day Weekend 2025 in Philly: 30+ Events, Fests & Exhibitions

Eastern State Penitentiary honors the holiday with a weekend of reflection, remembrance and education. Visitors can explore the historic site while learning about the impact of military service on prisoners and staff throughout the prison’s operational years.

Keep an eye on the official website for additional information on special programming.

Bucks County honors the holiday with the Memorial Day Parade & Service in Perkasie. The parade kicks off at 7th & Market streets at 9 a.m. before traveling through the town center, ending at Menlo Park’s Memorial Garden.

A Memorial Service and Ceremony follows at 10:15 a.m. in Menlo Park, featuring a rifle salute, patriotic music and veteran recognition.

The National Constitution Center marks the holiday weekend with extended Memorial Day hours and special programming, including daily flag ceremonies, a giant flag folding, and presentations exploring some of the most famous memorials and monuments in the U.S.

Learners of all ages can also look forward to family-friendly workshops and fun crafts.

In addition to the Museum of the American Revolution’s permanent exhibits, special programming for Memorial Day commemorates the men and women who sacrificed their lives via pop-up talks, character performances and discovery carts with Revolutionary-era replicas.

In addition, kiddos can participate in hands-on activities by making memorial-themed ribbons. Admission is free for veterans, active military members and Blue Star Families all weekend long.

The site of Philly’s first Memorial Day commemoration in 1868, Laurel Hill Cemetery continues the long tradition with an afternoon program featuring wreath-laying ceremonies, patriotic music, honor guards and refreshments. The ceremony also gives new gravestones to three previously unmarked veterans.

The event runs from noon to 2 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

One of the nation’s oldest Memorial Day Parades returns for its 157th year in Doylestown to honor and remember American veterans.

Departing from Central Bucks West High School at 10 a.m., the parade routes through town, concluding at Doylestown Cemetery for a 30-minute memorial service honoring fallen military personnel.

Kick off the unofficial start of summer with good times and good friends — preferably with a warm breeze and a cold drink.

Many of Philly’s most popular outdoor venues are now open for the season, including newer destinations like Liberty Beer Garden on Independence Mall and Walnut Garden in Rittenhouse Square; lush beer gardens like the PHS Pop Up Gardens on South Street and in Manayunk; waterfront attractions like Morgan’s Pier and Liberty Point; and ever-popular rooftop attractions like Sunset Social at Cira Green and Bok Bar in South Philly.

Looking for even more alfresco options? Check out our brand-new guide to the city’s seasonal outdoor bars and restaurants. Cheers!

Through Sunday, May 25, 2025

Home to one of the world’s most important galleries of impressionist, post-impressionist and early modernist paintings, the Barnes Foundation was named one of the 10 best small art museums in America in 2024 by The Washington Post.

The calendar for 2025 brings a trio of new traveling exhibitions to the Barnes, with the first being Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations, which highlights the career of the pioneering contemporary British painter. The exhibit features over 30 paintings and drawings showcasing her subversion of gendered tropes in art history and popular culture from a feminist perspective.

Through Sunday, June 1, 2025

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit” is the famous line which opens the J.R.R. Tolkien tome that launched a multibillion-dollar Middle Earth saga of 11 films and novels, as well as this popular 2001 stage adaptation.

This version of The Hobbit at the Arden Theatre, is the minimalist staged tale of Bilbo Baggins, an unlikely hero who travels through freezing mountains and frightening forests on a mystical adventure to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and battle the dragon Smaug.

Through Sunday, June 29, 2025

Lace up and let’s gooo! Roller skating is back on the west side of City Hall as Dilworth Park’s Rothman Orthopaedics Roller Rink rolls through the warm-weather season.

Regular hour-long skate sessions on the retro checkerboard rink are available seven days a week, and the park hosts rotating events, themed skate nights and more all throughout the season. Advanced reservations are encouraged.

Through Sunday, August 10, 2025

Hundreds of flags and banners stitched by colonial Philadelphia flagmakers like Betsy Ross and Rebecca Flower Young were carried by Revolutionary soldiers and militiamen, but only 30 are known to have survived.

The Museum of the American Revolution celebrates the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the U.S. Armed Forces with the milestone exhibit Banners of Liberty: Exhibition of Original Revolutionary War Flags, which showcases over a dozen of these original flags, the largest collection of Revolutionary-era banners seen together in over 200 years.

Through Monday, September 1, 2025

The latest iteration of the famous three-decade-old traveling exhibition, Body Worlds: Vital has arrived at The Franklin Institute. Featuring 20 whole-body displays and over 150 specimens, the exhibit is an exposition of ethically donated human bodies, animals and other anatomical figures, which allows visitors to view complex anatomy structures and functions in an unprecedented way — through the innovative preservation process of plastination.

The interactive and immersive exhibition weaves together organic artifacts and video projections; explores the physical and mental health concerns of contemporary times; and celebrates humanity in its optimal state: healthy, vibrant, vigorous and in motion.

