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  • Industrial bones and big flavors in Easton, Pa. | Field Trip

    Industrial bones and big flavors in Easton, Pa. | Field Trip

    Nestled in the crook of the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers, Easton’s manufacturing might was powered by its waterways during the Industrial Revolution in the early 20th century. Tanneries, flour and silk mills, distilleries, breweries — these were the big businesses in town.

    Now, those old industrial shells and the former mansions of tycoons house cafés and galleries, boutique hotels, and French-inspired markets.

    Easton sits just 90 minutes from Philly, making it an easy weekend getaway. Take the Turnpike north, hook a right at Allentown, and head toward the river.

    Start the car.

    Stay: Townley House Hotel

    In dining, shopping, and arts, Easton way overdelivers. Hotels are still catching up. Fortunately, the popular Gusto Hospitality Group (see Dine, below) opened the Townley House Hotel several years ago, and the 16-room boutique remains the best place to stay in town. An original mahogany staircase links the levels of this restored brick townhouse on Easton’s historic Millionaire’s Row. There’s a sun-dappled courtyard, Mercer-tiled fireplaces, maximalist wallpapers and custom headboards — a different one for each room.

    📍 130 N. 3rd St., Easton, Pa. 18042

    Stroll: Karl Stirner Arts Trail

    Running nearly two miles along scenic Bushkill Creek to Lafayette College’s William Visual Arts Building, the Karl Stirner Arts Trail weaves through 27 works of public art. The trail is named for the German-born sculptor and metalsmith largely credited for making Easton an arts destination in the 1980s. You’ll find his untitled steel arch, painted an unmissable scarlet, about two-thirds of the way down the path.

    📍 Parking at 521 N. 13th St., Easton, Pa. 18042

    Snack: Pie + Tart

    In this world, there are people who love pie, and then there are monsters. Don’t be a monster. On Northampton Street, Easton’s main drag, Pie + Tart is charming spot with exposed brick walls and Shaker-style chairs from bakers Lisa Yelagin and Anne Gerr. Savory pies (coq au vin) and sweet ones (Mexican chocolate chess, cherry cheesecake) rotate weekly, alongside soups, quiches, and other cozy blackboard specials.

    📍 349 Northampton St., Easton, Pa. 18042

    Create: Crayola Experience

    If you’re bringing kids — or you simply have strong feelings about Burnt Sienna and Tickle-Me-Pink — meet the Crayola Experience. The king of crayons was born — and still manufactured — right here in Easton. The four-floor experience mixes analog crafts and digital diversions, including an 85-foot water table and a photo booth that generates a coloring-book selfie. Great opportunity to see what you’d look like as a Mango Tango redhead.

    📍 30 Centre Square, Easton, Pa. 18042

    Shop: Belleville Market

    Men’s shearling-lined shackets, watercolor paint-by-numbers journals, irreverent incense (“Chai-Scented Laziness,” “Burn Away the BS”), and more fill Belleville Market, a three-level department store inspired by the marketplaces the owners fell for in France. Keep an eye on their events page to see whether your Easton trip lines up with the shop’s happenings, like the upcoming Moka pot demonstration and tasting and floral-filled spring open house.

    📍 20 S. 3rd St., Easton, Pa. 18042

    Drink: Kabinett

    We don’t need to tell you: The PLCB does not make sourcing great wine easy. Which makes Kabinett, a Bavarian-inspired refuge furnished with warm woods, wishbone chairs, and framed botanical prints all the more impressive. A grandly antlered stag skull presides over the bar. The Wine Spectator-recognized list ranges from whole-cluster Santa Barbara Sangiovese and South Australian Riesling from 175-year-old vines. It’s deep but playful, organized under headings like:“Reds ~ OK, Boomer. Safe Cabernet & oak space for full-throttle bottles.”

    📍 125 Northampton St., Easton, Pa. 18042

    Dine: Albanesi Restaurant & Bar

    Italian restaurants run by Albanians form their own industry sub-genre. At Albanesi Restaurant & Bar, Gusto Group’s Mick Gjevukaj, who grew up in the war-torn former Yugoslavia, is putting his heritage center stage with dishes like harissa-spiced rib-eye qofte (kofte), veal goulash, and braised lamb shoulder lacquered in pomegranate. Climb into one of the camel-colored clamshell banquettes, order some samuna bread and hummus swirled with ajvar, a Balkan condiment of roasted peppers and tomatoes, and settle in for culinary geography lesson. Who knew you’d learn it in Easton?

    📍 235 Ferry St., Easton, Pa. 18042

  • Shane Gillis’ hit Netflix series ‘Tires’ receives $6 million in tax credits to film its third season

    Shane Gillis’ hit Netflix series ‘Tires’ receives $6 million in tax credits to film its third season

    The hit Netflix series Tires is returning to the Philadelphia area, with more than a few extra dollars to spare.

