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What better way to get a good dose of autumnal flavor than by partaking in an old fashioned, beery Pumpkinfest? This Thursday, October 28th, Devil’s Den will be offering you just such an opportunity. All pumpkin beers (seven on tap, six in bottles) are $1 off from 7-9 p.m. and include such gems as the Sixpoint Pumpkin Brewster, the Bruery Autumn Maple and the Arcadia Jaw Jacker.

Meal specials include a housemade pumpkin soup topped with toasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin ravioli with a sage brown butter, a pork chop with pumpkin stuffing and, to finish things off, a pumpkin mousse. Get down there and get yourself a good dose of harvest-y deliciousness.

Devil’s Den
1148 S. 11th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 339-0855
devilsdenphilly.com

Fans lined up to greet Yannick at the Kimmel Center in June.
(Photo by Chris Lee courtesy Philadelphia Orchestra)

Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead his first subscription concerts as The Philadelphia Orchestra’s music director designate on October 29, 30, and 31, 2010 in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, leading milestone symphonies by two Viennese masters working a century apart.

The program pairs Haydn’s “Military” Symphony, so named for its trumpet-and-drum fanfare in the second movement, with Mahler’s mighty Fifth, whose march-like first movement not only harkens back to the Haydn on the first half, but is also said to echo the composer’s childhood memories of bugle calls and military bands in his native Moravia.

Immediately following each of his appearances with the Orchestra, Yannick will greet audiences in the Kimmel Center’s Commonwealth Plaza.

In January 2011, Yannick returns to conduct Debussy’s Nocturnes and Mozart’s Requiem for chorus, soloists, and orchestra.

A piece not heard by Philadelphia Orchestra audiences in 20 years, Mozart’s Requiem remains one of the most famous pieces of music ever written and the numerous attempts to complete the score, left unfinished at the composer’s early death, have only enhanced its legendary status.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin was announced as the next music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra on June 14, 2010.

Four days later he made his first official appearances as music director designate as part of day-long “Welcome” tour of Philadelphia, during which he met with patrons at the Kimmel Center, visited iconic city sites, attended a Neighborhood Concert in Upper Darby, and was welcomed by over 45,000 Phillies fans during the seventh-inning stretch at Citizen’s Bank Park, a video of which you can watch after the jump.

Nézet-Séguin: Haydn to Mahler
Friday, October 29, 2010 8 pm
Saturday, October 30, 2010 8 pm
Sunday, October 31, 2010 2 pm
Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center

Philadelphia Orchestra [Official Site]

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Tickets for the season-opener against Lebron and the Heat are still available. (Photo courtesy the Philadelphia 76ers)

Good news, basketball fans: the new-look 76ers start their 2010-2011 NBA season tomorrow night.

The Sixers return to the recently renamed Wells Fargo Center tomorrow to kick off the season against LeBron James and the star-studded Miami Heat. And tickets for Wednesday night’s opener are still available!

Can’t make it to the home opener? The Sixers are offering fans the choice of three value ticket packages for the games of your choice throughout the regular season, including one offer that includes a pair of Spectrum seats:

- Big Value Deal
Two tickets, two hot dogs, and two sodas for $59.

- Family Fun Pack
Four tickets, four sodas, four hot dogs for $59.

- Spectrum Chair Package
Two tickets and two Spectrum chair seats for $200.

If you’ve ever been to the Wells Fargo Center (formerly known as the Wachovia Center) you know there isn’t a bad seat in the house, making it one of the best arenas to catch an NBA game.

To see the full 2010-2011 76ers schedule, click here.

Philadelphia 76ers [Official Site]

Halloween is this Sunday, which means that the anticipatory partying should be starting, oh, right about now, actually. If you can hold off to start your celebrations until Thursday, consider checking out the extravaganza that Dos Segundos is going to be throwing down starting October 28th at 12 noon.

Show up in costume at Dos Segundos starting at 12 noon and receive half off margarita pitchers, $4 pints of margaritas and
sangria, $4 Modelo Especial tallboys and $3 drafts. DJ/Producer Julian Grefe of Pink Skull will be spinning (starting at 10 p.m.). Pumpkin margaritas and Oktoberfest will be flowing and much fun will be had by all.

Dos Segundos
931 N 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA
cantinadossegundos.com

T-shirt design for the inaugural Philadelphia Bike Expo (Courtesy Bilenky Cycle Works)

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and Bilenky Cycle Works is hosting the first ever Philadelphia Bike Expo this weekend at the 23rd Street Armory in Center City.

