NW Philly This Week: August 20–26

ByAlex Aberle

Your guide to Northwest Philadelphia for the week of Thursday, August 20 through Wednesday, August 26.

Saturday is doing entirely too much this week, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. Awbury is hosting a seven-hour artist-run festival, there’s a mushroom festival at the Schuylkill Center, Attic is putting on a beer fest in the garden, and both farmers markets are running as usual. You cannot do all of it. (We tried to build a route. It doesn’t work: Awbury and Hagy’s Mill Road are on opposite ends of the world, and one of them involves a beer fest.)

The rest of the week is quieter but not empty. Friends of the Wissahickon is running something outdoors on five of these seven days: two hikes, two service days, and a Devil’s Pool cleanup. Every one of them is free if you register. Morris Arboretum is closing out two summer series on Tuesday and Wednesday. And the libraries, as always, are carrying more of the neighborhood than anyone gives them credit for: chess, fiber arts, a sewing-machine class, a writing group, teen 3D printing, and a book club reading All Systems Red.

One heads-up for the week after: the Philadelphia Cycling Classic returns to the Manayunk Wall on Sunday, August 30, women’s race off at 8:30am, men’s at 12:30pm. Nothing to do about it this week except decide where you’re standing. (Main Street if you want the noise, Lemon Hill if you want to actually see the race.)

The big one: Sweet Juice Festival at Awbury

Saturday, August 22, 2:30–9:30pm, The Farm at Awbury, 6336 Ardleigh Street, 19138

Seven hours, outdoors, on the farm at Awbury: local bands, performance and visual artists, healers, food, beer, and vendors. It bills itself as a gathering of “artists, musicians, healers, and dreamers,” which could go either way, except that the whole thing is artist- and volunteer-run and every dollar of ticket revenue goes back to the artists, the venue, and making people comfortable while they’re there. That’s not a marketing line. It is on the event page.

What makes this the pick of the week is that it runs from mid-afternoon straight through to 9:30pm, which means you can treat it as an afternoon with kids (under 5 get in free) or as a Saturday night, or you can leave and come back. Very few things in this part of the city let you do that.

Ticketed, through the link on Awbury’s event page. Bring a chair.

awbury.org/event/sweet-juice-festival

Thursday, August 20

  • Morning Wellness Walk, The Farm at Awbury, 6336 Ardleigh St, 7–8am. A moderately paced hour through Awbury’s 56 acres before the day starts, led by wellness coordinator Megan Do Nascimento. No registration; questions to wellness@awbury.org. (This series runs Thursdays only right now, and there is no Monday session.)
  • Thursday Volunteer Service Day, Friends of the Wissahickon, Wigard Avenue Trailhead, 726 Wigard Ave, 9am–12pm. Digging, raking, and scraping with long-handled tools alongside FOW staff. Gloves, tools, and instruction provided; you bring water, sturdy shoes, and long pants. Free, registration required.
  • Native Planters, The Schuylkill Center, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Rd, 19128, 10am–12pm. Volunteer gardening in the courtyard and entrance gardens, all native plants. Free, walk-ins welcome (registering just gets you the weather email). Wear shoes you don’t mind ruining, their words.
  • Baby and Toddler Storytime, Wadsworth Library, 1500 Wadsworth Ave, 19150, 10:30am. Stories, movement, and songs with Mr. Nate, ages 0–3 with a grown-up. Free.
  • Little Archaeologists!, Chestnut Hill Library, 8711 Germantown Ave, 10:30am. The American Swedish Historical Museum brings a storytime, real archaeological tools, and a mini dig site. Free, and a genuinely better use of a Thursday morning than most things.
  • Cliveden house tours, 6401 Germantown Ave, 12–4pm. The 2026 tour season runs Thursday through Sunday. Ticketed; call 215-848-1777.
  • Science in the Summer: Be a Chemist!, Coleman Northwest Regional Library, 68 W Chelten Ave, 19144, 1pm. GSK’s summer program, hands-on, free.
  • Video Game Day, Wadsworth Library, 2pm. Kids and teens, free.
  • Science in the Summer: Be a Water Chemist!, Lovett Memorial Library, 6945 Germantown Ave, 19119, 2:30pm. Same program, water edition, real tools. Free.
  • Build It Club, Chestnut Hill Library, 3pm. “Whether you are a pre-Duplo beginner or a big-kid LEGO master.” Free.
  • Video Game Club, Coleman Northwest Regional, 3pm. Teens, Nintendo Switch, free.
  • Girl Dinner, Manayunk Brewing Company, Main Street, 4–9pm. $25 gets you a Caesar, pasta or truffle fries, and a Hugo or Aperol spritz. Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • First-Time Homebuyer Workshop, Mt. Airy CDC, 6703 Germantown Ave, Suite 200, 5:30–8:30pm. Credit, mortgage lending, sales agreements, inspections, and the part people always miss: down payment and closing cost assistance. Free, registration required.
  • Bingo at The Rook, 4001 Cresson St, 19127, 7–9pm. Weekly.

