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The Rittenhouse Square Fine Show takes place all weekend-long. (Photo courtesy Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show)

The forecast calls for clear skies all weekend, so get outside and take advantage of one of the great events happening this weekend. Check out our picks below:

Friday

Parking Day

Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe – Final Weekend!

Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show

Center City Restaurant Week

Saturday

Ocktoberfest at Brauhaus Schmitz

Cheese Tasting With Madame Fromage

Peddler’s Village Annual Scarecrow Festival

Linvilla Orchards Arts and Music Festival

Jam on the Brandywine

See the Stars with Franklin Institute’s Chief Astronomer Derrick Pitts

Sunday

Jenkintown Festival of the Arts

Bring Your A’s Game

The Philadelphia Collection is a brand new fashion series that will roll out at venues across the city from September 23 – October 2.

The event is designed to promote the city and all aspects of its fashion economy, including its impressive “collection” of retailers, boutiques, stylists, designers, modeling agencies, design schools and fashion/design students.

Events are independently produced by local producers and retailers and will include fashion shows, trunk shows, lectures, movies, live music and more.

The City of Philadelphia, Center City District and The Philadelphia Retail Marketing Alliance compiled a series of independently produced fashion events and new happenings for this 10-day fashion and style mega-event, featuring everything from in-store events and trunk shows to free movies and panel discussions.

The event kicks off what is sure to be a busy month of style in Philadelphia, with the upcoming Fashion Week and Design Philadelphia events.

Even Mayor Nutter has caught a case of fashion fever, as he was seen modeling his green Nicole Miller tie during The Philadelphia Collection announcement.

Coincidentally, Nicole Miller is part of two events in during The Philadelphia Collection (September 23 and 26).

Other event highlights include: the 17th annual Phashion Phest (September 28); Macy’s Fall Fashion Show with Nigel Barker (September 29); the Rittenhouse Row Fall Gathering (September 29); Boyds “La Bella Vita” event with the Italian Trade Commission (September 30); and Ron Wilch’s “Taking the Streets” fashion show and live concert (October 2).

For more event information, check out The Philadelphia Collection on Facebook.

The Philadelphia Collection [Official Site]

Marathon Grill (Photo courtesy University City District)

While the ever-popular Center City Restaurant Week lures diners with three courses for $35 at restaurants across Center City, Marathon Grill has decided to up the ante.

Marathon has just introduced a new 20/20 prix fixe dinner special, comprised of three courses for $20 plus a $20 bottle of wine to accompany the meal.

And this offer will be available everyday, all year long. That’s right, this deal is becoming a mainstay on the Marathon menu. Each week, the menu will change to offer Marathon favorites and seasonal dishes.

Selections from the first 20/20 offering include: a mushroom risotto with asparagus; pan-seared flank steak with roasted vegetables and feta cheese; grilled striped bass with wheat berry, shiitake mushrooms with a spinach and artichoke vinaigrette; and an apple crumble for dessert.

What about the wine you say? How about a Martin Codax albariño and Yard Dog petit verdot-cabernet sauvignon?

All six Marathon locations are offering the 20/20 special nightly: 10th and Walnut; 1339 Chestnut; 16th and Sansom; 1818 Market; Marathon on the Square (19th and Spruce Streets); and 40th and Walnut.

Marathon Grill [Official Site]

A matador deftly avoids a charging table during "The Sun Also Rises." (Photo courtesy the Fringe Festival)

Storming onto the stage towards the end of the Live Arts Festival is New York company Elevator Repair Service with its rendition of Ernest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises.” The epic retelling of the classic novel bursts with energy at its U.S. premiere.

The story takes place in Europe – mostly the cafés of Paris and the hotels, bars, and bullfighting rings of Pamplona, Spain – and centers around a group of 1920’s American expatriates with too much time and money on their hands.

They spend their hours carousing, drinking ungodly amounts of alcohol, chasing after one another, and looking for their next great diversion.

From its classic status you can trust that the novel itself is worthwhile. But what Elevator Repair Service does with it is extraordinary.

The play takes place entirely on the set of an elaborately portrayed café interior, but you forget that you’re looking at chairs, tables, and bottles when an actor simply lies down – now he’s in his hotel room – or picks up a fishing rod – now the banks of the Irati River – or when a big table dons horns and suddenly rears to life as a charging bull.

The transitions are so seamless that you take them for granted. Rather than getting bored with the unchanging set, you can’t wait to see the next magically creative transformation.

Read the full review…

A 2009 PARK(ing) Day Spot (photo courtesy of PARK(ing) Day Philadelphia)

PARK(ing) Day is an annual, worldwide event that inspires city dwellers everywhere to transform metered parking spots into temporary parks for the public good.  Tomorrow, for one day only, the streets of Philadelphia will be home to thirty makeshift pop-up parks.  Various organizations from academic institutions to large private companies will be showing off their creativity while raising awareness of the need for more pedestrian-friendly spaces in our City.

Where are these little slices of Eden you ask? This interactive map will help you locate all of the parks around town.  Also, be sure to follow @parkingdayphila on Twitter to get the latest updates on the day.

