The feature events that shaped Philadelphia in 2023

The Flower Show returned indoors — and fully bloomed 

The floral-forward exhibition was moved outdoors to FDR Park in South Philly during the pandemic in 2021 and 2022. The past two shows were beautiful and felt fitting being in nature, especially with it taking place later in the summer. However, the indoor Flower Show just had a magical aspect about it: The juxtaposition of seeing the beautiful horticultural exhibits and happenings in an otherwise plain, large conference hall was transformative, to say the least. 

The theme in 2023 was ‘The Garden Electric’ and it featured various vendors, large-scale exhibitions, unique looks at the horticultural world and even a butterfly exhibit. 

Philadelphians celebrated for their teams

2023 was a big year in terms of sports watching with the Eagles making it to the Super Bowl, and the Philadelphia Phillies once again making it to the playoffs. During February, the city was in full swing with anticipation, watch parties and celebrations, and that feeling returned in October for the Phillies… though it turned out in the end, most poles didn’t need to be greased. 

The Franklin Institute became “The Happiest Place on Earth”  

The FI is known for its impressive line-up of exhibits, and 2023 turned out to house one of the largest to date with ‘Disney:100.’ The activation (which was on display until the late summer) featured 10 galleries covering 15,000 square feet all in commemoration of the 100-year celebration of The Walt Disney Company. 

Philadelphians were able to walk through sections highlighting a century of work from the archives of WDC, and also, a brief look into what the future holds on top of a ton of other insider knowledge and rare Disney artifacts. 

Taylor Swift took over the town… then Barbie did too

When Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour came to town in May, Swifties took over Lincoln Financial for three consecutive nights. And in celebration, some spots around town also debuted their own tributes. Latchkey on East Passyunk threw a pre-game party, The Dutch dubbed a trio of their cocktails in honor of the songstress, and even Xfinity Live! threw a party featuring a DJ, dance party, curated themed cocktails, photo booths, activations, a costume contest and more. 

Then, the city turned bright pink in the summer when ‘Barbie’ was released. Pop-ups honoring the doll-turned-movie star were debuting all over the city from Blondie in Manayunk, Dock Street Brewery, Añejo Philly, Bagels and Co., Madison K Cookies, Evil Genius Beer Company and more. 

Philly won big at the James Beard Awards 

All of us who live in the City of Brotherly Love know just how immense and impressive the local food scene is — and so does James Beard. Well, the James Beard Awards rather, and in 2023, Philly won big. Nominees from all over the country were in Chicago in June to attend the red-carpeted ceremony, which has been nicknamed the “Oscars of the food scene” to some. And Philadelphia was the bell of the ball per se, winning more than other major cities such as New York City, Chicago, Portland (Oregon) and Los Angeles. 

For one, Ellen Yin won the Outstanding Restaurateur award and husband/wife team Chad and Hanna Williams also won big with their Rittenhouse hotspot Friday Saturday Sunday for the Outstanding Restaurant Award. Another big Philly win came from Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon, who won in the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic category, and there was a win in the drinks category from Toby Maloney who was posted up for a better part of the year at Hop Sing Laundromat. 

The Philadelphia Film Festival felt bigger than ever 

In its 32nd year, the PFF returned to fully offering in-person screenings at all PFS venues, including the Philadelphia Film Center, PFS Bourse Theater, and PFS East. The films throughout the festival encompassed a wide variety of genres, including some world premieres, with a spotlight on some local talent as well, including ‘Stand Up & Shout: Songs From A Philly High School.’

The festival also highlighted a few centerpiece films, including Bradley Cooper’s widely anticipated ‘Maestro‘, and another feature with a local tie, ‘Rustin‘ starring Philadelphia-native and Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo. ‘The Holdovers‘ also brought in some Philly flair (aka local actors) with director Alexander Payne’s New England prep school comedy, reuniting Payne and film star Paul Giamatti.

The city’s holiday cheer seemed to be the jolliest yet since the pandemic 

Philadelphia always does the holiday season right with an abundant amount of pop-ups around town, the return of Christmas Village, ice rinks being sprinkled around the city, and holiday lights brightening up patches of Philly. But 2023 seemed to feel extra festive, especially when you think back to where we were in 2020 at this time of year. 

On top of returning favorites for the city, some of the most unique additions came in the form of a pink and white disco-clad pop-up dubbed the White Elephant Christmas Bar; Tinseltown being moved to FDR Park; a holiday pop-up that also sold Christmas Trees at Walnut Garden; a holiday haunted house and a plethora of tree lightings around the city.