Friday, August 21

  • The Wissahickon in August: guided hike, Friends of the Wissahickon, meet at Blue Bell Field parking lot, 800 W Walnut Ln, 9am–12pm. Three and a half to four miles through the southern park, past Historic RittenhouseTown, Saylor Grove, and the old McKinney Quarry site, crossing both sides of Lincoln Drive. Steep and rocky. This is a real hike, not a stroll. Ages 12+. Registration required.
  • Infant and Toddler Playgroup, Chestnut Hill Library, 8711 Germantown Ave, 10:30am. Books, toys, music, and the early social and motor stuff that comes with it. Free.
  • Caregiver & Me Yoga, Roxborough Library, 6245 Ridge Ave, 19128, 10:30am. Breathing and movement for grown-ups and toddlers together. Free, registration required.
  • Get to Know Your Sewing Machine, Falls of Schuylkill Library, 3501 Midvale Ave, 19129, 1:30pm. Becky Wetzel walks you through threading, mechanics, and maintenance, with scrap material to practice on. Free, registration required. If you have a machine in a closet you’ve never once used, this is the class.
  • Let’s Make Art: Collage Your Family Story, Coleman Northwest Regional, 68 W Chelten Ave, 2pm. Drop-in, materials provided, bring your own photographs if you want. Free.
  • Tabletop RPG Day for Kids and Teens, Wadsworth Library, 1500 Wadsworth Ave, 2pm. Ages 7+, you can join mid-campaign. Free, space limited.
  • $5 Fridays, Attic Brewing, 137 Berkley St, 19144, 3–6pm. Select $5 drafts and $5 cocktails.
  • Quidnunk and Friends, The Foodery on Ridge, 6148 Ridge Ave, 7–9pm. Free live music on Ridge, which is a sentence we don’t get to write often enough.
  • 80’s Dance Party, The River Club at Manayunk Brewing, 4120 Main St, 7–11pm. Princess, Romeo, Lillian, and DJ Jimmy Jam, actual Dance Party USA and Dancin’ On Air alumni, spinning non-stop 80s with line dances and spotlight moments. $40. If you grew up in Philadelphia in the eighties you already know whether this is for you.
  • Sid Miller Band showcase, Manayunk Brewing, Main Street, 8–11pm. Wedding band showcase set, no cover.
  • Friday Night Quizzo, Manayunk Brewing, 8:30–10:30pm. Drink specials, food specials, weekly prizes.
  • Cliveden house tours, 6401 Germantown Ave, 12–4pm.

Saturday, August 22

(See the Sweet Juice Festival above. That is the headline. Here’s everything else, and there is a lot of it.)

  • Chestnut Hill Farmers Market, Germantown Ave at Mermaid Lane, in front of the Mermaid Inn, 9am–12pm. One of the longest-running markets in the city, year-round, rain or shine.
  • Volunteer-Led Service Day, South Side, Friends of the Wissahickon, Saylor’s Grove Trailhead at W Rittenhouse St and Wissahickon Ave, 9am–12pm. Trail maintenance, planting prep, invasive removal, or litter pickup depending on the day. Street parking on Rittenhouse; no bathrooms on site, plan accordingly. Free, registration required.
  • Pretzel Park Farmers Market, 4300 Silverwood St, Manayunk, 10am–2pm. Weekly, rain or shine.
  • Sit and Stitch, Falls of Schuylkill Library, 3501 Midvale Ave, 10:30am. Knitters, crocheters, embroiderers, bring whatever’s on your needles. Drop-in, free.
  • Preschool Storytime, Coleman Northwest Regional, 68 W Chelten Ave, 11am. Ages 2–5 with a caregiver, free.
  • Fungadelphia, The Schuylkill Center, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Rd, 11am–3pm. The Philadelphia Mycology Club’s annual mushroom festival: hikes, live music, workshops, games. Free, but sign up. Four hours of people who are extremely serious about fungi, which is exactly as fun as it sounds.
  • Avid Readers Circle, Falls of Schuylkill Library, 1pm. Talk about what you’ve been reading, leave with a list. Drop-in, free.
  • SAT Prep Workshop: Practice Test, Chestnut Hill Library, 8711 Germantown Ave, 2pm. Part of a free summer-long study series. Free.
  • Beer Fest in the Beer Garden, Attic Brewing, 137 Berkley St, 5–9pm. Guest breweries from around the city, outdoor games, live music from The Levites, and the Eagles preseason game on. 21+, $40 general admission / $20 designated driver, buy ahead.
  • Cliveden house tours, 6401 Germantown Ave, 12–4pm.

