Happy Independence Day from America’s birthplace! Might be hard to be extra enthusiastic about our national holiday this year, but Philadelphia boasts plenty of things to do that inspire, educate, entertain and celebrate everything the U.S.A. stands for and has the potential to be.

This week, there are big concerts in classic and alternative rock and a Star Wars burlesque show opening (no, seriously.) We have fireworks and parades, of course (including one just for the pets!), plus our best museums and historical institutions are opening their doors for extended hours and free admission in observance of the holiday.

Also, how much do you love the movie National Treasure? 

You can celebrate July 4 by partying, supporting restorative justice, or both. We suggest both. While you’re thinking about America and its history, make sure you’re prepared for the first duty of every citizen and register to vote.

• • Things to do this week
  • Things to do this weekend
  • Ongoing things to do

Is that not enough? Thinking of things to do further head? Check out our year-round calendar about how to be a good citizen.

Huge live music acts, Independence Day celebrations, Parks on Tap, and of course, fireworks.

THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK IN PHILLY

CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE DAY AS JOHN ADAMS INTENDED. With “pomp and parade” at the  Inaugural Red, White, & Blue To-Do. On July 2, museums, historic sites and local businesses in Old City honor our nation’s founding with a patriotic parade, decor, concerts, games, extended visitation hours at area historic attractions, restaurant specials, and more. Festivities run from 9am to 7pm and vary by location, some events require registration. Pay as you go. Historic District between Race and Chestnut streets

YOU YOU YOU OUGHTA GO! To see Alanis Morissette: The Triple Moon Tour with special guests Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (!) and Morgan Wade at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden on July 2 at 7pm. $56-$330+. 1 Harbour Boulevard, Camden, NJ

ENJOY BEER IN THE PARK. Like Mick Jagger, Parks on Tap comes to Shofuso Japanese House in West Fairmount Park July 3 through July 7 from 4 to 10pm. The roving beer (and cocktail and food) garden provides a great excuse to bring your kids to happy hour.  Free admission. Lansdowne Drive & Horticultural Drive

CELEBRATE THE FOURTH WITH WILLIE NELSON AND FRIENDS. This year’s annual Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic brings together the man himself with Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Maren Morris and more. They’ll be taking the stage at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion July 4 from 1 to 11pm. In the event that Willie isn’t well enough to perform (get well, sir!), the picnic still goes on! $51-$317. 1 Harbour Boulevard, Camden, NJ

ATTEND PHILADELPHIA’S INDEPENDENCE DAY FIREWORKS. Wawa Welcome America Festival culminates with the July 4th Concert and Fireworks. Hang out with DJ Diamond Kuts and Snacktime from 4 to 6pm, Ne-Yo and Kesha are live at 7pm, and fireworks after the concert (approx. 9:30pm).

If you can’t make it in person, the concert will be televised in its entirety on NBC10 and simulcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia+ and live-streamed on the NBC Philadelphia News channel on Peacock, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Fire TV, Pluto, and Xumo Play as well as www.nbc10.com. The Spanish stream will be on Telemundo Noreste on Roku and Samsung TV Plus, and www.telemundo62.com. Free. Logan Circle at 20th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway

PARTY ON JULY 4 AT AN LGBTQ+ DANCE PARTY.  Queer and body-positive DJ heroes Porkroll are coming to the WET Deck and Bar on July 4 from noon to 7pm. Bring your friends, rent a cabana, drink some cocktails, and also get to shop at a neighboring retail pop-up featuring designers and artists from Philadelphia and beyond hosted by SOUVENIR. $700/up to 8 people. 1439 Chestnut Street

SPEND INDEPENDENCE DAY LEARNING ABOUT OUR FOUNDING DOCUMENT. Visit the National Constitution Center on Independence Day for free admission in celebration of our country’s 248th birthday on July 4 from 10am to 4pm. There will be an array of special programs on deck for all ages both indoors and outside. Free. 525 Arch Street

BRING THE FAMILY TO THE WEITZMAN FOR JULY 4. For Free Family Day, where The Weitzman hosts a parade watch party plus a schedule of all ages activities all day long, and extended museum and store hours, July 4 from 10am to 5pm. Reservations are highly encouraged! Free. 101 South Independence Mall East

