Uwishunu.com

If you’re one of those people who likes to start your holiday shopping the day after Thanksgiving, instead of heading to the mall on Friday, consider heading over to the west side of City Hall. There you’ll find the Philadelphia Christmas Village.

In it’s second year, this mini-festival springs up on Dilworth Plaza during Thanksgiving week and stays open until Christmas Eve. When you visit, you’ll find crafters, toy makers, entertainers and food vendors, all tucked into charming wooden structures, designed to recall Bavarian architecture. There’s a world delicate glass ornaments to explore, all imported directly from Europe for our village.

The Christmas Village is open daily, starting November 27th and running through December 24th. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (they’ll be closing at 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve, so that the vendors can be with their families).

For the complete schedule of Christmas Village events, including the City Hall tree lighting and activities for kids, click here.

This Friday, the ladies of the Smak Parlour are hosting a great Black Friday sale. Giveaways and discounts galore, an artist meet-and-greet, and a special unveiling? Awesome.

The sale kicks off at 5PM and runs through 8PM. With every purchase of $40 or more, you can receive a free pair of gloves, and regular items are going to be discounted up to 40% off throughout the shop.

They’ll also be unveiling their Jungle All The Way holiday window, which features paintings and design works from Philadelphia artist Sarah Folger. She’ll be at the shop, meeting costumers and fans.

So stop by! Along with the sales, they’ll also be serving some quality Christmas brews, including Weyerbacher Winter Ale and Merry Monks Belgian Tripel, for you to sip on while you shop.

Smak Parlour
219 Market St, Philadelphia PA 19106
(215) 625-4551
www.smakparlour.com

‘Tis the season for holiday events, fairs and festivals throughout the Philadelphia region. One local attraction that really decks the halls for the holiday is Peddler’s Village, out in Lahaska, PA. This quaint commercial village pulls out all the stops in November and December with wreaths, greenery and lots and lots of twinkling lights.

Next weekend (December 5 and 6) is their annual Christmas Festival. On Saturday, Santa will arrive in a horse-drawn carriage and will have time to visit will all the children who want to sit on his knee. There will be hot mulled cider, toasted marshmallows and roasted chestnuts, all seasonal favorites. If you need a little Christmas, mark your calenders and head out there next weekend.

Peddler’s Village Christmas Festival
December 5 and 6, 2009
41 Peddler’s Village Road, Lahaska,

(Clockwise from bottom left) Fishing in front of the Water Works and the Art Museum; the Northbook Canoe Company; and Chamounix Equestrian Center. (Photos by R. Nowitz, B. Krist and R. Kennedy)

Oh, how we love Philadelphia’s wide open spaces! Biking, fishing, canoeing, horse-back riding, jogging and, of course, lots of walking (Philly’s awfully walkable) keep us fit, while the fresh air blows freely all year long. We’re thankful that we can be country boys and girls — within city limits.

Dear Outdoor Enthusiast,

Get your run, bike or blade on here. We have green space aplenty, and the residents here constantly sport that fresh, outdoorsy scent.

1. In 2009, Prevention magazine, the American Podiatric Medical Association and Sperling’s Best Places ranked Philadelphia fourth in its survey entitled “Top 10 Walking Cities.”

2. The Schuylkill River Trail provides 25 miles of uninterrupted, partially paved trails from Center City to Montgomery County. It’s perfect for biking, walking or running.

3. Fairmount Park is the nation’s largest municipal park — yes, even bigger than New York’s Central Park — and features 9,200 lush acres and 215 miles of jogging trails.

(From left) Disc golf at Fairmount Park; biking along the Schuylkill River Trail. (Photos by G. Widman and R. Kennedy)

4. Art isn’t the only thing visitors find at The Barnes Foundation. Outside, the gardens and arboreta bloom with 3,000 species, including the exotic Monkey Puzzle Tree, Heavenly Bamboo and Southern Magnolia. And more than 10,000 rare and unusual species are nurtured in the Herbarium.

5. Cyclists can ride along Philly’s more than 205 miles of bike lanes and trails.

6. Inside Washington Square, picnickers can find a tree that got an unusual start. Planted in 1975, the sycamore’s seed went to the moon and back on the Apollo XIV mission.