Through Monday, September 1, 2025

From the chaos and scarcity of World War II came major political, scientific, economic, industrial, artistic and cultural shifts in 1940s America. Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s explores the creative spirit and multimedia innovations that flourished during that time.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s new exhibition spotlights pieces from the museum’s permanent collections that span fashion, textiles, crafts, designs, prints, drawings, photographs, paintings and sculptures from the decade, showing how that turbulent period led to some of the century’s greatest ideas.

Tickets include full general admission to the museum.

Shop till you drop while supporting local entrepreneurs during the spring edition of the popular Made in Philadelphia Marketplace at Dilworth Park. Each week, 20 artists, makers and crafters set up shop to sell a variety of handmade and specialty goods, ranging from art to jewelry and more.

Looking for more fun in Dilworth Park this spring? Lace up and go a few laps on Rothman Orthopaedics Roller Rink (more on that above).

Ah, the humble peony. This symbol of happiness, prosperity and fortune has decorated weddings, parties and gardens for centuries. But did you know that there are over 30 species and hundreds of varieties of this fragrant flower?

For more floral fun than you can shake a stem at, head to the 7th Annual Festival of the Peony and frolic through 120 acres of peony fields representing nearly 200 varieties in deep maroon, pastel pink, cloud white and more. (Cameras welcome, dogs not so much.)

Is it getting hot in here? Join the Forrest Theatre for a rousing production of Some Like It Hot, a Tony Award-winning adaptation of the 1959 Billy Wilder film which packs in deep-belly laughs, the glamour of the Jazz Age and a thoughtful commentary on gender.

In this witty musical-comedy set in Prohibition-era Chicago, local musicians Jerry and Joe — on the run from the Windy City’s mob after witnessing a hit — go on the run the only way they know how: by hopping a cross-country train disguised as women.

The beloved Devon Horse Show is an annual equine tradition dating back to 1896 — the oldest and largest outdoor multi-breed horse competition in the nation. Held at Chester County’s famous Devon Show Grounds, the pageant features equestrian disciplines, open-air exhibitions, and events including a dog show and a Memorial Day tribute.

Alongside the competition is the old-fashioned Devon Country Fair, itself an institution since 1919, with a half-dozen pop-up restaurants and plenty of fair food stands, over 60 boutique shopping and souvenir vendors, an art gallery, and a midway featuring a Ferris wheel and carousel.

Opens Friday, May 23, 2025

The popular summertime pop-up festival at Spruce Street Harbor Park (SSHP) on the Delaware River features a boardwalk with concessions and plenty of spaces to chill — in waterside Adirondack chairs, in flat-bottomed net lounges above the river or in cozy hammocks in the meadow.

Returning amenities from 2024 include The Lazy Hammock covered bar and performance stage (with video wall), The Blue Anchor Barge local beer and cocktail bar, and The Trading Post waterside snack and ice cream bodega.

Opens Friday, May 23, 2025

When warm weather hits, the focus along the Delaware River waterfront is Independence Blue Cross RiverRink Summerfest. The open-air festival’s centerpiece is the NHL-sized rollerskating rink surrounded by a double-decker carousel, a 60-foot-tall Ferris wheel, mini-golf, a moon bounce, and a midway with boardwalk games and rides.

Or just chill and indulge in plenty of food and drink alongside soaring views of the river and the Ben Franklin Bridge. Admission is free; everything else is pay as you go.

May 23 & 25, 2025

Metallica — one of the world’s most iconic rockers — take to the 50-yard line at Lincoln Financial Field for two stone-cold, hard-rocking nights.

Each night of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ “No Repeat Weekend” sports a completely different setlist of hits from their extensive catalog and a different set of supporting acts: Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills on May 23, 2025, and Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies on May 25, 2025. Both two-day and single-show tickets are available for what will be one of the hottest shows of the year.

Free with garden admission, Longwood Gardens’ Fountain Fest Weekends series kicks off the season with a three-day Taylor Swift makeover. Swifties of all ages are invited to don their friendship bracelets and explore the garden’s 100 acres to the tunes of T. Swift.

You can expect family-friendly activities, spotlight tours of the new Bonsai Courtyard and organ demos inspired by or set to the singer’s Grammy Award-winning discography. Even the garden’s iconic fountains get in on the action, dancing to the melody of the universal classic Shake It Off.

Philadelphia’s circus roots go way back — all the way to 1793, when the first modern circus performance in America took place right here. (George Washington was in the audience.)

Circus and Philadelphia reunite for another first: the inaugural Philadelphia Contemporary Circus Festival. Presented by FringeArts, this 10-day extravaganza brings local and international circus artists together under one (metaphorical) tent for a celebration of acrobatics, artistry and superhuman feats.

The schedule includes free performances, ticketed shows, hands-on activities for families and workshops for performers. Check the official website for the lineup of acts for Memorial Day weekend, including The Circus Opera Company’s performance at Christ Church Neighborhood House on Saturday and Sunday.

