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Photo courtesy Philadelphia Visitor Center

Rocky Season 2026: A New, Eight-Week Celebration in Philly

September 29 - December 3, 2026

Celebrate Rocky's 50th anniversary with tours, runs, a meat market challenge and more ...

Photo courtesy Philadelphia Visitor Center

Rocky, you went the distance. You went 50 years …

Bienvenue à Rocky Season, a ticker-tape party for the Sylvester Stallone-starring beloved movie franchise that cemented Philadelphia’s enduring legacy as America’s favorite underdog. 

This eight-week, citywide celebration — running from September 29, 2026 through December 3, 2026 — coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first Rocky movie, the 1976 Academy Award winner for Best Picture. 

Rocky Season puts Philly on the global marquee through a series of high-profile events ranging in scope from the practical (bus tours and fitness runs) to the theatrical (meat-punching challenges and lookalike contests). 

Fittingly, the iconic steps outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art continue to set the stage for everything. The original Rocky statue was recently moved atop those 72 stone steps that Rocky ran up in under 12 seconds. 

Here’s our complete guide to Rocky Season 2026 in Philadelphia.

 

A rocky impersonator wearing a black hat, leather jacket and leather fingerless gloves stands inside a tour bus besides a pair of red boxing gloves hanging from above as passengers sit behind him. A rocky impersonator wearing a black hat, leather jacket and leather fingerless gloves stands inside a tour bus besides a pair of red boxing gloves hanging from above as passengers sit behind him.

Rocky Bus Tour   — Photo courtesy Philadelphia Visitor Center

What can I expect during Rocky Season?

Rocky Season officially began with the much-anticipated release of The Steps: A Memoir by Sylvester Stallone. The book is now available for purchase at the Parkway Visitor Center and Rocky Shop, located at the base of the steps in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. 

While Rocky tells the tale of a fictional boxer (loosely based on real Philly boxing champion Joe Frazier), there are a slew of events happening that bring his silver-screen story to life. Here is a quick sampling of the best things to check out in and around Philadelphia in honor of the movie’s 50th anniversary:

Smokin’ Joe Frazier Run, Walk, Roll

Samedi 3 octobre 2026

Cette nouvelle community athletic event marks the 55th anniversary of “The Fight of the Century,” the bout where hometown champ Joe Frazier beat Muhammad Ali.

Runners, walkers and wheelchair participants compete and honor Frazier’s childhood disability.

Note: After putting in the miles, visit the Joe Frazier statue, relocated to the base of the museum steps, which has his left hook — yes, the same devastating one that knocked Muhammad Ali down in 1971 — immortalized in bronze.

Rocky Bus Tours

October 10 – November 29, 2026 (Saturdays and Sundays)

The Philadelphia Visitor Center brings back its bus tours tracing Rocky’s famed runs through Philadelphia, including stops at iconic sites like the Sud de la 9e rue Italian Market, Pat's King of Steaks et Cimetière de Laurel Hill, as well as some parts of The Boxers’ Trail.

A tour guide in a black Rocky T-shirt speaks to seated passengers inside a bus decorated with Rocky imagery, including a life-sized cut out of a boxer wearing a championship belt. A tour guide in a black Rocky T-shirt speaks to seated passengers inside a bus decorated with Rocky imagery, including a life-sized cut out of a boxer wearing a championship belt.

  — Photo courtesy Philadelphia Visitor Center

Meat Market Challenge

Samedi 24 octobre 2026

Get ready to spar with raw slabs of beef, just like in the original Rocky movie!

Reading Terminal Market hôtes a special photo opportunity for carnivorous fans, with proceeds donated to Sharing Excess, a hunger relief organization.

Also: Grab your gray sweats and stay for the Rocky lookalike contest outside the market on Filbert Street. 

The Rocky Challenge

Samedi 7 novembre 2026

How fast can you run up those 72 stone steps outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA)? Rocky made the trek in under 12 seconds!

Le présent public fitness and civic celebration invites people to gather at the PMA Apron, the terrace area at the base of the steps, and go the distance. 

