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Last year, the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt ran in front of a record crowd of 54,310 fans at Franklin Field in University City.
(Credit: Washington Post/Getty Images)

Before they compete at the World Championships in Daegu, the best relay teams in the world will converge on Philadelphia to test their mettle at Franklin Field on Saturday, April 30, at the 12th edition of USA vs. the World at the 117th Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa.

With more than 180 athletes flying in from around the globe, 16 countries will be on-hand to compete for six titles at the premier elite relay event in the world. Team USA will face stiff competition with teams from Brazil, Canada, Jamaica, Kenya, Morocco and the United Kingdom.

Last year a record 54,000 fans filled Franklin Field joining in Saturday’s carnival atmosphere at the Penn Relays. Tickets are still available for this year’s event online.

USA vs. the World serves as the first event of the 2011 Outdoor Visa Championship Series, and will be televised on Saturday, April 30, from 8 – 10 p.m. EST on ESPN2.

Meanwhile, in this year’s Penn Relay Carnival, there are 3,241 high school relays teams (from 1,027 high schools) and 1,079 college relays (of 238 colleges), from 13 countries. And maybe 100 more countries are represented when you count those running, jumping and throwing for American schools and colleges.

First hosted on April 21, 1895, the Penn Relays is the longest uninterrupted collegiate track meet in the country. Averaging one race every five minutes during more than 33 hours of competition, this year’s events will welcome more than 22,000 entries, including high school and collegiate runners. Three-day attendance is likely to top 110,000 for the third year in a row. With an average Saturday attendance of 48,000 for the past six years, the Penn Relays is the best attended track event in the United States each year, and one of the best attended in the world.

Now in its 117th year, more athletes have run at the Penn Relays than at any single meet in the world. The meet has drawn more spectators than any in the world except the Olympics and World Championships. And the Penn Relay Carnival remains the same whirlwind of activity that has always excited fans young and old.

117th Annual Penn Relays
When: April 28-30
Where: Franklin Field, University of Pennsylvania
Cost: Varies
More info: www.thepennrelays.com

Help channel that quintessential Philadelphia team spirit at the Flyers’ pep rally today, at Reading Terminal from noon to 12:30 p.m.

As anticipation mounts for the decisive Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Flyers and the Buffalo Sabres (TONIGHT at 7:30 p.m. in South Philadelphia), the Flyers Street Team will “Flyer Up” the lunchtime crowd by leading “Let’s Go Flyers” chants and giving away free T-shirts and cheer cards.

We’ll get it started: “Let’s Go Flyers!”

Flyers Pep Rally
Where: Reading Terminal, 12th and Arch Streets
When: TODAY, noon to 12:30 p.m.
Cost: Free
More info: www.flyers.com

Great soft pretzels? Please. Philadelphia's got this one.
(Credit: iStockPhoto)

Today, April 26, is National Pretzel Day.

According to the U.S. Pretzel Museum, the average Philadelphian consumes about twelve times as many pretzels as the national average. That’s a statistic we’re proud of.

And seeing as Philadelphia is home to the original soft pretzel thanks to the Pennsylvania Dutch, there is an abundance of ways to celebrate today.

For starters, head to any Philly Pretzel Factory location for a FREE soft pretzel, available all day. Plus, the veritable Miller’s Twist at Reading Terminal serves up hand-rolled soft pretzels baked fresh all day, from buttery plain to crunchy cinnamon sugar.

But as gratifying as those traditional pretzels — soft, chewy dough hand-twisted and baked to a golden honey brown, sprinkled with coarse salt — are, whether peddled from food carts, hawked by roadside hucksters, or picked up at a brick-and-mortar shop, Philadelphia’s gourmet dining scene offers pretzels in many deliciously inventive versions that are impossible to pass up.

Our picks, below, for some of the best gourmet twists (so to speak) on soft pretzels:

• 10 Arts at the Ritz-Carlton: Snack on warm soft pretzel nibs with creamy cheddar sauce, jalapeño jam and dijon mustard as part of the restaurant’s $22 Five Bite Lunch special.

• Continental Midtown: Turn your attention to the dessert menu for Pretzels & Beer, house-made salted pretzel bites served with caramel sauce and milk chocolate Guinness ice cream.

• The Farmers Cabinet: The in-house baker makes the dough on site for the Bavarian Pretzel, served alongside lignon berry mustard (the sweet-tart berries are also German) and a Rauchebier (literally, roasted beer) mustard.