Board the Ben Franklin Yacht and set sail for an afternoon party on the Delaware River. With three decks of dancing, mingling and skyline views, this Memorial Day bash sets the tone for the summer’s unofficial kickoff.

An all-white outfit is required, and advance tickets are recommended.

What exactly happened at the Copacabana? Let’s find out.

Barry Manilow — one of the most successful showmen in music history — is back on tour, delivering a nostalgic show at the Wells Fargo Center full of the most iconic and romantic hits from his 60-year career like Mandy, Can’t Smile Without You and Somewhere Down the Road.

Rebels of the music world, Post Malone and Jelly Roll defy easy categorization. Posty has dabbled in rap, rock, pop and country, racking up hits like rockstar and I Had Some Help — and multiple Grammy nominations — whereas Jelly Roll delivers a blend of rap and country that feels oh-so-effortless.

It’s fitting that the two meet up at center field when Post Malone takes Citizens Bank Park for his Big Ass tour.

Grab the kiddos and meet us on Sesame Street. Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster and the rest of the gang don their best red, white and blue for the unofficial start of every kid’s favorite season.

Celebrate the holiday with fireworks (and an optional sweet treat add-on experience with Elmo) on Sunday, May 25, 2025 and fun meet and greets with the loveable monsters throughout the weekend.

Birria. Barbacoa. Carnitas. The taco-bilities are endless. Some of the region’s favorite taco food trucks — Calaveras Street Tacos, The Nacho Depot, Taqueria El Amigo and more — roll up to Chaddsford Winery to mark the holiday weekend with delicious food, tasty wine and live music.

Enjoy the warm weather from the winery’s picnic area and patios or bring a blanket to lay out on the grass. Friends, families, couples or solo — everyone is welcome.

Hear ye, hear ye! The Philly Renaissance Faire returns to historic Fort Mifflin for three days of fantasy, fun and family-friendly revelry.

Enjoy live performances featuring magic, juggling and music. Feast on turkey legs and mead, available for purchase throughout the grounds. Try your hand at archery, knife throwing and medieval-style games. And shop from artisan vendors selling handcrafted goods, jewelry and Renaissance-inspired treasures.

The faire runs rain or shine. Costumes are encouraged, but not mandatory. Tickets are required.

Award-winning storytellers return this weekend to offer secrets about the history of Philadelphia and our nation through three- to five-minute stories told at special benches near several historic sites in Old City.

Uniformed storytellers are on hand from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday through Monday this holiday weekend. Days and hours expand as the 2025 season continues.

Boat dance party? Boat dance party! This DJ mash-up on the Moshulu — a historic sailing ship permanently docked at Penn’s Landing — pits throwback hits from the ’90s against more modern tracks.

Tickets are required for the 21-plus party, which lasts until 2 a.m.

Rev your engines! The 44th annual Mustang and Ford Show returns to Chester County, inviting car enthusiasts from across the region to connect with one another and showcase their most prized possessions.

Rows and rows of colorful mustangs from every era in the sports car’s history — as well as Ford trucks and other vehicles — go on display across the fairgrounds. Plus, enjoy food trucks, goodie bags, door prizes, live music and more. Tickets are required.

Film buffs and fans of Latino culture celebrate cinematic grandeur from established and emerging Latino filmmakers at the 14th annual Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (PLFF). This season’s 180-plus selections include feature films, shorts, animations, web series and documentaries.

Other festival-related events include the festival’s Luz Programs (including a work-in-progress lab and filmmaker Q&A sessions) and the annual LOLA Awards, which honor filmmaking achievements in the Latino creative community. Keep an eye on the PLFF website for updates, schedules and locations, which include venues throughout the city.

Everyone knows and loves the “biggies” in Philadelphia: the LOVE Statue, the Rocky Steps, Reading Terminal Market. But why stop there?

Go deeper into what the region offers at one of these just-off-the-beaten-trail galleries, niche museums, quiet garden treasures and more.

You can learn a lot about Philadelphia just by strolling around in one of the most walkable cities in the country.

But when you’re ready to dig deeper and learn a bit more, a guided tour is the way to go — and Philly offers options for every taste. Pick your flavor by reading our brand-new interest-by-interest guide to guided tours.

First time in town? With all the history, art and culture, it’s hard to know where to start. We get it. Why not begin with the basics?

Get a jump on your Memorial Day weekend itinerary with this list of the 10 most essential things to do on your (first) visit to Philadelphia, including the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and, yes, the Rocky Steps.

We knew you’d ask about the cheesesteaks. And you’re absolutely right to — Philly’s most famous sandwich is famous for a reason.

Check out our picks for the best places to find a cheesesteak in Philly, including the tourist-y spots you’ve likely heard about and more than a few places you may not have. While you’re in town, be sure to grab other iconic Philly treats like a delectable, doughy soft pretzel and water ice, a spring and summer staple.