Fall is well underway and the holiday season is just around the corner.
It’s November: spooky season has drawn to a close, but wintertime festivities are only just beginning. There’s plenty of fun activities in Philly this time of year, from immersive art exhibits to whimsical cocktail parties. Read on to get our top picks for the second-to-last month of 2021:
1-3. Enjoy the soothing sounds of classical music by candlelight
Calm your mind and experience classical music in a whole new light with these sensational concerts located in magical venues in Philadelphia. Throughout the fall and winter, the Candlelight concert series invites everyone to relive the greatest works of classical and modern music—all the way from Tchaikovsky to Metallica—in an intimate atmosphere. Our top picks for November include:
- Candlelight Jazz: Celebrating Billie Holiday and Amy Winehouse
- Candlelight Ballet: Songs from Tchaikovsky and More
- Candlelight: Celebrating the 90s From Britney Spears to Metallica
4. Get ready to go mad at the Mad Hatter’s Gin & Tea Party
Starting this December, Philadelphia will be home to a very special tea party. This Alice in Wonderland-themed cocktail experience will send you down the rabbit hole as you enjoy delicious concoctions (spiked with a bit of gin!) during your teatime. Your host, the Mad Hatter, will go above and beyond to entertain you with jokes and songs as you explore the surreal atmosphere of Wonderland, decorated with extravagantly ludicrous decor and a kaleidoscope of colors! Tickets are selling out quickly, so act fast to get a seat at the tea party.
5. Experience Van Gogh’s masterpieces in an entirely new light
The Tower Theatre is currently hosting a unique 4D experience that surrounds you with artistic masterpieces of Vincent Van Gogh on all sides. As opposed to gazing at just one painting from afar in a museum, you’ll be able to walk inside a comprehensive selection of Van Gogh’s greatest works at this exhibit. The vibrant colors and masterly brushstrokes swirl around you as you experience these post-impressionist works at a surreal scale. You can get tickets to this unique experience here.
6. Get spooky on a Haunted Pub Crawl
Halloween season may be over, but ghosts and spirits are active all year long at Philadelphia’s spookiest haunted spots. On this pub crawl hosted by Grim Philly, you’ll visit the sites of live Witch Trials, Founding Father’s graves, bodies stacked under colonial structures, and colonial boneyard haunts in a one hour pre-pub tour before entering the most haunted taverns known to Philadelphia. With multiple dates in November, you can get your tickets here.
7. Get the most out of spooky season at the Eastern State Penitentiary
For Halloween this year, the Eastern State Penitentiary has been hosting a festival event named Halloween Nights in which you can elplore 15 different attractions—including two haunted houses—throughout the 10 acres of prison yards and spooky hallways. With light shows, themed bars, and live music, there’s a lot to explore and enjoy even after Halloween here.
8. Get ready to experience Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel coming to Philadelphia
You don’t have to travel all the way to Italy to experience the beauty and marvel of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. This immersive exhibit will be true-to-size, while still allowing you to get up-close views of the incredible details of these masterpieces. Brought to life using a special printing technique that emulates the look and feel of the original paintings, visitors are given a chance to engage with the artwork in ways that were never before possible: seeing every detail, every brushstroke, and every color of the artist’s 34 frescoes. Join the waitlist and get exclusive access before tickets are released to the public!
9-10. Have some action-packed fun at King of Prussia
King of Prussia has so much more to offer than clothing stores these days! This November, you can play an epic escape game, with three storylines to choose from, or experience what it’s like to skydive indoors. If you’re looking for an unforgettable, action-packed experience, you’ve come to this right place.
11. Save your spot on the Viva Las Vengeance waitlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEBiLfijhB8
You won’t want to miss this immersive VR experience based on the Netflix original film Army of the Dead. This limited-run VR experience lets you fight your way through hordes of zombies in mixed reality with the latest technology that feels shockingly real. Ready to destroy some zombies? Reserve your spot on the waitlist here.
12. Enjoy new movies on the big screen (at last!)
With theatres being closed for so long, we can’t wait to see the newest movie releases on a screen bigger than a laptop. And this fall, there are plenty of anticipated films, including Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho, Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. Get your tickets to the hottest films in Philly here with an exclusive discount.
13. Celebrate winter by ice skating at Dilworth Park
It might not totally feel like winter yet, but it’s about to—Dilworth Park is set to begin its wintertime festivities on November 1st with the opening of Wintergarden on the Greenfeild Lawn, a cozy area with winter decor and hot apple cider. And on November 5, the ice skating rink will open for the season and continue through February 27. Don your warmest wintertime fits and enjoy the novelty of cooler weather activities!
14. Turn out for the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade
Last but not least, the biggest holiday event of the month will be coming up on Thursday, November 25. When you’re not busy cooking up some turkey, catch the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade at around 8:15am, as the 1.4-mile procession starts at 20th Street and JFK Boulevard. It’s the oldest Thanksgiving parade in the country, so start planning your viewing spot now!
[featured image: Unsplash / Heidi Caden]