IT’S SPOOKY SEASON

From September 18 through September 20, the historic Fort Mifflin becomes one of Philly's most unusual music venues, with three days of DJs, live performances, electronic music, and experimental sounds. 

And while there will be plenty of food and drinks available inside the festival, sometimes you want to start the night with a proper bar stop.

So if you're making time for Making Time, here's where to grab a drink prior.

Sure, there are music festivals, Philly is no stranger to that. But there are music festivals, and then there's Making Time. For one weekend a year, a Revolutionary War-era fort on the banks of the Delaware River trades its cannon smoke past for fog machines, while Philadelphia's most devoted dance music community shows up and shows out, in order to prove that DIY spirit and world-class production aren't mutually exclusive.

Philadelphia, clear your Sunday schedules. The Birds are back.

The Eagles officially kick off the 2026 regular season this Sunday, September 13, welcoming the Washington Commanders to Lincoln Financial Field for a 4:25 p.m. showdown.

If you managed to snag tickets, congratulations. If you didn't, don't worry. You can still spend Sunday surrounded by giant TVs cold drinks, wings, and crab fries. Plus, considering tickets to this year's opener are going for hundreds of dollars, watching from a bar might be the considerably cheaper way to experience the Birds.

Hey Philly, it's just about that time again, the time to trade your summer bar crawl for a spooky one.

Because Craftsman Row Saloon's Nightmare Before Christmas pop-up is back, and it kicks off this Thursday, September 10.

If you thought it was too early to start celebrating Halloween, we're going to need you to relax. However, does your ideal fall night involves a little Jack Skellington, a lot of Halloween decorations, themed cocktails, oversized milkshakes, and no interest in subtle seasonal décor? In that case, you're going to want to make your way to Center City this weekend. 

There's a specific night every fall when it happens…you step outside after dinner and the air bites a little. And that there is your very first signal: fall is coming. Summer's rooftop-and-frozen-cocktail season is winding down, and it's time to trade patios for fireplaces. There's something exquisitely old-fashioned about seeking out a bar specifically because it has a fireplace, but that's the appeal once fall sets in. Philadelphia has more of these than you'd expect, found in every neighborhood. Here's where to go when the temperature finally drops.

Somewhere around 5:15 on a Tuesday, Frankford Avenue stops behaving like a weeknight.This is Fishtown Taps, and it has become the neighborhood's best-kept open secret: a two-hour window, once a week, where half of Fishtown decides the week is pretty much over.

The wait is over. Mixteca, the agave bar and restaurant from Please Don’t Tell’s (a long-standing NYC favorite and award-winning cocktail bar) Jeff Bell and Victor Lopez, officially opened its doors on Frankford Avenue today. Now, after months of watching the former Martha space get quietly transformed, Philadelphia finally gets to see what all the buildup was about.

The best parts of a formal, a step show, and Sunday brunch are all landing in one basement nightclub this weekend, ball pit included. Philly Greek Takeover is happening this Sunday, August 30, from 2 to 8 p.m. at Concourse Dance Bar, with a brunch buffet, bottomless mimosas, and three DJs standing between you and the dance floor.

Countless beer festivals ask you to stand around a parking lot. This one is begging you to stand next to a snow leopard enclosure with a flight of hard cider in hand, which is either the strangest or the best pitch for a Saturday night in Philadelphia, depending on how you feel about animals watching you drink. The Philadelphia Zoo's Summer Ale Festival returns this weekend, and if you haven't been, clear your schedule.

Somewhere in a Philadelphia planning meeting, someone pitched "let's build an entire weekend around a Nick Cage movie from 2004" and it became an actual three-day event with a director's appearance, an escape-room-style heist game, and two outdoor screenings on the exact lawn where half the movie was filmed. That's National Treasure Weekend, running August 20 through 22 across Carpenters' Hall and Independence Mall, and it turns out the Historic District's tight footprint makes it unusually easy to build a real crawl around.