🌺 Navigate the Flower Show like a pro | Things to Do

Spring is on its way and Philly is kick-starting the season a little early with some warmer weather and the arrival of the annual Philadelphia Flower Show (more on that below). There’s so much to look forward to with the start of spring and I’m starting with my home, where I’ve got big repotting plans for my house plants. How are you preparing for the new season? Any gardening tips you want to share? Let me know!

— Rosa Cartagena (@_RosaCartagena, Email me at thingstodo@inquirer.com)

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Running March 1 to 9, the Philadelphia Flower Show — the dazzling annual event from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society — lands at the Convention Center this weekend. This year’s theme is “Gardens of Tomorrow.” There will be stunning floral displays, wow-worthy flower competitions, and more than 200 plant vendors offering everything from seeds to full-grown wonders to take home. We’ve got the ultimate guide to what you need to know, including the schedule, parking, and where to eat nearby.

🎫 Don’t miss: The renowned and beloved Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater comes to Philadelphia for the weekend with unforgettable choreography and a showcase of stellar contemporary dance. This season the company is honoring its late artistic director Judith Jamison, who grew up in Philadelphia, so these shows will be especially meaningful.

💡 Laughs and loves: The centuries-old Shakespeare rom-com Much Ado About Nothing takes the stage at Lantern Theater Company with killer comedic timing.

🖼️ Sweet stickers: Some of the coolest art that you can find in Philly right now comes from a vending machine and costs just $1. See why we’re obsessed with these tiny prints.

🧘‍♀️ Silly stretches: You’ve heard of goat yoga and puppy yoga, but what about clowns? We went behind the scenes of the unique and fun practice at West Philly’s Studio 34 (no makeup required) called Fool’s Yoga.

🎭 Bring the tissues: A new musical at Philadelphia Theatre Company provides a heartbreaking and heartwarming look at the community-wide impacts of terminal illness. Night Side Songs is not all sad, though, and there are opportunities for some interactive fun.

📅 My calendar picks this week: Philly GRIT at Theatre Exile, Philly Beer Fest, Harlem Globetrotters

Any chismosas or bochincheras in the house? Say “Hello, my little gossipmongers” back to Kelsey McKinney, host of the uber-popular podcast Normal Gossip. The Philadelphia-based author will be spreading gossip and telling jaw-dropping stories at the Fillmore tonight in celebration of her newly released book, You Didn’t Hear This From Me: (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip. Let me know the tea afterward.

⚾ For diehards: The Phillies are in the middle of spring training and finding the games isn’t as intuitive as you might think. We’ve got your guide to the schedule and where to watch.

📞 Pick up the phone: It’s Lionel Richie calling. The legendary crooner will bring his only-in-Philly show to Union Transfer in March. Here’s what you need to know.

🦕 For clever girls: You don’t have to wait for another Jurassic Park film to experience prehistoric thrills. The Edelman Fossil Park in South Jersey is opening an immersive dino-experience with virtual reality, full-scale dinosaurs, and a four-acre fossil quarry.

🥃 Rare releases: This week is the last chance for Pennsylvania residents to sign up for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s lottery for a chance to buy high-end whiskeys at discounted prices. A $450 bottle of Van Winkle bourbon doesn’t seem that appealing to me, personally, but true connoisseurs will appreciate these offerings.

🎤 Mic drop: Wu-Tang Clan is saying goodbye on its last tour, “The Final Chamber.” The legendary hip-hop group will play its grand finale show in Philadelphia. Here’s what we know so far.

Pop music critic Dan DeLuca breaks down the best upcoming shows.

🎸 Friday: Father John Misty lands at the Fillmore Philly. Father John Misty’s most notorious Philly-area show will always be the 2016 date at the XPoNential Music Festival in Camden when he jettisoned his set list and went on a lengthy rant about President Donald Trump being the presidential nominee. In more recent appearances, the funny, acerbic songwriter born Josh Tillman has stuck to the script, and he has an excellent one to follow in his 2024 album Mahashmashana.

🎸 Sunday: Catch Adrian Younge at Johnny Brenda’s. Los Angeles composer and orchestrator Adrian Younge makes lush retro-funk and R&B, drawing on blaxploitation soundtracks and Philly soul sounds of the 1970s in his collaborations with members of the Stylistics, Wu Tang Clan, and A Tribe Called Quest. Here, he’ll perform his cinematic Something About April trilogy with a 10-piece band.

🎸 Tuesday: This should be a treat. Rufus Wainwright is the pianist, singer, and composer whose first musical, Opening Night, based on the John Cassavetes 1977 movie of the same name, opened last year in London. And his most recent album is 2020′s Unfollow The Rules. This career-spanning “Going To A Town” solo tour is playing the Sellersville Theater.

It’s officially Oscars weekend! I’m not a huge Oscars prognosticator, mainly because I rarely if ever watch all the films beforehand (not unlike many of the actual voting members of the Academy). Trying to guess the whims of the Academy voters isn’t my favorite part of the process, but watching the chaos unfold online and IRL as results are announced is where I find true entertainment value. Still, I predict the Doylestown-set epic The Brutalist will bring home multiple trophies, and I’m also on the lookout for other nominees with Philly ties, like Colman Domingo (up for best actor for Sing Sing). Who are you rooting for this year? Do you have a ballot ready? I want to hear about it!

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This week I’ve been catching up on The White Lotus and I’m really wishing I was relaxing at a spa in Thailand (minus all the murder mystery, obviously). What are you watching? Let me know!