PLEASE PARADE YOUR PATRIOTIC PET! Check-in for the second annual Patriotic Pet Parade begins at 10:30am July 4 at the Betsy Ross House Courtyard. All manner of pets are welcome. Make sure they’re dressed in their red, white and blue best to impress the judges. Prizes for the winners (and their owners!) are provided by Old City businesses and institutions like 49 Record Bar, Fairmount Pet Shoppe and  Old City Kitchen. Free. 239 Arch Street

Jazz in the park, burlesque on stage, the ocean on North Broad, and National Treasure appreciation.

THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND IN PHILLY

LISTEN TO JAZZ IN THE PARK. Since 1999, Cedar Park Neighbors have brought West Philly together for nighttime concerts in the park through June and July. On July 5 from 6 to 8pm, Cedar Park Jazz welcomes Bobby Zankel and the Wonderful Sound 6. Bring your lawn chair, cooler, and dancing shoes. Free. 4917-53 Baltimore Avenue

THIS IS THE STAR WARS BURLESQUE PARODY YOU’RE LOOKING FOR. The hit show The Empire Strips Back is live at the Susan Roberts Theater from July 5 through 28. Your evening promises to deliver “sultry Stormtroopers, a dangerously enticing Boba Fett, some tantalizing Twi’leks, a delightfully lukewarm Taun Taun, a lady-like Skywalker,” and Droids, of course. Showtimes vary. 18 and older only. $39-$59. 480 S. Broad Street

EXPERIENCE THE ART OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE. July 5 through August 26, the Barnes Foundation and Mural Arts Philadelphia present Visions, an exhibition of original work created by artists from Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Guild program and artists at the State Correctional Institution Phoenix. $5-$30, children under 12 free. 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway

EXPRESS YOUR LOVE FOR THE NIC CAGE ACTION CLASSIC OF AMERICAN CINEMA, NATIONAL TREASURE. On July 6 at 1pm, Independence National Historical Park and the Independence Historical Trust host National Treasure franchise experts Aubrey Paris and Emily Black for the National Treasure at Independence Hall Interactive Lecture, Q&A, and Book Signing in celebration of the movie’s 20th anniversary and their new book, National Treasure Hunt: One Step Short of Crazy. Free, registration required. Congress Hall, 5th and Chestnut Streets

SEE SOME MORE FIREWORKS BECAUSE THERE’S NEVER TOO MUCH. The 102nd Lawncrest Fireworks Celebration is the rec center’s 109th. July 6 at 8:30pm. Plan a day with the family. The pool will be open from noon to 5pm; the Snack Stand opens from noon to 10:30pm in support of the Lawncrest Lions and The Lawncrest Rec Center Advisory Council. Free. 6000 Rising Sun Avenue

TAKE AN IMAGINED UNDERSEA TOUR OF NORTH BROAD STREET. Sea aBroad is the latest addition to the North Broad Renaissance mobile AR experience along North Broad Street that lets you envision the Leon H. Sullivan Charitable Trust and its surroundings 50 feet out as if you were swimming with the fishes. In a good way, not in the mobster way. The Summer aBroad AR Tour app is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store and the Under the Sea experience is live now through August. Free. 1415 N. Broad Street (but once you’re in the app you may as well enjoy all the stops between the Rail Park and the Uptown Theater)

ONGOING EVENTS

Art exhibitions, plays, and more things to do, until you can’t anymore.

Film posters, from top left: 12AM, Arroz, Leche y Powerball, We Can’t Breathe, A Little Family Drama, Angel Y Perla, Bajo La Tierra, a Million Dollar Cage, 24 Frames Lalla.

EXPERIENCE AN OUTSTANDING LATIN CINEMA FESTIVAL. The Philly Latino Arts & Film Festival returns for its 13th year bigger and better through July 7, showcasing over 140 Latine/x/a/o films from around the world at venues all over the city. The festival includes a new fellowship program, residency program, a 72-hour filmmaking competition, and much more. Sign up for the newsletter here. Various locations, times and ticket prices.

Rikers Quilt, 2020, Jesse Krimes. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo by Dan Bradica.

