25+ Things to Do in Greater Philadelphia for Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend 2024

Kick off MLK weekend with a community art exhibition and party in the heart of Center City. The exhibition features collections by 14 Philly artists, along with live music and a special Martin Luther King Jr. tribute and spoken word performance. Tickets are required and include hors d’oeuvres, refreshments, beer and wine. Attendees can stay late for the After Party Art Crawl at the on-site bowling alley, Liberty Lanes, featuring live DJ beats, a mural reveal, a free round of bowling, and pay-as-you-go food and drink (7-9 p.m.).

There are few more meaningful locations in Philly to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. weekend than The African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP). The Old City attraction hosts a weekend of of special events including performances from Dance4Life School of the Arts and Destiny L Music on Saturday, January 13, 2024, and a discussion on King’s connections with Philadelphia and two audience-inclusive conversations about King’s legacy on Monday, January 15, 2024. Reduced admission is available Friday through Sunday, and Monday is the museum’s annual Free Admission Day (which also includes an appearance from the Phillie Phanatic!).

This musical tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. features songs from Motown legends — including The Temptations, Four Tops, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder — performed by the celebrated artists that make up The Voices Tribute to Motown. Tickets are required for the show.

The Museum of the American Revolution honors King’s life and how it’s tied to the ongoing legacy of the American Revolution during Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend at the Museum. Exhibits include First-Person Performance: Meet Elizabeth Freeman, a theatrical performance about Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman who sued for her freedom from enslavement and won, the Let Them Vote in-gallery talk discussing the fight for voting rights for women and people of color in New Jersey in post-revolutionary times, and a Community Engagement Wall to share your message about carrying forward the Revolution’s promises of liberty and equality.

Two of Philadelphia’s most celebrated historic sites offer free admission in exchange for donations for those in need during the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Weekend in Old City. Bring along a donation of new scarves, hats or gloves to either Franklin Square, where you’ll get a free ride on the Parx Liberty Carousel, or to the Betsy Ross House, where you can enjoy no-charge admission. Donations will be presented to Bethesda Project, a nonprofit providing shelter, housing and support services to Philadelphians experiencing homelessness.

Recognized as one of the nation’s top children’s attractions, the Please Touch Museum includes two floors of interactive exhibits and its famous 115-year-old carousel. On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, families can join in a series of special activities and projects including a community resource fair, a rap performance by the Young Flames, interactive storytelling and the construction of two murals: one by local artist Amiracle portraying King that will be created in real-time and a collaborative Community Commitment mural that guests can contribute to by creating pieces of stained glass in the Creative Arts Studio.

Presented by Friends Select school, the all-ages Martin Luther King Day 2024 Family Experience at historic Race Street Friends Meetinghouse is a collection of morning events honoring the ideals of King. On the docket: a keynote speech about food justice, a series of activities based on Bill Moyer’s four roles of social change (helper, advocate, organizer, rebel) and a celebration of the opening of the Friends Select Community Pantry led by the student Helping Hands group.

Celebrating King’s mission to ensure the words of the nation’s founding documents are applied equally to all, the National Constitution Center offers a series of programs on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with free admission and extended museum hours. Programming includes a reading of the “I Have a Dream” speech by local actors and students, an interactive family concert of songs inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, community arts and crafts tables, a school supply donation drive, a discussion of artifacts from the March on Washington, and readings of beloved books about King.

This free-for-kids-under-12 event at Philly’s historic Eastern State Penitentiary commemorates Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, including the importance of his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and stories of King and other civil rights leaders impacted by incarceration. Throughout the day, guest speakers read excerpts from the letter and other texts from civil rights leaders. Kids can participate in special storytime circles featuring children’s books written by and about Civil Rights Movement leaders and hands-on activities. And visitors are invited to write a postcard to someone currently incarcerated in a Pennsylvania prison.

