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Outside the Please Touch Museum

Like the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Please Touch Museum is offering up free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families, all Summer long.

The promotion starts on Memorial Day and runs through Labor Day 2010.

For more information on the Please Touch Museum, including hours and directions, visit their official website.

Please Touch Museum
4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia, PA 19131
(215) 581-3181
www.pleasetouchmuseum.org

VIX will be dishing out $1 hand printed West Philly patches and note cards

Starting next month, the University City District is launching their Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll, dishing out fantastic deals every second Thursday (June 10th, July 8th, August 12th), through the Summer.

Fifteen different businesses along Baltimore Avenue are participating, serving up everything from $1 scoops of ice cream to $1 yoga classes. Whether you’re stopping by Dock Street, a great brewery with some of the best pizza in town, or the Curio Theatre Company for $1 tickets to preview performances, there is something for everyone along Baltimore Ave.

I’ve pasted a list of all the participating businesses, and their respective specials, after the jump. Have a look, and get ready for June 10th!

Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll [ www.universitycity.org ]

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Photo by Samantha Lazar

Haven’t seen the Ancient Rome & America exhibit at the National Constitution Center yet? Good!

From June 1st through August 1st, the Constitution Center is offering up discounted admission to the exhibition, for families visiting between Monday and Thursday. For $55, you can take advantage of the Summer Family Special, which admits two adults and two children. Regularly, this would cost you $64.

Also, individual visitors can score $5 off admission on Mondays and Tuesdays, thanks to the Early Week special. These discounted tickets also include admission to the NCC’s other exhibits and performances, including The Story of We the People and Freedom Rising.

For more information on the Constitution Center and the Ancient Rome & America exhibit, visit their official website.

National Constitution Center
525 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 409-6700
www.constitutioncenter.org

Outside Memorial Hall, Photo courtesy the Please Touch Museum

This just in, the Please Touch Museum is offering adults a chance to try their Centennial Grown-Up Tours this Thursday, for half off the regular admission. Tickets are only $7.50.

The tour is being filmed for a NYC television story to air in June, so you might even see yourself on television.

You’ll learn about the history, art, and architecture of Memorial Hall, which was the first home of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the 1876 World’s Fair. For more information on the tour, visit the Please Touch Museum’s official website.

This deal is only good this Thursday, May 27th. Go!

Please Touch Museum
4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia, PA 19131
(215) 581-3181
www.pleasetouchmuseum.org

The Academy of Natural Sciences, Photo by Will Klein

From Memorial Day (May 28th) to Labor Day (September 6th), active duty military and their families are invited to the Academy Natural Sciences, completely free of charge.

This comes just in time for the opening of the Academy ’s latest exhibit, Creatures of the Abyss, which opens at the museum on June 5th, running until Labor Day.

For more information on the Academy and the number of events at the museum, be sure to visit their official website.

Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 299-1000
www.ansp.org

Stay at the Rittenhouse Hotel, Dine at the City Tavern, and Explore Historic Philadelphia, Photos by E. Savaria and J. Smith for GPTMC

An awesome auction on the U.S. Travel Association’s DiscoverAmerica.com is available for preview today today. The item? A “Once-In-A-Lifetime” travel package: a six-night stay in Philadelphia and the Countryside.

Entitled Philadelphia and The Countryside: Shop, Smell, See, Savour, the travel package is a great, one-of-a-kind deal, that takes you to a number of attractions through out Philadelphia and Chester County. Whether it’s the private tour of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the exclusive three course meal at City Tavern, or the picnic in Longwood Gardens, you’re guaranteed to sample a little bit of everything.

The first three nights will find you at the beautiful Rittenhouse Hotel, with a fantastic itinerary all lined up. Along with the PMA and City Tavern visit, you’ll stop by The Rodin and the Barnes Foundation for a private tour, see Philadelphia’s impressive outdoor art with the Mural Arts Program, and travel throughout Historic Philadelphia on the Independence After Hours Adventure Tour. You’ll also enjoy dinner at Chef Jose Garces’ famed restaurant, Chifa, and walk away with an autographed copy of his cookbook, Latin Evolution.

Longwood Gardens and the Brandywine River Museum, Photos by B. Kirst for GPTMC

Think you’ll feel spoiled after three private tours of Philadelphia museums? That was just the beginning. For the last three nights, you’ll stay in scenic Chester County, right in Brandywine Valley at the Desmond Hotel. You’ll enjoy a private tour for two at the Brandywine River Museum, Longwood Gardens (with lunch!), and spend a day behind the scenes at QVC. You’ll even get to see a live broadcast, in action!

Dining? Brandywine Valley’s got it. You’ll nibble on dinner for two at the Simon Pearce Restaurant and at Brandywine Prime Seafood & Chops in Chadds Ford.

