2023 is here and there is already so much to talk about.
No matter your political preference, a lot of Philadelphians are excited at the prospect of one-time Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter running for that same office, again—although nothing has been officially announced yet. During his time leading the city, no-nonsense Nutter worked to reduce youth violence and fortify K-12 educational systems, got Philly sanctuary city status, and the man was a DJ, Mixmaster Mike. We can use some joyful grooving in City Hall going forward.
How much do we love Doylestown’s Alecia Moore – Pink – whether singing or flying across the stage in Cirque du Soleil fashion? For her Summer Carnival 2023 Tour with Brandi Carlile, Pink added a second date to her Philly Citizens Bank Park schedule: Monday, Sept. 18 and Tuesday, Sept. 19.
When you weren’t looking, Rob and Maggie Wasserman of Rouge in Rittenhouse Square turned their annual Philadelphia Burger Brawl—benefiting Philadelphias schools—into the Philadelphia Burger Crawl. Now, you’ll stroll along with judges through Jan. 31 to sample the contest chef’s 30 burgers, and wait until the Crawl’s award ceremony, Feb. 5 at Xfinity Live! to see who won.
Philly rapper and activist Meek Mill is releasing not one, but four new albums with large-scale video components in 2023. “This year a album every quarter!!!!!!” Meek announced on Instagram and Twitter, pointing to “Dream Catching” as the title for the initial album. “‘I been loading up for a reason let’s ball!” he wrote before displays visuals of Meek in the gym and on the streets. Mill also teased a track with local rapper Lil Uzi Vert with the caption “This gotta get on the streets ASAP too!” # “Philly motion.”
Night Shyamalan’s 2023 starts with the final Philly-filmed season of ‘Servant’ on Apple TV+ dropping Jan. 14, then the early screenings for his locally-lensed ‘Knock at the Cabin’ horror-thriller starring Rupert Grint, Dave Bautista and Jonathan Groff from ‘Mindhunter’, before its public release on Feb. 3.
All new news can’t be nice news. Local favorite Memphis Taproom in Kensington will close at the end of the month. Though new schematic renderings of Jim’s Steaks on South Street (nearly lost in an electrical fire last July with its neighboring Eyes Gallery) got an airing last week, no re-opening date was given. And the long-beloved, kitty-cat-lined “Welcome to Fishtown” mural will soon be gone as a condo-complex is being erected in front of the epic painting. Sad.
Spotlight January: Kory Aversa
If you’re obsessed with dining in the Philadelphia area and-or addicted to social media, Kory Aversa is your man. Along with opening 150+ local restaurants and businesses in 2022 as PR/media creator and going viral on Instagram and TikTok, Aversa’s 2023 is primed to be even stronger.
“I’m heading into 2023 with 32 openings – restaurants, retail, a new Wildwood hotel, even a new casino with Parx Shippensburg,” says Aversa. “I’m excited as it’s the first time I’m doing massive grand openings for hotels and casinos.”
Aversa is taking advantage of his Insta-TikTok-renown by creating a collection of t-shirts featuring his Philadelphia Zoo hippos crunching pumpkins with “The Hippo Crunch Heard Round the World” and “Philly Publicist” with 10 emojis represent his top viral videos. “I’m working on an online store to sell them in 2023 and raise money for my favorite charities.”
Aversa’s personal life is flourishing too. Along with being converted to full-fledged Philly sports fanaticism, Aversa’s new boyfriend, Ben, and 70-pound pup, Otis, bought a condo on the Delaware River and just finished phase-one of renovations.
“Each morning we look out of huge floor-to-ceiling windows and soak in the peaceful waterfront vibes – and there’s a massive pool overlooking the water. Above that pool is a gym and I already started exercising to work-off those calories from being a food influencer and restaurant publicist.”
Aversa, Ben and Otis’ induction-top stove and decked-out cooking amenities on which they’re learning to cook healthier meals at home might also keep off unwanted pounds. “So far we have mostly burnt a bunch of things as we get the hang of it.”
Plus, Otis has four, nearby dog parks in which to luxuriate.
The other thing that the PR maven made time for in 2022 is paying attention to music he loves. Along with seeing “more concerts than any other year in my entire life” with Backstreet Boys, En Vogue, The Weeknd, Michael Bolton, Sam Smith and an “epic show” from The Chicks, Aversa is loving new TikTok tracks from EchoSmith (“Cool Kids”) and Rosa Linn (“Snap”).
“I’m driving Otis and Ben crazy with my music, and, in 2023 I look forward to being out with the masses singing at the top of my lungs again.”
