July 11, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Reading Terminal Market's annual ice cream festival hits Filbert Street on Saturday.
Foodies can gorge on some of the finest ice cream and French dishes in Philadelphia this weekend, thanks to two tasty events.
Reading Terminal Market will once again welcome scoop shops from around the city to Filbert Street for an ice cream festival outside its historic halls (with additional specials inside). And on Sunday, restaurants will plate creme brulee and coq au vin in honor of Bastille Day, the French holiday.
But if retro aliens are more your scene, there's good news. Blobfest is back at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville for another three-day festival celebrating '50s sci-fi and horror — with plenty of audience participation.
In heat spells like these, there's only one thing to do: Eat ice cream. Reading Terminal Market's annual celebration of the summer treat returns to Center City on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Shops including Cloud Cups, Milk Jawn, Bassetts, Franklin Fountain, Scoop DeVille and Weckerly's will be dishing out cones and cups on the street. But there's even more inside the market, where vendors will serve milkshakes, sundaes and something called a "turkey salad ice cream cone."
Colonial Theatre's annual ode to "The Blob," the 1958 sci-fi classic that filmed inside the Phoenixville multiplex, returns this weekend for its 25th year. Blobfest promises a street fair, live show from horror host Aurora Gorealis and multiple movie screenings. Unfortunately, the shows with "run outs," when fans recreate the famous scene featuring the Colonial Theatre by sprinting into the street, are already sold out.
The Barnes Foundation is inviting the city out to Benjamin Franklin Parkway for a day of music, food and fine arts. On Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., visitors can join a free block party in the museum's outdoor space. Artists will be on-site performing — in musical and dance sets — and leading workshops on ceramics, collaging and crafts. Pay-as-you-go refreshments will also be available from food trucks and a beer garden.
Sunday is Bastille Day, when France celebrates a pivotal storming of the Parisian prison. French restaurants in Philadelphia are marking the occasion accordingly with food specials and events. Parc will offer face painting, balloon animals, caricatures and an ice cream and macaron cart in the afternoon, while Townsend will hawk $10 cocktails and spritzes and a prix fixe menu in the evening. The festivities start even earlier at Mount Airy's Jansen, which has its own prix fixe lineup available through Friday.
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