• MidAtlantic Restaurant & Taproom: Chef Daniel Stern bakes up warm soft pretzels with Welsh Rarebit Fondue and a grainy housemade mustard, available for lunch, dinner and happy hour (lunch and happy hour, the plate is sans fondue).

More, below.

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Pizza from Marino's of Mullica Hill (photo courtesy of the restaurant)

What do you get when you combine a CIA-trained chef who happens to come from a pizza making family with the farm fresh ingredients of South Jersey? In this case, you get Marino’s of Mullica Hill. Opening in early May, this casual eatery will serve thin-crust pizza, strombolis, calzones, sandwiches, soups, salads and more, all made with ingredients from the neighborhood (in this case, some of the richest farm land in the world. There’s a reason New Jersey is known as the Garden State).

This dining spot is the work of South Jersey native chef Anthony Marino. He spent the last seven years helping build the Gia Pronto brand, a local chain of fast-casual eateries that can be found in Center City and University City.

In addition to Marino’s traditional menu, they will also offer a seasonally-inspired “Off the Menu” option which will change regularly. Currently, they plan on featuring a bianco pie topped with Mullica Hill raised asparagus, smoked Scamorza cheese, fresh parsley, garlic and extra virgin olive oil on opening day.

You can find Marino’s of Mullica Hill in the Mullica Hill Commons Shopping Center in early May. They’ll be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Marino’s of Mullica Hill
When: early May
Where: 157 Bridgeton Pike, Mullica Hill, NJ
Cost: $9-20
More info: www.marinosofmullicahill.com

[This is our "PIFA Picks Du Jour" post series, a daily guide to assist you in selecting from the hundreds of events and activities going on during the month-long arts festival. Location, time and ticket information are included in each event link.]

• City Hall: The French Connection at the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy: An introduction to City Hall’s French Second Empire architectural style and an exhibition of art inspired by it. Artifacts and historical images of City Hall and surrounding areas from the early 1910s will be highlighted, as well as other examples of French Second Empire architecture. Open until 4 p.m. FREE.

• French in Ten Minutes in the Kimmel Center lobby: Learn key French words and phrases in a group setting from an authentic instructor. Each lesson is themed around a topic (wine, the Tour de France, the Louvre). 5 p.m. FREE.

• The Perfect Flower: A Physical Meditation on Beauty and Solitude at the Academy of Natural Sciences: Science and art collide with a dazzling display of acrobatic suspensions around beautiful steel motion sculptures. This boundary-breaking contemporary dance piece literally brings botanical sciences to life. 7 p.m. FREE but tickets required.

• Paris 1911, A Festive Musical Year at the Kimmel Center: Keyboardist Jeffrey Siegel brings his enthusiastic narrative and passionate performance to a program featuring works written and performed in Paris a century ago. He introduces the most influential minds and music of early 20th century Paris in a fun, engaging way. 7:30 p.m. $30.

• Styling a Second Empire: A Light and Sound Experience along the Avenue of the Arts: City Hall and its Broad Street neighbors are transformed nightly by a special sound and lighting project featuring animated graphics, moving lights and color-changing effects. Dusk to midnight. FREE.

You'll fly through the air with the greatest of ease, That daring young man/woman on the flying trapeze...
(Photo courtesy Fly School Circus Arts)

Ever dreamed of joining the Ringling Bros.? Of soaring through the air on the flying trapeze? Pine no more.

As part of PIFA, Bucks County-based Fly School Circus Arts has teamed with Philadelphia School of Circus Arts to offer hands-on lessons for adults and children on an outdoor, grand full-scale flying trapeze.

Invented by Jules Leotard, French acrobat (hence the relevance to Parisian-themed PIFA), the flying trapeze is more accessible than likely ever before in your life: the whole contraption is set up directly across from the Kimmel Center, and you can sign up for lessons with one of three daily time slots.

Students will learn all the techniques of this art form — including take-off from the platform, the swing, the transfer to the catcher and the (phew) drop to the net. Classes are open to students six years old and up. The weight limit is 250 pounds.

Note: some weather conditions may be a cause for rescheduling. You can call the weather hotline at (215) 790-5823 during periods of inclement weather to determine if classes have been rescheduled.

Remember to arrive 15 minutes early and wear socks and well-fitting, comfortable clothing that allows movement (jeans: not appropriate).

Click here for the full schedule of time slots, and to sign up. Bon voyage!

Bonus: check out a video of the trapeze in action, below.

