Philadelphia-Evening Activities
 

I am taking a trip with 30 13-14 year olds in late June to Philadelphia. Our evenings are open and I was wondering if there is anything to do in the evenings for this age group? Along with the 10 adults going. We will see all of the normal sites, but nothing seems to be open after dinner time. I am looking specifically for Tuesday or Wednesday, June 24th or 25th. Any ideas would be great!

Cindy.

Try Dave & Buster's on Columbus Boulevard (next to Penn's Landing on riverfront).

In better weather you may find some free outdoor concerts taking place in Rittenhouse Square or Penn's Landing. Check online calendars at gophila.com and also listings in Philadelphia Weekly or City Paper (both these newspapers can be found online).

"Lights of Liberty" show or one of the Philadelphia Ghost Tours both start after dark and could be something else you can do as a group - but you should probably try to reserve ahead since your group is so large.

Thank you! The "Lights of Liberty" show looks perfect. Have you been to it? What time does it start in late June?

All information you need about schedule, times, prices, buying tickets for group sales, can be found at Lightsofliberty.org online.

I lived in Philadelphia, so tended to avoid touristy things. Had out of town relatives who took this tour on their own and they liked it - one of the relatives was a 15 year old.

hi cindy,

i visit philly often (live only 90 miles away). have experienced "lights of liberty" twice, and will do it again. it is a fantastic audio/visual walking tour. adults and kids both, will totally enjoy.

you might also want to consider eastern state penitentiary (ESP)

http://www.easternstate.org
i think the kids would love this

all things of interest are on the gophila web site that ceidleh recommends.

have fun

I would check the dates for Sunoco "Welcome America". They usually have lots of cool activities in the week or so leading up the 4th of July.
If you are feeling extraordinarily brave, you could take them to South Street. They will likely love it, but it is kind of seedy, and I would absolutely NOT let them wander loose, no matter how cool that store looks.
Dave and Buster would absolutely be a hit, but they are very strict about how many minors an adult may have in tow. Make sure that your numbers are in compliance with their policy. And make sure that all of your adults have proper ID. They would not let me in once (at 5pm on a Thursday) because I did not have sufficient ID. This was about six weeks before my 40th birthday.
What are you feeding them? A sufficiently elaborate meal and a walk might keep them out of trouble too.

I did check the Sunoco dates. They don't have anything going until the 28th unfortunately. Sorry.

RE: Persimmondeb's suggestion of South Street...

Maybe I'd consider taking 1 or 2 older (16-17 yo) teens there. At night with a group of thirty 13 & 14 year olds, no.

South Street is primarily made up of bars, restaurants, coffee shops, fast food joints, small shops and a couple big box retailers like Gap. The area itself is not "seedy", but it's really not geared towards young teens.

Many of the small stores sell handcrafted jewelry and clothing and aren't particularly welcoming to large groups of kids. The other stores range from junk jewelry and t-shirts with obnoxious sayings with a number selling sex toys, condoms, porn DVDs, bongs and bachelor party gag gifts.

It can get pretty crowded on South Street during summer nights, making it harder to keep track of your charges.

If you want to take them for cheesesteaks at Jim's (4th & South) or Rita's Water Ice on South, that's fine - but you may want to keep close tabs on what stores they are walking into.

You can take your kids to see the homeless drunks taking a bath in Logan Circle Fountain.

They can wave to Muffy whilst she drinks her two bottles of Krug at the Four Seasons.

Yes, that is her in the tiara and mink coat and Jimmy Choo boots. Her lipstick is meant to be smeared. Don't be afraid.

Thingorjus

My kids love Dave and Busters.

My 15 y.o. son recommends Jim's Steaks and a professional sports game.

Here are some things to do:
http://www.gophila.com/C/Things_to_D...0picks_Content


http://www.gophila.com/C/Things_to_D...HPIten_Content

Does Philly still have the "Wednesday Night Out" program?

When I was there on business a number of years ago, everything was open later on Wednesdays, like the museums and galleries. (It was supposedly done to entice business people to spend their money and see some of Philly, as most were there only M-F- like me!) I took full advantage of it and loved seeing the art museum (with the Rocky statue) and the lovely Van Goghs inside. They also had a potato/salad bar and some musicians roaming around. It was awesome.

Do they still do that?