The elegant Woodmere Art Museum, located inside a stone mansion on a six-acre estate in Chestnut Hill, invites visitors to its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Festival. Join the institution for hands-on art-making projects celebrating the words and activism of King, plus a special interactive performance by award-winning singer and storyteller Tahira filled with compelling tales of freedom. Stick around and enjoy the museum’s 8,000 works collected in its founder’s vision of bringing art and nature together. The event is free with registration.

Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra are joined by the Girard College High School Choir and Philadelphia High School for Creative & Performing Arts Chorus for the 34th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Concert. The afternoon program, in partnership with the Global Citizen Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, features works from Black composers including Lift Every Voice and Sing, Total Praise, Amazing Grace and more, plus excerpts from Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech accompanied by Adagio for Strings. The general admission concert is free, but reserved tickets are required.

Among many MLK Day community beautification projects around the city is the Germantown United CDC Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Clean-Up. Volunteers can gather at the corner of Green Street and Chelten Avenue (by the Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library) where numerous cleanup projects will be available around Germantown. Those coming to help are asked to bring items like brooms, pails and gloves, and are encouraged to wear masks.

Join the world’s largest advocacy organization for the largest Martin Luther King Day event in the nation at the 29th Global Citizen Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, a collection of community projects that draw over 150,000 volunteers annually. Visit the website to sign up for one of dozens of open-to-all community service events happening in each neighborhood and throughout the region, including meal prep and food distribution initiatives, community cleanups, and literacy programs.

To honor the holiday’s core missions of community and service, the African-American Resource Center at the University of Pennsylvania has scheduled a collection of events and service projects for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in and around the West Philly campus. The day kicks off with a waffle breakfast featuring a lineup of guest speakers, and is followed by programming including a book donation project, a pet wellness and vaccination clinic, bag-filling and sock-stuffing sessions for local shelters, a community painting and cleanup project, a theatrical storytime for children and more, culminating with a candlelight vigil.

Help beautify the Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood during the two-hour Martin Luther King Day of Service community project, sponsored by Bartram’s Garden, one of the city’s largest public gardens. The project, taking place this year at nearby Glenda Ann Christopher Memorial Park, is helpful in prepping the community space for springtime plantings and activities, and includes mulching and weeding the park as well as cleaning up the surrounding block. Registration is required, and warm drinks and light refreshments will be provided along with work gloves, trash bags and other supplies.

The CJ Wolfe Foundation hosts the Focused On Change MLK Jr Day of Service Event and camera equipment drive, a service project to assist in cleaning up and restoring the community-focused Immortal Vision Studio and the surrounding Kensington neighborhood. Join volunteers to clean and dispose of waste in and around the studio and help gather donated cameras, lenses, photographic accessories and film for the studio’s free youth photography programs.

It’s always a good time to support Philly’s Black- and Brown-owned businesses, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend offers the perfect opportunity to discover a new favorite shop, boutique or restaurant. Hit up only-in-Philly businesses like YOWIE — Shannon Maldonado’s hotel and lifestyle shop in Queen Village — or Fishtown’s Harriett’s Bookshop (aptly named in honor of Harriet Tubman); get pampered with treatments and products from Avenue 215 Self Care Studio (formerly 3rd Element Spa) and Dope Botanicals; or order your favorite dishes from SOUTH Restaurant & Jazz Club, Amina and other Black-owned restaurants.

Through January 21, 2024

Nominated for 12 Tony Awards (and a 2019 winner for best choreography), the jukebox musical Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations explores the legendary Motown quintet’s extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame while racking up 42 Billboard Top Ten hits and 14 number ones during a decade of civil unrest in America.

Through Saturday, January 27, 2024

Not ready to let go of the season’s illuminated majesty yet? You still have until the end of the month to catch the last major holiday light display in the region at Bucks County’s sprawling Shady Brook Farm. The after-dark Holiday Light Show is a whimsical ride through giant animated winter scenes, character displays and illuminated tunnels rendered with 3 million tiny bulbs across acres of farmland. Enjoy the two-mile trail from your own vehicle or an open-air tractor-pulled wagon. End your ride at the holiday farm market, Stone’s Throw Pub, or with cocoa and s’mores around the firepit.