PARK(ing) Day Philadelphia [Official Site]

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premieres its 6th season tonight on FX at 10 p.m. Head over to P.Y.T. for a Sunny premiere party, beginning at 8 p.m. with classic episodes.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Itinerary [Visit Philly]
It’s Alway’s Sunny in Philadelphia [Official Site]

Lovers of vintage baseball should make a point of heading out to Memorial Hall Field in the city’s Centennial District this Sunday (September 19) between 12-4:30 p.m. to catch Athletic B.B.C. take on the Chesapeake Nine in a old school “base ball” competition. That’s right, it’s old time baseball at it’s best (some of you might remember the Conan O’Brien clip in which he suits up and hits the field).

The game will be held at the corner of S. Concourse and N. 41st St in Fairmount Park, near the Please Touch Museum in Fairmount Park. All are welcome to bring a picnic lunch and sit for a spell. Viewers are being organized by the folks behind Bring Your A’s Game (that’s our city’s grass routes movement to bring the Athletics back to Philadelphia).

For more information or to RSVP, click here.

To coincide with the 6th Season Premiere of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia tonight, Square 1682 Restaurant at the Hotel Palomar will be giving away 200 lunch boxes containing their signature “It’s Always Sunny Chicken Sandwich” today at lunch. For free.

The sandwich giveaway event will begin at 11 am and continue through to the end of lunch service or until supplies are gone. The sandwich itself is made with crispy chicken breast, sunny side up egg, frisée, and bacon-soy vinaigrette.

The boxed lunch will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so you are encouraged to arrive early.

Square 1682 [Official Site]

The scene at the Festival Bar on opening night. (Photo by Kevin Monko, courtesy Fringe Festival)

The Live Arts & Philly Fringe Festivals are going strong heading into their final weekend.

There are still new shows opening over the next couple of days, as well as the closing performances of longer-running shows. So if you haven’t had your fill of Festival-going yet, there’s still time!

And then there’s the Festival Bar. Whether you’re a big fan of experimental performance who’s already seen 20 shows in the past 2 weeks, or someone who’s only overheard talk of this “Festival” thing, checking out the Festival Bar is a must.

It’s a cavernous space filled with awesome art installations — from fabric chandeliers hanging from the ceiling to trippy video projections. The unique bar only exists for the two weeks of the Festival (which ends this Saturday!), and then will be gone for good — hibernating and plotting its metamorphosis for next year’s incarnation.

The bar, which is at the SW corner of Spring Garden and Columbus Boulevard in Northern Liberties (club kids might know the venue as the old Club Egypt), is a cabaret, movie theater, and stage during the week, and picks up more of a club vibe on the weekends.

Each night has some kind of special programming, which you can find out about at the bar’s website.

The bar will open earlier than usual tonight, Thursday, with a DJ’d kick-off party for Philadelphia Open Studio Tours starting at 8. Friday night will be a dance party with DJ/VJ Yakov, and Saturday’s closing night party will be a raucous evening with a live set by Peter Dragontail (click here and scroll to the bottom of the page for his mind-boggling bio. Apparently he “has a tale so long it would make Tolstoy jealous”).

Don’t let this year’s Festival pass you by without a visit to the Festival Bar!

Festival Bar
21+/no cover/cash only
Doors open at 9pm weekdays, 10pm weekends
SW corner of Spring Garden and Columbus Boulevard (formerly Club Egypt) in Northern Liberties
One block east of the 2nd and Spring Garden Market/Frankford subway stop

2010 Philadelphia Live Arts and Philly Fringe Festival
Through Sept. 18th

The Whiskey King Burger at Village Whiskey. (Photo courtesy Village Whiskey)

Rockstar Chef Jose Garces is plenty busy these days — current projects include: JG Domestic, a restaurant opening in the Cira Center that will serve artisanal American food and drink; Froman’s Wurst House, a fun beers-and-bratwursts joint coming to Midtown Village; and Guapos Tacos, an on-the-go taco truck that will hit the streets in October.

But he still finds time to deliver the goods to his stalwart establishments like Distrito (Endless Tacos and Enchiladas on Mondays) and Village Whiskey.

Village Whiskey has just introduced their new “Five O’Clock Somewhere” Happy Hour on Saturday afternoons from 2 to 4 p.m., which features specials on craft whiskeys, signature cocktails, wine and beer alongside affordable $3 snacks.

The specials include: a $7 Craft Whiskey, a featured 2 oz. pour from one of the more than 80 varieties each week; a $6 Specialty Cocktail, a different cocktail from Village Whiskey’s acclaimed list will be featured each week; $5 Red and White Wine; $4 Draught Beer; and $3 Snacks, including VW Burger Sliders, BBQ Pork Sliders and Pickle Canapes, featuring different house-made pickles each week.

And remember that Village Whiskey is home to the best burger in Philadelphia, according to Craig Laban, food critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

So $3 VW Burger Sliders sound really, really good. To say nothing of the whiskey…

Village Whiskey [Visit Philly]