In addition to riding demos, exhibitions, and presentations, more than 70 exhibitors will be on hand showing off their latest gear, including Brompton, Fuji, Jamis, Serotta, Surly, and Waterford and marquees, R.E Load, Coast Cycles, Engin Cycles, Gallus Cycles, and Kelly Bedford.

Other activities: discuss Philadelphia’s growing bike culture with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s Executive Director Alex Doty; take a yoga class for cyclists with Ruchama Blienky; or learn about the industry from bicycle company founders Richard Schwinn and Georgina Terry.

Check out the latest in biking fashion at the PBE Fashion Showcase (October 30) or pick up some new gear during a swap meet outside the Armory (October 31).

Attendance is open to the public. Single day passes are $5 in advance and $10 at the door. Weekend passes are also available; they cost $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

For a full schedule of events and to purchase tickets, check out the expo’s website.

Philadelphia Bike Expo
23rd Street Armory
October 30-31, 2010

Photos of the new Mark Cohen exhibition at the PMA (all photos by M. McClellan for GPTMC)

Mark Cohen is a Pennsylvania-based photographer who has been working in and around the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre areas for more than 40 years. In the 1970s, he gained attention for his aggressive style of street photography in which he very abruptly approaches strangers and takes their photos with a wide-angle lens (and on occasion, flash).

You can see the results of this approach at the new exhibition in the Perelman Building of the Philadelphia Museum of Art called Mark Cohen: Strange Evidence, now through February 2011. The images he creates are often just fragments of people and the results are both appealing in the universality and uncomfortable in their disembodiments.

Cohen’s photographs have been taken over the last 40 years, and yet, because of his choices regarding style and subject, every image shown in this exhibition appear as if they could be contemporaries of one another. During the preview of this show, the artist admitted that he’s most interested in American life when it looks like the 1950s and so has worked to maintain the feel of that era.

No additional ticketing is required for Strange Evidence, admission is included in the general museum fee. This photographs will be on display now through February 2011, so make sure to see them while you can. To see more photos from the preview of this exhibition, click here.

Channel your pet's inner-Egyptian at the Franklin Institute (Photo courtesy FI)

Combine your love of animal costumes and Ancient Egypt at the Franklin Institute this Saturday and you could win $500.

Bring your patient pets dressed in Ancient Egyptian garb to the steps of the Franklin Institute for a chance to win one of two cash prizes during the Cleo-cat-ra and Bark Antony Pet Contest in honor of the ongoing Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt exhibit.

Costumes will be judged on creativity and originality with $500 cash going to the winner and $250 for second place. The third place winner will get two tickets to the Cleopatra exhibit.

Humans are also encouraged to get into the Egyptian mood with costumes of their own.

Registration begins at 1 pm and judging kicks off at 2 pm.

If you are looking for a pet of your own, the Pennsylvania SPCA Mobile Adoption Unit will be at the scene offering instant adoptions.

Cleo-cat-ra and Bark Antony Pet Contest
Franklin Institute steps at 20th Street
Saturday, October 30
1 pm – 3 pm

I come from people who take the annual carving of the jack-o’-lantern very seriously. My paternal grandmother had such strong beliefs as to how to properly create a spooky gourd that she used her art director skills to write and illustrate a small pamphlet on the topic.

This Thursday, October 28th from 6-8 p.m., you’ll have a chance to learn the art of the jack-o’-lantern from people who are similarly devoted. Art in the Age is hosting a free event that will be offering pumpkin carving lessons and free cocktails (made with their two artisanal spirits – Root and Snap). Leading the pumpkin carving portion of the evening will be Walter and Margaux Kent of the online shop Peg and Awl.

Though this event is free, space is limited, so you must reserve your spot. Email nicoleATartintheage.com to claim your spot. It takes place at the Art in the Age space, 116 N. 3rd Street, in Philadelphia.

What else can we say?

The National Consitition Center hosts two days of haunted Halloween-themed tours, programs and events. (Photo courtesy of the NCC)

All weekend-long, the National Constitution Center is hosting a spooky two-day Halloween celebration in conjunction with the Center’s Art of the American Soldier exhibition.

On Saturday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. visitors of all ages are invited and encouraged to dress up in costumes and hear the bone-chilling tales of Revolutionary War soldiers, participate in a “Haunted War History” scavenger hunt, take a special American burial history tour and more.

To add to the frightening festivities, the National Constitution Center’s famous Signers’ Hall bronze statues will come alive to mingle with visitors and this Halloween, you can check out their late-night shenanigans on the new Signers’ Hall webcam.

Halloween Celebration at the National Constitution Center
When: October 30, 2010 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and October 31, 2010 from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Where: National Constitution Center
Cost: Free with museum admission