Through Monday, February 19, 2024

Experience a Penn’s Landing waterfront winter wonderland as the 30th annual Independence Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest keeps the fun going into 2024. Glide around the NHL-sized ice skating rink (book tickets in advance), snap a photo by the festive holiday tree, ride on the illuminated Ferris wheel, play games on the boardwalk, or relax and cozy up with pay-as-you-go seasonal treats and hot drinks next to a toasty fire pit, in quaint cabins or at the Rinkside Lounge (reservations required). The attraction is open special hours for Martin Luther King Jr. Day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Through Friday, February 23, 2024 (Saturdays only)

A new art and history exploration, Legacy Reclaimed: A 7th Ward Tribute honors the lives — and lesser-known history — of the 19th-century Black residents of Philadelphia’s old 7th Ward, an important part of The Underground Railroad and Great Migration, and former home to 15,000 Black residents including Octavius V. Catto and W. E. B. Du Bois. As part of the event, a 90-minute guided 7th Ward Tribute Walking Tour (Saturdays at 11 a.m.) takes you to nearly a dozen neighborhood sites, including new art installations and several homes and businesses. Tours leave from Mother Bethel AME Church Fellowship Hall. Can’t make the tour? Grab a self-guided tour map.

Through Sunday, February 25, 2024 (dates vary by attraction)

The wintry fun continues at Franklin Square with a few more weeks of seasonal outdoor fun and games. It’s your last chance to play a round at Chilly Philly Mini Golf, Center City’s only outdoor mini-golf course, with 18 holes of merry lights, holiday music and winter characters (through January 28, 2024). And don’t miss the free nightly Electrical Spectacle Light Show, illuminating the square every half-hour with seasonal songs and choreographed light displays, and the friendly competition of street curling — a combination of curling and tabletop shuffleboard — both open through Sunday, February 25, 2024. Tickets are required for mini-golf and street curling.

Through Sunday, March 17, 2024 (dates vary by attraction)

There’s still plenty of time to experience Winter at Dilworth Park as the public plaza just outside City Hall hosts this popular annual winter wonderland. Lace up your skates (BYO or rentals available) for an up-to-90-minute skating session at the Rothman Orthopaedics Ice Rink (best to make reservations in advance) or warm up with comfort food, quick bites, beer and cocktails in the ski chalet-style Rothman Orthopaedics Cabin (both through February 25, 2024). Don’t miss a stroll through the gorgeous topiaries and plantbeds on display in The Wintergarden on the Greenfield Lawn (through March 17, 2024).

Opening this month at the National Liberty Museum, the juried multimedia exhibition Amplified: Art, Music, Power features Black and other diverse artists from across the country who were invited to reflect on music and performance as a positive force for liberty and equality, and how music exists as a form of expression, as an experience and as a soundtrack to our memories.

A favored music venue by the Montgomery County and Delaware County border, Ardmore Music Hall is the site and host for the 2024 Ardmore Winter Beer Fest. Come for fest food, live Dad Funk music from Dad & Company, and to taste more than 50 different craft beers including selections from local breweries like von C Brewing Co., Love City, Broken Goblet and Levante Brewing Company. A VIP experience with a pre-show brunch, early access and discounts on future shows is available.

One of the can’t-miss winter events in Philly each year, the Philadelphia Auto Show returns for its 122nd year as it takes over the Pennsylvania Convention Center for nine days in January. The massive exhibition features hundreds of vehicles on display (with most major vehicle manufacturers represented), test-drive opportunities both outside and inside the Convention Center, and more. Get an up-close look at the industry’s newest model year fleets along with concept, classic, luxury and exotic cars — and even have the opportunity to climb behind the wheel of some.

Take in some afternoon hoops at the Wells Fargo Center during this key matchup between the three-time NBA champion Philadelphia 76ers and Western Conference foe the Houston Rockets. Watch reigning MVP Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris and the rest of the Sixers take on stars like Alperen Şengün and Fred VanVleet on their push towards another title bid during this 1 p.m. home tilt.