SEE A PROVOCATIVE ART EXHIBITION. At The Philadelphia Museum of Art from through July 15, Philadelphia-based artist Jesse Krimes’s Rikers Quilt (2020) is on display for its first institutional exhibition. Krimes produced his work in response to ongoing abuses at Rikers Island, drawing on his own experiences of incarceration and reentry into society. Museum hours are 10am to 5pm Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, and 10am to 8:45pm on Fridays. Free-$30. 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Artist Risa Puno. Photo by Carlos Avendaño courtesy of the Fabric Workshop and Museum.

FEEL A GROUP HUG. The Fabric Workshop and Museum hosts Risa Puno’s first-ever solo exhibition, through July 21, Group Hug: Risa Puno is as visually captivating as it is interactive. Choose one of two paths in the show, and you’ll either lounge in a giant, soft, coconut shell-looking pod that transforms into a cozy armchair, or you’ll play Whack-a-Mole. Either way, you’ll learn a life lesson. Free. 1214 Arch Street

To Understand a Tree.

SEE NEW EXHIBIT AT THE MUSEUM FOR ART IN WOOD. Now through July 21, catch To Understand a Tree by interdisciplinary artist, designer and woodworker Gina Siepel. The exhibit focuses on “the dignity of a living tree, its network of eco-systemic relationships, and the ubiquity of the material of wood in design and daily life.” The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 pm. Free. 141 N. 3rd Street

Courtesy of the Mütter Museum.

VISIT AN EXHIBITION ON HOMELESSNESS. Through August 5, the Mütter Museum hosts Unhoused: Personal Stories and Public Health, a special exhibition on American homelessness through the lens of public health. Museum hours are 10am to 5pm daily except Tuesday. Free-$20. 19 S. 22nd Street

TAKE THE FAMILY TO LEARN SOMETHING AT THE PARK. Through August 15, Parkway Pals at Sister Cities Park offers free educational programming for families every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning with the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Fabric Workshop and Museum, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, the Philadelphia Ballet, and on select days, Design Philadelphia. Sister Cities Park features the Earth Fountain and Children’s Discovery Garden and pebble-bottomed boat pond, open daily. The Sister Cities Café is also open and offers beverages, snacks and grab-and-go meals. See the full schedule of events at sistercitiespark.org. Free. 18th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway

DON’T MISS THE ANNUAL CHINESE LANTERN FESTIVAL. Celebrate the Year of the Dragon in Franklin Square at the Chinese Lantern Festival. View astounding illuminated displays, authentic Chinese food, cultural performances, a fountain show, and the iconic 200-foot-long dragon. The festivities run through August 18. Timed tickets are required on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. $16-$28. 200 N. 6th Street

SLIP INTO A SPEAKEASY IN A SHIP. A couple Fridays a month, the historic cruiser Olympia, docked at Penn’s Landing, turns into an admission-only party, with a different theme every week: a 1920s speakeasy on July 12, sci-fi on July 26 and August 9, and the 90s on August 23, always from 6 to 9pm. $35. 211 S. Columbus Boulevard

SIP IN CENTER CITY. Back for its 20th anniversary, Philly’s “favorite happy hour’ Center City SIPS  continues every Wednesday through August 28. Dozens of bars and restaurants are offering exclusive discounts weekly from 5 to 7pm: $7 cocktails, $6 wine, $5 beer, and half-price appetizers. Select locations will offer 15 percent off dinner after 7pm. Pay as you go.

Art of the Brick at the Franklin Institute.

EXPERIENCE LEGOS LIKE YOU NEVER HAVE BEFORE. Through September 22, the world’s largest display of LEGO art returns to the Franklin Institute. The Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya is a critically acclaimed collection of artworks made exclusively in plastic bricks that snap together, including original pieces and re-imagined versions of famous masterpieces, a multimedia exhibition of LEGO-infused photography by Dean Wes, and a 9,000-square-foot brick play space. Museum hours are 9:30am to 5pm daily, with evening hours to 8pm, Thursday through Saturday. $20-$43. 222 N. 20th Street

MORE GOOD THINGS TO DO IN PHILLY