From tofu to the real turkey, here are some upcoming free or low-cost in-person fun community feasts and activities to satisfy your Thanksgiving appetite. But be sure to contact the event organizers for their in-person visiting pandemic-related precautions and protocols such as mask-wearing and proof of vaccination. Advance tickets or reservations are either suggested or required for many activities.
INDOORS/ FOOD
Talking Turkey with Newfound Friends!
November 24, 2021. Indulge in a traditional feast at the Thanksgiving Family Dinner hosted by the Emmanuel Christian Center, Inc. Eat, come up for air and then eat again with family in a welcoming environment. 5913 Chestnut St., 6 p.m.
Register at www.emmanuelchristiancenterinc.com/ or at Eventbrite
November 25, 2021. Enjoy Thanksgiving Community Dinner with, yes, strangers, or look at it another way…with new friends! For those who do not have family or loved ones for the Thanksgiving holiday, try a change of pace. Join a community dinner with all of the true traditional trimmings, from fried or roasted turkey to pumpkin pie, plus games and music.
This event is hosted by the arC Bible Study ministry, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Kairos Room, 3502 Scotts Lane, in East Falls. Reserve your seat at erikadenise.com/holidays
Another great choice for fellowship and fun is Friendsgiving, a full-course dinner hosted by All Saints Episcopal Church at its new location – Friendship Hall, 9601 Frankford Ave., Torresdale, in Northeast Phila.
After dinner, gobble up dessert while watching the Raiders defeat the Dallas Cowboys at 4:30 p.m. Free but donations accepted. allevents.in.
Tofu-fabulous
November 25 (3 p.m.) and November 26, 2021 (7 p.m.). Is tofu turkey more your speed? Head over to The Lair Social Club for a Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner To Go. Grab some vegan delights to take away…yams, stuffing, and all of the works made from scratch, organic, and with national ingredients. Food by Sunflower SC Catering.
Lair 420 Social Club, 323 North 52nd St., West Philly. allevents.in
OUTDOORS
Food for a Cause!
November 21, 2021. Get your “game on” with a tailgating party at The 6th Annual Turkey Day Tailgate presented by PhillyGirl and O’Hara Home Team at the Linc. The get-together benefits Big Sisters Big Brothers Independence’s youth mentoring programs locally. Enjoy a “Thanksgiving-inspired” menu of Primo Hoagies, seasonal cocktails of Apple Cider, a coffee bar, hot toddy bar, and 15-foot tailgate trailer, dee-jay music, raffle prizes, and games.
1 Lincoln Financial Field Way at the sports complex in South Philadelphia. https://phillyprgirl.com/turkey-day-tailgate/
Love a Parade?
November 25, 2021. The festivities kick off with the in-person return, after a one-year virtual hiatus, of the 6abc Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade. The nation’s oldest known Thanksgiving Day parade (more than 100 years old) features floats, live performances — from Kool & the Gang and Amy Grant — Disney characters, and visits from Santa, the Cat in the Hat, Gritty, and Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Televised locally on abc6, 8:30 a.m. to noon. Free. The parade begins at 20th Street and the Parkway to John F. Kennedy Boulevard, proceeds on the Parkway corridor, and ends in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Ben Franklin Parkway. https://dig.abclocal.go.com
Deck the Hall!
November 2021 through spring 2022. Walk in a Wintergarden Wonderland. If dining in the community is not your cup of apple cider around Thanksgiving, then head downtown to the City Hall apron in Center City for some outdoor entertainment, a Wintergarden at Dilworth Park on the Greenfield Lawn, the epicenter of holiday fun. It is rare to experience nature in the middle of the Philly cityscape. Enjoy light-show installations (every half hour in Technicolor images on the City Hall facade), plant displays (a rustic arbor, reindeer topiaries, and seasonal plants), and ice skating (at the Rothman Orthopaedics Ice Rink) on the west and south sides of City Hall. Try the snacks, cocktails, beer, and hot drinks in a cozy cabin setting with a fire pit nearby. On December 2, the city’s giant annual fir tree will be lit up on the north side in an official holiday ceremony in grand fashion. Who really needs Rockefeller Center’s tree in New York? Many activities are free.
Broad and Market streets. centercityphila.org/
THEATER
Time to Play!
Through November 21, 2021
If you are in the mood to see a live play — and one with humor and hope — check out the small production of Extreme Home Makeover by Texas playwright, Makasha Copeland. A struggling Texas family makes it on a national home-renovation reality TV show, and their trials and tribulations are exposed during the show’s selection process in their hope for better times. 60-guest capacity. Buy tickets in advance.
Theatre Exile, 1340 S. 13th St., South Philly.
