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To do this week: Get ready for Memorial Day weekend

Whether you’re staying in the city or going down the shore, there’s lots to fill the long weekend.

It's the unofficial beginning of summer. Here's how to enjoy it.
It's the unofficial beginning of summer. Here's how to enjoy it.Read moreTIM TAI / Staff Photographer

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On the to-do list this week: It’s Memorial Day weekend. Looking for something to do? Whether you’re staying in the city, heading to the shore, or thinking of a day trip, we have everything you need for the weekend. Oh, when you cheer on the Sixers this weekend, here’s how to dress the part: We have the best spots to buy Sixers gear.

We’ve collected our best Philly tips all in one place here.

Stay healthy, stay safe, and, as much as possible, it’s still a good idea to stay home.

— Jillian Wilson

Know this

  1. What to do if you get a tick bite by Grace Dickinson

  2. How can you stop spotted lanternflies (and why exactly are they bad again?) by Frank Kummer

  3. 15 surprising but true facts about the Philly cheesesteak by Staff

  4. Where to get Sixers gear in Philly by Damichael Cole

» Ask us a question through Curious Philly: Inquirer.com/askus

Do this

Here is one highlight from our weekly events calendar:

📽️ Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (Movie / virtual / multiday) The Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (PLFF) celebrates its 10th anniversary with an online lineup of film screenings and panel discussions starting at the end of May. Films include a selection of Philadelphia premieres, East Coast premieres, and world premieres, ranging from feature-length films to shorts. Films stream on PLFF’s Eventive page. (Free-$250, May 30-Jun. 6, www.phlaff.org)

🔎 Find more of this week’s events, and we even have a kid-friendly events calendar, too.

Everything you need for Memorial Day weekend

It’s the unofficial start of summer and we couldn’t be more ready for warm weather, outdoor meals, and (dare we say it) some normalcy. This long weekend, there’s a ton to do in the city and beyond.

Staying in the city:

Long weekends bring such joy, but they also bring some confusion around what’s open and what’s closed. Here’s a guide to what’s open and what’s not this weekend, including banks, post offices, liquor stores, and attractions. And you know what is most certainly open? Outdoor dining. And we found the city’s best outdoor dining spots, including hidden gardens, rooftops, patios, and more where you can eat outside but not be on a sidewalk.

Going down the shore:

If you want to go down the shore this weekend but don’t have a car, we’re here for you: here’s how to get there without a car. And, if you’re looking to do some free swimming while you’re down (so, no beach tags), check out Tommy Rowan’s guide to the free-to-visit beaches. Plus, there’s a giant kite festival happening in Wildwood this weekend. Think: kite-flying lessons, free kite demos, and much, much more.

» READ MORE: Things to do on Memorial Day weekend in Philadelphia

Life advice

The reopening means we get to be around people again. And while a lot of that is welcome news, it also means that we will also be subject to human contact that we didn’t miss, including touch we don’t particularly welcome or want. Elizabeth Wellington recently wrote about how we can stop from being on either side of an unwanted exchange, and make consent a big part of how we interact going forward:

  1. A year of social distancing protocols freed us from a lot of unwanted touch. We’ve found agency, that quite honestly, we didn’t realize we never had. And many of us want to keep it. “The COVID-19 pandemic has afforded us a new opportunity to build new social structures that will define how we operate in society moving forward,” said LaQuisha Anthony, counselor at WOAR Philadelphia Center Against Sexual Violence. “This opportunity to think about consent beyond sex will help us understand the definition of what consent really is: obtaining permission to touch another person’s body.”

More advice in Elizabeth’s full story.

» READ MORE: I’m done with unwanted hugs, and you can be, too

COVID-19 resources

💉 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for kids and teens: Safety and side effects, explained

🤔 Is it ethical to ask if someone’s vaccinated?

🍾 Everything you need to know about Philly’s reopening

» More at Inquirer.com/covid-tips