Best Valentine’s Day events in Philadelphia

Now more than ever, celebrations of love — whether romantic relationships, friendships, family bonds, or work-friend companionships — are important. Luckily, it’s easy to celebrate love with virtual events and in-person (but socially distant) happenings throughout Philadelphia and the surrounding areas.

It’s important to remember that while love is in the air, so is COVID-19. Wear a mask, stay socially distant, wash your hands, stay home if you’re sick, and opt for a virtual celebration if you’re nervous about virus spread.

These Valentine’s events are here to keep you cozy, loved, and entertained:

» READ MORE: Find the best things to do in Philly in our weekly events calendar

🎨 Marriage Selfie Mural at City Hall (Art / in-person) In time for Valentine’s Day, Mural Arts installs a love-themed mural at the Wedding License Bureau (rooms 413 and 415) at City Hall. Couples can pose for a selfie in front of the mural with their newly acquired marriage license. (Free, 1401 John F. Kennedy Boulevard rooms 413 and 415, map, add to calendar)

🎭 East Passyunk Opera Project’s: Love Notes Opera Never Tasted So Good (Music / virtual / food) The Pistola’s family of restaurants (Pistola’s del Sur, Sancho Pistola’s and Jose Pistola’s) offer takeout with a side of opera. A ticket gets you a three-course take-out or delivery dinner and access to a virtual show produced by the East Passyunk Opera Project. Tickets are $75 for dinner and the show and $95 for dinner and the show plus a drink pairing. (Access to just the performance is $25.) The opera debuts at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night and is available to stream all weekend. ($25-$95, Friday through Sunday, pistolaslife.com, add to calendar)

🎨 Mural Arts Love Letter Virtual Tour (Art / virtual) Mural Arts’ popular Love Letter Tour goes virtual for this year’s holiday. Guests of the Friday-night online event get to view and learn about the murals that make up Mural Arts’ popular Steve Powers’ A Love Letter For You exhibition, which runs along the Market-Frankford subway line. ($20, Friday, 6-7 p.m., muralarts.org, add to calendar)

📜 Tipsy History: A Love Story at the Betsy Ross House (History / in-person / tour) History and spiked cocktails combine for a Valentine’s celebration from Art in the Age and the Betsy Ross House. Take a tour throughout the weekend, and learn about Betsy and her controversial elopement to a man outside of her religion on a love-themed tour of the historic home. Following the tour, guests head to nearby Art in the Age for a spiked chocolate cocktail. ($25, Friday through Sunday, historicphiladelphia.org, 239 Arch St., map, add to calendar)

🍿 Second Sunday Culture Film: Welcome Valentine and Asho (Movie / virtual) Cozy up with your partner or kids (or partner and kids) and tune in to a pay-what-you-wish screening of some love-related movies, presented by the Penn Museum. Welcome Valentine is a short film about a Hindu priest who defiantly marries couples no matter their gender or sexuality. Asho tells the story of a 10-year-old boy in Iran who loves Hollywood films and is inspired to take on roles to impress his intended bride. (Pay what you wish, Sunday, 2-4 p.m., penn.museum, add to calendar)

🛍️ Saturday Market at the Shambles (Shopping / in-person) Stop by the Headhouse Shambles for an open-air Valentine’s shopping market on Saturday. Pick up edible favorites from vendors like Hale and True Cider, Fiore restaurant, Philly Bagels, and Neighborhood Ramen, in addition to giftable goods. Masks and social distancing required. (Free, Saturday, noon-4 p.m., facebook.com, Second and Pine Streets, map, add to calendar)

🍷 Valentine’s Day Weekend at Sharrott Winery (Drinks / in-person) South Jersey’s Sharrott Winery’s Valentine’s celebration includes live music throughout the weekend and a wine and chocolate flight, complete with a wooden rose. Seating is available at their fire pits, on the heated patio, on the lawn and indoors. (Saturday and Sunday, sharrottwinery.com, 370 S. Egg Harbor Road, Hammonton, N.J., map, add to calendar)