7. Historic Bartram’s Garden is not only the nation’s oldest botanical garden, but also home to the oldest Gingko tree in the country.

8. With its own river otter and 37 different species of fish, the Schuylkill River is a popular spot for anglers.

This Thanksgiving, We’re Thankful For… [uwishunu]

The Official Philly Brag Book [gophila.com]

The 2nd Annual Comcast Holiday Spectacular (all photos by M. McClellan)

The Comcast Holiday Spectacular is back for a second year, and it’s better than ever. You probably thought that last year’s show was plenty impressive, with aerial views of nighttime Philly and a sweeping trip through a snow-covered forest. Well, this year you’ll get all that, but it will be in vibrant 3-D.

This year’s Holiday Spectacular will be shown at the top of each hour (expect at 5 p.m. on weekdays, so that all those folks who work at Comcast can exit the building unimpeded), starting on Thanksgiving Day and running through New Year’s Day. Attendants will be stationed at the various entrances into the building, handing out free 3-D glasses.

This year, Comcast has partnered with the United Way of Southeastern PA to encourage people to help fight hunger this holiday season. At the beginning and end of each showing of the Holiday Spectacular, Shaquille O’Neal appears on the screen and invites people to donate $5 to the United Way by texting “Philly” to 864833.

Lee Frank is a food blogger living in New York City, but his Philadelphia roots run deep. He currently runs a successful food blog about nachos in New York (appropriately titled NachoNY), but he hasn’t forgotten about his pals back home. This weekend, Frank brings his love of nachos back to his hometown, with the Philadelphia Nacho Crawl.

For just $10 this Saturday, nacho crawlers will be able to try nachos from three excellent South Philadelphia restaurants. The Royal Tavern, La Lupe, and Cantina Los Caballitos. The crawl kicks off at the Royal Tavern at 3PM.

This all takes place this Saturday, November 28th. To RSVP for the crawl, please visit Nachos NY.

Philadelphia Nacho Crawl
Saturday, November 28th, 3PM

The Royal Tavern
937 E Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19147-2943
(215) 389-6694
www.royaltavern.com

La Lupe
1201 S 9th St, Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 551-9920

Cantina Los Caballitos
1651 E. Passyunk Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 755-3550
cantinaloscaballitos.com

For those of you who missed the Philadelphia Marathon this past weekend, here’s a wonderful short timelapse of the event created by Laan Labs.

And hey, if you ran in the marathon, see if you can spot yourself.

Enjoy!

Philadelphia Marathon
www.philadelphiamarathon.com

With two locations in Center City, wine-beer-and-cheese specialist Tria is your go-to "fermentation destination." (Photo courtesy of Tria)

Tria [gophila.com]

Headhouse Square during a Fall farmer's market, Photo by Marisa McClellan

This Sunday, gather around the historic Headhouse Square with the friends and family, for their fifth annual Winter Wonderland.

Visitors to the Square will be able to indulge in hot white chocolate, listen to Christmas carolers from the Point Breeze Performing Arts Center, and pose for holiday pictures. Lots for the kids to do as well, including activities like face painting and balloon art. All the events take place from 5PM to 7PM, with the yearly tree lighting at 6PM.

Afterwards, why not check out one of the many awesome restaurants right in the area? After-all, Xochitl and Pizzeria Stella are right there.

The Fifth Annual Winter Wonderland
Sunday November 29th, 5-7PM (Tree lighting @ 6PM)

Headhouse Square
Second Street between Lombard and Pine Streets

Christmas ornament at Hudson Beach Glass

Starting the day after Thanksgiving, you can stop by the Hudson Beach Glass Studio in Old City to make your own Christmas ornament.Walk on in, pick the color of your ornament (blue, pink, green, purple, all-of-the-above) and Sean Gilvey, owner and glassblower at Hudson Beach, will help you make your masterpiece.

Each ornament costs $35, and takes about 15 to 20 minutes to make. You’ll have to leave your ornament at the shop overnight to cool, but don’t worry, the folks at Hudson Beach will mail it to you the next day.

For more information, be sure to visit Hudson Beach’s official website. And for a fun, first hand look inside the studio, check out the video after the jump!

Hudson Beach Glass Studio
26 South Strawberry Street, Philadelphia PA, 19106
(267) 319-1887
www.hudsonbeachglasspa.com

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