Right now, you can only preview the upcoming auction. Bidding doesn’t start until Wednesday, May 26th, at 10am. The auction ends promptly at 10pm that same day. So bookmark the site, and make sure you revisit it on the 26th! Good luck!

Two Artful Escapes in One [ DiscoverAmerica.com ]

Meritage's Dining Room

Meritage Restaurant recently announced their new Spring Tasting Menu, five courses of delicious delicacies. The full menu includes:

Chilled Cucumber Soup
with ginger citrus salmon crostini and Yuzu crème fraiche

Seared Diver Scallop
with shrimp ravioli, sautéed spinach and a lemongrass beurre blanc

Roasted Black Bass and Asparagus Flan
with sautéed pea shoots and Meyer lemon emulsion

Grilled New Zealand Lamb Chops
with fricassee of fiddlehead ferns and asparagus crushed potatoes

Flourless Chocolate Torte
with raspberry sorbet, rhubarb sauce and a sesame tuile

The dinner runs $45 per person, with an optional wine pairing (one class for each course!) available for $29.

Along with the new Spring menu, Meritage also launched their daily Happy Hour. The Rittenhouse Square restaurant will be dishing out $5 wines by-the-glass, $5 sangria, and $3 Lager bottles from 5pm to 7pm, with an ever-changing assortment of $5 snacks.

If the Kobe beef-stuffed grape leaves end up on that snack menu, get them. So delicious.

Meritage Restaurant & Wine Bar
500 S. 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 985-1922
www.meritagephiladelphia.com

The exterior of the Omni at Independence Park, Photo courtesy Omni Hotels

The Omni Hotel at Independence Park is offering up yet another arts-themed hotel package. Last week, I mentioned their family-friendly Arden Theatre package, which gives guests a chance to tour the Arden, see If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and decorate desserts in the Old City hotel.

This second arts package is being offered Saturday, June 5th. Guests will stay over night in the Omni and attend the Pennsylvania Ballet’s production of Romeo & Juliet at the Academy of Music. After the show, you’ll be treated to a backstage tour of the Academy. The following morning, take a stroll to the National Constitution Center for a day at the Ancient Rome & America Exhibit.

Guests will also enjoy the hotel’s signature brunch at Azalea, with menu highlights like herb crusted roasted rack of lamb and slow roasted beef tenderloin.

This package is being offered at $349. For more information and reservations, be sure to call the hotel.

Omni Hotel @ Independence Park [ visitphilly.com ]

Right now, Living Social is featuring a great coupon for Rittenhouse Square’s Rum Bar. For $30 you can score dinner and specialty cocktails for two, a package worth nearly $80.

The deal gets you four small plate entrées, an appetizer, and two specialty cocktails. I recommend pairing the peach glazed baby back ribs and the sweet and spicy chipotle mashed potatoes as your entree. Easily my favorite offering at Rum Bar right now.

Enjoy! Thanks for the tip, Erik B!

Rum Bar Coupon [ livingsocial.com ]

Outside the Rittenhouse 1715

Now through May 9th, Rittenhouse 1715 is running a Mother’s Day Special. If you purchase a gift card valued at $300, you’ll receive a free Frette robe for Mom, valued at $150.

In addition, if you book a two night stay in the hotel for Memorial Day, July 4th, or Labor Day weekend, you’ll receive the third night free.

For more information on the hotel, visit their official website.

Rittenhouse 1715
1715 Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA 19103-6109
(215) 546-6500
www.rittenhouse1715.com

Back in March, Mayor Michael Nutter announced Philly in Bloom, a promotion that dished out a number of special discounts and free prizes from organizations through out Philadelphia.

From restaurants to museums, concert halls to boutiques, there’s a little bit of every thing… and it all wraps up at the end of May.

Log onto www.phila.gov/phillyinbloom to check out the detailed list of specials offered by businesses, and enter their contest. Philly in Bloom is giving out one prize every day of the week! Just tell them why you love Philadelphia for a chance to win.

Good luck, and enjoy the discounts!

Philly In Bloom
www.phila.gov/phillyinbloom

Inside the Arcadia Boutique

Not a big fan of festivals, running, or flea markets? That’s okay. Even if you missed all the Earth Day events last week, the Arcadia Boutique is giving you another chance to celebrate Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary, with a party and some discounts.

From noon until 8pm, on Thursday, April 22nd, the Arcadia Boutique is hosting a special Earth Day sale, with discounts on a number of their wares. Also, 10% of their sales for the day will be donated to the Earth Day Network.

So stop by, sip on some champagne, and shop for a good cause.

Earth Day Sale @ Arcadia Boutique
Thursday, April 22nd, Noon – 8pm

Arcadia Boutique
819 A N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
215.667.8099
www.arcadiaboutique.com