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Victory Brewing Company, for the first time ever, is raffling off a chance to be a brewer for a day.

The winner (and a friend) will get to spend the day at the brewery whipping up a batch of beer with the Victory brewers. You’ll learn every step of the brewing process from the masters themselves. Afterward, Victory will host a beer dinner for the winner and five friends.

Here’s how to enter: click here to cast your name into the pot. You can enter as many times as you’d like; each raffle ticket is $20 and ALL proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The competition was motivated by Victory administrative assistant Berry Woodrow McLaughlin’s battle with leukemia and her pledge to raise $100,000 towards the cause to fight it.

Winners will be notified on or before May 10.

Good beer, good cause — great combo.

Brewer for a Day Raffle [Victory Brewing Company]

In this shot, Elvis Greets Fan in White, the star has just arrived at New York's Hudson Theater in 1956.
(Credit: © Alfred Wertheimer. All rights reserved.)

If you’re a fan of Elvis, or even if you wonder why there’s so much fuss about this guy, it’s worth your while to visit the Michener Art Museum, which continues to pledge its love to the crooner with events coinciding with its marquee photo exhibition Ali and Elvis: American Icons.

The show closes on May 15; but in the interim, the Michener plans to make the most of Elvis, via a few programs focused on the big hunk o’ burnin’ love.

On May 1, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., noted impersonator John Monforto will shake, rattle, roll and sing songs from Elvis’s greatest hits catalog. Then grab a seat for “Elvis at 21: Why Elvis Matters,” a panel discussion held from 2 to 4 p.m., in which exhibition curators discuss Elvis’s life and cultural significance.

The exhibition ends on a high note, Sunday, May 15, 3 to 4 p.m., with “Elvis at 21 — Elvis Rocks: Special Music Presentation” presented by Bristol Riverside Theatre. The rollicking musical celebration is chock full of Elvis hits including “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Love Me Tender.”

For a full schedule of events, and tickets, check online.

Ali and Elvis: American Icons
When: Now-May 15
Where: Michener Museum, 138 S. Pine Street, Doylestown
Cost: Children under 6 FREE, Adults $12.50, Seniors $11.50, College students $9.50, Children 6-18 $6.
More info: www.michenermuseum.org

Previously: “Ali And Elvis: American Icons,” An Impressive Dual Photography Exhibit, Opens At The Michener Art Museum February 19

Northern Liberties’ popular corner spot North Third restaurant is joining forces with Yards Brewery for a special beer dinner, this Wednesday, April 27.

The dinner, three courses for $30, is a come-at-your-leisure style meal, offered any time from 6 to 11 p.m.

The menu is as follows:

• Mussels and Yards IPA with Chicken Sage Sausage
• Veal and Yards Saison Carbonnade with Muenster Puff Pastry Top
• S’mores “Pop Tart” with a Yards Porter drizzle

Philadelphia Pale Ale will also be served as a greeting beer.

Reservations are not necessary but recommended; call (215) 413-3666.

North Third and Yards Brewery Dinner
When: Wednesday, April 27, 6-11 p.m.
Where: 3rd & Brown Streets
Cost: $30
More info: www.norththird.com

Where else to celebrate Arbor Day than at this gorgeous 92-acre Victorian arboretum? (Photo by P. Warchol courtesy Morris Arboretum)

Have an adventure-filled Arbor Day at the Morris Arboretum with interactive activities and educational events on Saturday, April 30 from 1-3 p.m.

Channel your inner pirate while learning about trees with the Arbor Day Adventure Treasure Hunt. The hunt begins in the tree canopy 50 feet about the forest floor with “Out on a Limb,” a permanent award-winning exhibit at the Arboretum. For completing the adventure, visitors get to take home a seedling to plant in their own backyards.

Get up-close-and-personal with the trees and participate in activities that focus on the vital part that trees play in our ecosystem. Children’s book author Suzanne Ridolfi will be on hand to read from her newest book in the Abby’s Adventures series, Earth Day and the Recycling Fashionista.

Can’t make it on Saturday? Head to the Morris Arboretum after Arbor Day to check out their new program, “Tree Adventure Passport: Explorer Edition,” which features challenges about bird calls, how to tell compass directions and other fun facts.

Arbor Day at the Morris Arboretum
When: Saturday, April 30, 1-3 p.m.
Where: 100 E. Northwestern Avenue
Cost: $16 adults, $7 students
More info: www.business-services.upenn.edu/arboretum