Trois personnes descendent les marches du musée d'art, les mains au-dessus de la tête, comme Rocky. Trois personnes descendent les marches du musée d'art, les mains au-dessus de la tête, comme Rocky.

  - Photo de J. Fusco pour Visit Philadelphia

Rocky Statue Re-Dedication Ceremony

Friday, November 13, 2026

Join city officials and special guests when Creative Philadelphia officially rededicates the Rocky statue (first unveiled in 1982) at its permanent home atop the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps. 

Gros plan sur la statue de Rocky avec le Philadelphia Museum of Art en arrière-plan. Gros plan sur la statue de Rocky avec le Philadelphia Museum of Art en arrière-plan.

  - Photo par Visit Philadelphia

The Rocky Run

Samedi, November 14, 2026

Choose from three course maps — a 10-miler, a 5K (3.1 miles) or half marathon (13.1 miles) — and find your inner Eye of the Tiger.

Some 40,000 runners from all 50 states and 75 countries are expected to take to the streets, with a gleaming gold medal waiting for you at the finish line. 

National Dog Show

Samedi 14 novembre 2026

Everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving tradition returns to the Centre d'exposition du Grand Philadelphie, adding a new Rocky-themed twist for 2026.

Butkus, the boxer’s loyal bullmastiff, visits the Therapy Dog Ambassador Booth as lookalike dogs honor the breed.

A large bullmastiff with red boxing gloves hanging from their neck sits with a woman beside Rocky-themed props, including a yellow "Italian" robe, black hat and illustrated character pillows. A large bullmastiff with red boxing gloves hanging from their neck sits with a woman beside Rocky-themed props, including a yellow "Italian" robe, black hat and illustrated character pillows.

  — Photo courtesy Philadelphia Visitor Center

Rocky 50 Special at Philadelphia Flyers

Thursday, December 3, 2026

The Broad Street Bullies pay tribute to Rocky by rolling out a special ticket package for their nationally televised home game against the New York Islanders.

Bonus: Fans can participate in a postgame “open ice” skate that recreates Rocky and Adrian’s first date. 

A group of adults and children dress in winter coats and hats smile together while wearing ice skates at an indoor ice rink. A group of adults and children dress in winter coats and hats smile together while wearing ice skates at an indoor ice rink.

  — Photo courtesy Philadelphia Visitor Center

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Movie Screenings and Book Signings

Wait, we aren’t done yet. Everyone loves a sequel, right? 

L'original Rocky film, which first premiered in 1976, gets re-released in select theaters for a limited time (November 7-11, 2026). 

Need more Rocky? A new movie called I Play Rocky — starring Anthony Ippolito as a young Sylvester Stallone, directed by Academy Award winner Peter Farrelly — hits the big screen for a limited opening (November 6, 2026). 

Lastly, go even deeper into the Rocky legacy by attending a book signing and Q&A session at Cimetière de Laurel Hill avec The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Mike Sielski. His new book, Going the Distance: Stallone, Philly and the Story of Rocky, tells behind-the-scenes stories from the movie while serving as a love letter to Philadelphia (November 12, 2026). 

Four women gather around a headstone for Adrian Balboa at Laurel Hill Cemetery, with one pointing to the stone. Four women gather around a headstone for Adrian Balboa at Laurel Hill Cemetery, with one pointing to the stone.

Colline de Laurel   — Photo courtesy Philadelphia Visitor Center

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Read More About Rocky in Philadelphia

Philadelphia carries an unbroken bond to Rocky Balboa. Love him or hate him, he embodies the fighting spirit of our city and our people. 

Tourism experts estimate that 4 million people visit the Rocky Steps and Rocky Statue every year, which is higher than the Statue of Liberty in New York.  Jetez un œil à notre guide to visiting the Rocky Steps and Rocky Statue. 

Or chart your own course for seeing the most iconic Philly sites featured in all the Rocky movies, plus its popular spin-off franchise Credo. 

A bronze Rocky statue raises both boxing-gloved fists in victory, seen from behind with Philadelphia's skyscrapers in the background. A bronze Rocky statue raises both boxing-gloved fists in victory, seen from behind with Philadelphia's skyscrapers in the background.

  - Photo par Visit Philadelphia

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