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Visit Philly’s Overnight Hotel Packages Offer Sizzlin’ Stay & Play Deals
The iconic and stately Bellevue Hotel is a must-stay destination when visiting Philly. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden You’ve got to check out Visit Philly‘s packages! Seriously. Unless you enjoy doing your own travel planning and research, let Visit Philly do the legwork for you. Visit Philly’s Overnight Hotel Packages have you covered with overnight accommodations at the city’s top-notch participating hotels, meals at its finest restaurants and a list of recreational, entertainment and educational perks to complement and enhance your stay. Concerned about hotel parking? Don’t be: it’s covered as well. On arrival, check your ride and let participating hotels pick up the parking tab. Talk about value-added … that’s…
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Bank on Delicious Tastes, City Views at Loews Hotel in Philadelphia, PA
When in Philly, stay and eat at Loews Hotel and Bank & Bourbon; both rate high marks in my playbook. “New York is a place where people go to reinvent themselves; Philadelphia is a place where people discover who they are.” – Chef Peter McAndrews Story, photos by Sharon Kozden Maybe like me, you’re a country mouse, living outside Philadelphia’s suburbs while still close enough to identify Philly as your home city. Country life has its pluses: falling asleep to the sounds of crickets, sweet silence for lack of passing vehicles on long and winding roads and land expanses with more nature than neighbor views are just a few. I’m talking…
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Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival Represents Fragility, Beauty of Life at Shofuso Japanese House and Garden in Philadelphia
Feast your eyes on this explosion of cherry blossoms and breathe in gratitude for nature’s spectacular gifts. “The significance of the cherry blossom tree in Japanese culture goes back hundreds of years. In their country, the cherry blossom represents the fragility and the beauty of life. It’s a reminder that life is almost overwhelmingly beautiful but that it is also tragically short.” – Homaro Cantu Story, photos by Sharon Kozden I remember the moment in high-definition clarity. My face (as I type this) is cherry-blossom pink because a faux pas I made over a year ago was recalled for the purpose of this article’s opening (what I won’t do for…
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Piazza Pod Park Opens in Philly’s Northern Liberties, BEBOT Towers Over Fun-for-All Hot Spot
Piazza Pod Park in Northern Liberties is officially open. Robot Bebot looms large. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden Remember when the now infamous Philadelphia Flyers’ mascot Gritty arrived on the scene in late 2018? Gritty, he of the bugged-out eyes and shaggy orange fur recently made room for the new kid on the block-one Bebot, an imposing but welcoming robot from Burning Man that towers over the Post Brothers’ latest creative use of community space (dubbed Piazza Pod Park) in Northern Liberties. The Mod Pod. I remember that television show. Tee. At 33 feet high and weighing in at 13,000 pounds, Bebot’s jolly wave greeted the public on June 8th’s grand…
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Philly Restaurant and Bar BLUME Blooms at VIP Preview Party
Photos, story by Sharon Kozden Growing restaurant mogul Teddy Sourias and Craft Concepts Group unveiled Blume, their latest restaurant and bar concept during a VIP preview bash on a warm April evening. Located in Rittenhouse on the former site of Cinder, Copper & Lace, Blume drew crowds eager to pose before its window’s larger-than-life, Peter Max-like colorful butterfly decal. Inside, a ceiling covered in plants and bearing the establishment’s name twice as nice and in lights hovers over a relaxing banquette seating area. Between décor design elements (don’t miss the wall of realistic roses!), that are both whimsical and sophisticated, Blume is Philly’s summertime hot spot to be, sipping cocktails,…
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Mayor’s Masked Ball at Philadelphia’s Convention Center Raises Over $760,000 for UNCF
Philadelphia’s Convention Center boasts escalators of amusement park-ride proportions. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Galas and balls may not be everyone’s (as the Brits say) cuppa char. I, however, would be hard pressed to decline an invite to either. That said, and while the prospect of a evening at home in my comfies, chowing Chinese takeaway and watching a flick in the cuddly company of my fur babies is a thoroughly enticing one, an occasional night on the town offers a desirable change of pace. I relish an opportunity to bust out the glam finery of cocktail dresses and gowns, wield a…
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Catch a Buzz at PA’s Drexel University’s Academy of Natural Sciences Boozy Botanicals Art Deco-Era Event
Whatever lies behind Door 19 must be more mysterious than anything in the proverbial door numbers one, two or three. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination.” — John Dewey I suspected that I was in for a wild night at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University‘s Door 19 event, cleverly named Boozy Botanicals. My vivid imagination envisioned scenes straight out of Little Shop of Horrors, all man-eating plants and specialty cocktails infused with the likes of stinging nettles or mugwort, ferns and fronds serving as swizzle sticks. Maybe my previous assignment at the Academy (Xtreme Bugs, featuring…
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Experience Best of Times, Wurst of Times at Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant in Phoenixville, PA
Foodies will pretty much follow anything that leads to food. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden Achtung! Attention, that is and full disclosure: I’m apparently intolerant of craft brews, which I discovered at the wurst of times, namely Oktoberfest. This would ordinarily be of no concern; however and just prior to learning of my sensitivity to these more potent beers, I accepted an assignment at Phoenixville, PA‘s Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant. Did I mention the event was a celebration of Oktoberfest (clearly not a big month for beer consumption)? To compound the irony, I reside in Phoenixville, where such boozy establishments saturate the Borough. Since I’d never encountered an issue…
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Restore Medical Marijuana Center Opens Second Cannabis Dispensary in Elkins Park, PA
Extracts, capsules, serums, salves, liquids via syringe and tinctures make for a variety of choices of one of Restore’s featured brands. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden Restore Integrative Wellness Center has done it again! They opened a second medical marijuana dispensary on Old York Road in Elkins Park, PA this fall. Restore has the distinction of being Philadelphia’s very first such outlet, when its premier location was launched in the spring of 2018 in Philly’s Fishtown section (just across from the Fillmore). Both dispensaries are similar in size and staff, all of whom are at the ready to dispense not only product but a wealth of information and knowledge. A…
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Philadelphia Film Center Rolls Out Red Carpet for Paul Dano, Screens Directorial Debut of ‘WILDLIFE’
The theater formerly known as the Prince Theater was renamed; marquee now boasts new signage. “And there are words, significant words, you do not want to say, words that account for busted-up lives, words that try to fix something ruined that shouldn’t be ruined and no one wanted ruined, and that words can’t fix anything. Telling.” – Richard Ford, Wildlife Story, photos by Sharon Kozden The 2019 Academy Awards are in the bag, the suspense over until next year. Your personal favorites either won iconic trophy statuettes or were left out of the picture. For the record, I was disappointed over Glenn Close’s loss. And yet, one of the best things…