Sunday, August 23

  • Discover the Wissahickon: Rolling Ridge Hike, Friends of the Wissahickon, meet at the Saylor’s Grove Trailhead kiosk, 9am–12pm. Trail Ambassadors take you out on the East Falls Trail, one of the least-traveled routes in the park: south to Ridge Ave, across the creek, back on the paved path, past Kelpius Cave, Lover’s Leap, Ten Box, and RittenhouseTown. Transit-accessible via the 65 bus or Chelten Ave station. Registration required. If you’ve been hiking the Wissahickon for years and think you know it, this is the one that proves you don’t.
  • Cliveden house tours, 6401 Germantown Ave, 12–4pm. Last day of the tour week.
  • Music and Musicians, The Foodery on Ridge, 6148 Ridge Ave, 3–5pm. Weekly open jam, free.
  • Grape Room Open Mic, 105 Grape St, Manayunk, 6–10pm. Sign-ups in person starting at 6, fifteen minutes or three songs each. Free.

Monday, August 24

Monday is quiet, and we’re not going to invent things to fill it. Two listings:

  • Magic the Gathering at the Library, Roxborough Library, 6245 Ridge Ave, 5pm. Drop-in, and staff will teach you the basics if you’ve never played. Free.
  • Quizzo at The Rook, 4001 Cresson St, 7–10pm. Weekly.

Tuesday, August 25

  • Devil’s Pool Clean-Up, Friends of the Wissahickon, meet at the Valley Green Inn, Forbidden Drive and Valley Green Rd, 9:30am–12:30pm. Roughly a mile and a half over rocky ground to Devil’s Pool, then you haul out what people left behind (bags cap at 20 lbs). Tools and gloves provided, bathrooms at the Inn before you set off. Free, registration required.
  • Bloomin’ Bubbles, Whimsical Woods at Morris Arboretum, 100 E Northwestern Ave, 11am. The last one of the season, the series ends today after running every Tuesday since May 26. The Whimsical Woods turn into a bubble landscape and the kids lose their minds. Free with admission.
  • Stop the Bleed Training, Falls of Schuylkill Library, 3501 Midvale Ave, 1pm. Instruction plus hands-on practice with pressure, wound packing, and tourniquets. Free. (Hands-on classes usually cap, so worth calling ahead.)
  • Fiber Arts, Falls of Schuylkill Library, 2pm. Bring a portable project, meet other crafters. Drop-in, free.
  • Taco Tuesday, Attic Brewing, 137 Berkley St, 4–10pm. The best taco trucks in the city rotate through the taproom, with $6 La Libertad lagers, $6 margaritas, and $6 tequila shots all day.
  • Chess Club, Roxborough Library, 6245 Ridge Ave, 5:30pm. Thirty minutes of lecture from Coach Chris, then free play. Boards and clocks provided, all ages and levels. Free.
  • Falls Writing Group, Falls of Schuylkill Library, 5:30pm. Prompts, writing games, sharing, feedback. Drop-in, free.
  • 3D Printing for Kids, Roxborough Library, 6pm. Nivita from Girls Who Code teaches grades 5–8 to use a MakerBot. Materials provided, free.
  • Roxborough Book Club, Roxborough Library, 6pm. This month it’s All Systems Red by Martha Wells, picked by a poll in their Facebook group. Free.
  • Jazz Jam Sessions, Manayunk Brewing, Main Street, 7–10pm. Weekly, no cover.

Wednesday, August 26

  • Wild Wetland Wednesdays, The Wetland at Morris Arboretum, 100 E Northwestern Ave, 11am–1pm. Drop-in wander through the wetland: native plants, fish, amphibians, blue herons, belted kingfishers. Free mini binoculars for kids while supplies last, and this is the last of the summer series. Free with admission; the wetland is not ADA accessible.
  • Quiet Meditation, Roxborough Library, 6245 Ridge Ave, 11:30am. An hour in the meeting room; the series works through several different practices. Free.
  • Burger and Brew, Manayunk Brewing, Main Street, from noon. A 6oz burger and a 12oz beer, every Wednesday.
  • Extended summer garden hours at Wyck, 6026 Germantown Ave, grounds open free until 7pm. Wednesdays through August, and then that’s it until next year.
  • Book Club: Meet Felicity, An American Girl, Wyck Historic House, Garden and Farm, 6026 Germantown Ave, 5:30–7pm. Yes, an American Girl book club, held in an actual 18th-century house, which is either the most Germantown thing this week or a close second. Registration required, ticketed.
  • Germantown Jazz Jam, Attic Brewing, 137 Berkley St, 7–10pm. Come to play or come to listen, both are the point. Free.
  • The Grape Open Jam, The Grape Room, 105 Grape St, 8–10:30pm. Bring an instrument, or don’t; drummers bring sticks. Free.

Running something we missed? Send it to hello@nwphilly.com and we’ll get it in next week’s list. We’d rather hear about your block party than miss it.

One housekeeping note: we check every listing against the venue’s own page before it goes in here, but places change plans, weather happens, and small venues don’t always update. Confirm before you drive over.

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