⛸️ Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest’s Sweetheart Skate (Ice skating / in-person) Whether you feel like skating, catching a classic romantic flick (in the open-air lodge,) or enjoying food and drinks by a fire pit, Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest is your place. The waterfront attraction hosts its annual Sweetheart Skate and a number of accompanying happenings on Valentine’s Day. Registration required for ice skating, fire pit rental, and cabin rental. ($20 for ice skating, $30 for firepit rental, $75-$125 for cabin rental, Sunday, delawareriverwaterfront.com, 101 S. Columbus Boulevard, map, add to calendar)

⛸️ Dilworth Park’s Sweetheart Skate (Ice skating / in-person) Whether you’re bringing a date or your best friend, Dilworth Park offers two-for-one ice skating admission and skate rental for its celebratory Sweetheart Skate. (Online promo code Valentine2021 gets you the deal.) Masks and social distancing required both on and off the rink. ($5-$17, Sunday, centercityphila.org, 1 S. 15th St., map, add to calendar)

🏌️‍♀️ Franklin Square’s Special Chilly Philly Mini Golf Valentine’s Day Weekend (Mini-golf / in-person) Bundle up and grab your loved ones for a round of mini-golf at Franklin Square. For the holiday, the historic park hosts a fun take on its popular mini-golf: all weekend, play golf to a soundtrack of love songs and stroll through the illuminated space. And a professional photographer will be on hand to take your portrait and email you the pictures. ($15 for adults, $12 for children ages 3-12, Friday through Sunday, 6-8 p.m., historicphiladelphia.org, 200 N. Sixth St., map, add to calendar)

👨🏾‍🍳 Hudson Table: Homestyle Italian Cooking Class (Cooking class / virtual) Few things say romance more than an Italian dinner, so Hudson Table is hosting a live, virtual Italian cooking class over Zoom. Learn how to make ricotta gnudi pasta, pomodoro sauce, chicken Milanese, and olive oil cake with honey whipped mascarpone. At-home chefs can pick up the ingredient kit, which feeds two people, earlier in the day before tuning into the 6:30 p.m. class. ($95, Sunday, 6:30-8:30 p.m., hudsontable.com, add to calendar)

» READ MORE: Our kids calendar has ways to keep your kids busy while you try to work

👨🏾‍🍳 Valentine’s Day Empanada Making Class with Jezabel’s at Home (Cooking class / virtual) Learn how to make empanadas on Valentine’s Day at a Zoom cooking class from Jezabel’s Argentine Café and Catering. The $95 ticket includes dough and fillings for 12 empanadas — filling options are spicy chicken or leek and cheese — in addition to sides and sauces made by Jezebel’s to ensure your Valentine’s dinner has all of the fixings. The ingredients are available for pickup or delivery on the day of the event. ($95, Sunday, 4-5:30 p.m., exploretock.com, add to calendar)

🍸 Manatawny Still Works’ Valentine’s Day Virtual Cocktail Class (Mixology class / virtual) Manatawny Still Works’ celebrates the second release of its port barrel-aged gin with an afternoon cocktail-making class where one of its mixologists teach you how to make two special cocktails. Registration is $65 and includes a bottle of the featured gin, which is available for home delivery or pickup at both the Pottstown and East Passyunk locations. ($65, Sunday, 2 p.m., manatawnystillworks.com, add to calendar)

» READ MORE: Find more food and dinner ideas in our Valentine's Day dinner, takeout, and cooking guide

💔 First Person Arts Ex-Files (Performance / virtual) Here’s to the terrible exes. First Person Arts welcomes all to an online storytelling showcase on Valentine’s eve. Listen to the area’s best storytellers share their tales of heartbreak, cringy encounters, and more. Tickets are $25 before Saturday and $29 on the day of the show. ($29, $25 if you buy in advance, Saturday, 7 p.m., firstpersonarts.org, add to calendar)

💔 Valentine’s Day Dark Comedy Workshop (Workshop / virtual) The local and all-virtual Off-Mic comedy school, teaches aspiring stand-up comics how to find humor in their darker emotions in an afternoon workshop on Valentine’s Day. Channel your heartbreak as you learn how to make audiences laugh — while hopefully getting over your lost love at the same time. ($65, Sunday, 1-4 p.m., offmiccomedyschool.com, add to calendar)

» READ MORE: Our best Philly tips: Read our most useful stories