    The show, starring Mechanicsburg, Pa., native and former Mantua resident comedian Shane Gillis was approved for a $6 million tax credit for its forthcoming production in the Philly region.

    The tax credit was issued through the state’s Film Production Tax Credit Program, which is overseen by the Pa. Department of Community and Economic Development.

    A still from Mechanicsburg native Shane Gillis’ Netflix comedy “Tires” in 2025.

    The program offers a 25% to 30% tax credit to productions that spent at least 60% of their total operational budget in the state.

    Nicole Shiner, co-executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office alongside Erin Wagner, said incentives like these are vital for large-scale productions like Tires to land and remain in the region..

    “The tax credit program is the primary economic development tool that allows Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia specifically, to compete nationally and internationally for projects the tax credit supports,” Shiner said.

    “Film and TV production is very mobile, and production companies compare states based on infrastructure, financial competitiveness, workforce in the area, and overall reliability,” she said. “Without a strong incentive program, we simply wouldn’t be competitive in attracting major episodic TV or studio features.”

    Tires, created by Gillis and his longtime collaborators Steven Gerben and John McKeever, is set and filmed in West Chester. It premiered on Netflix in May 2024 and was soon renewed for a second season. In July 2025, the show was renewed for a third season.

    “When a series returns for additional seasons, that signals the area has stability,” Shiner said. “That consistency is what allows businesses and workers to grow with our industry. People can stay, create families, make plans, and pay mortgages.”

    The Greater Philadelphia Film Commission co-executive directors Erin Wagner (left) and Nicole Shiner pose for a portrait outside Philadelphia’s City Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025.

    She is glad the show is shooting on location. “When you see stuff on location, it gives you a Pennsylvania authentic feel that you really can’t make up. We love that,” she said.

    Pennsylvania Film Office officials expect the forthcoming production to generate an estimated $24 million to the local economy in return, including 1,709 jobs.

    Based on the local film office’s projections, Shiner said the show’s economic impact could reach as much as $50 million across the region.

    The estimate is based on professional services, goods, and production costs linked to shows of this magnitude. These operational costs include local cast and crew wages, equipment rentals, construction, transportation, catering, security, lodging, and other expenses, which are then injected into the regional economy.

    The state film office awarded $28 million to the Pittsburgh-set and shot series Mayor of Kingstown, starring Jeremy Renner, Dianne Wiest, and Edie Falco.

    Pennsylvania Film Office officials said the two productions combined are expected to inject more than $131 million into the economy in direct expenditures, creating and supporting nearly 3,500 state jobs.

    Shane Gillis as Shane in the second season of “Tires.”

    Since the beginning of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration, the state’s Film Office has approved 135 new productions through the tax credit program.

    These productions are projected to inject over $1.34 billion in direct spending in over 34 counties in Pennsylvania, while supporting nearly 40,000 jobs and $505.3 million in state resident wages.

    “We are sandwiched between New York and New Jersey, and the tax credit program has been increasing astronomically over the last few years,“ Shiner said. ”It’s really important that Pennsylvania pays attention to this, if we’re going to remain competitive.”

  • Phil Sumpter, celebrated sculptor, artist, and teacher, has died at 95

    Phil Sumpter, celebrated sculptor, artist, and teacher, has died at 95

    Phil Sumpter, 95, formerly of Philadelphia, celebrated sculptor, artist, art teacher, TV station art director, veteran, mentor, urban cowboy, and revered raconteur, died Thursday, Jan. 1, of age-associated decline at his home in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

    A graduate of John Bartram High School and the old Philadelphia College of Art, Mr. Sumpter taught art, both its history and application, to middle and high school students in Philadelphia for 27 years. He was an engaging teacher, former students said, and a founding faculty member at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts in 1978.

    He started teaching in 1955 and, after a break in the 1960s and ’70s, finally retired in 1992. “You are very lucky to have a teacher in your life that believed in you, nurtured you, challenged you, and loved you,” a former student said on Facebook. “Mr. Sumpter did all that and more.”

    Other former students called him their “father” and a “legend.” One said: “You did a lot of good here on earth, especially for a bunch of feral artist teenagers.”

    Mr. Sumpter (left) talks about his sculpture of Underground Railroad organizer William Still in 2003.

    Outside the classroom, Mr. Sumpter sculpted hundreds of pieces and painted and sketched thousands of pictures in his South Philadelphia stable-turned-studio on Hicks Street. Prominent examples of his dozens of commissions and wide-ranging public art presence include the bas-relief sculpture of Black Revolutionary War soldiers at Valley Forge National Historical Park in Montgomery County, the action statue of baseball star Roberto Clemente in North Philadelphia, the Negro Leagues baseball monument in West Parkside, and the Judy Johnson and Helen Chambers statues in Wilmington.

    He worked often in clay and paper, made murals, and designed commemorative coins and medals. He especially enjoyed illustrating cowboys, pirates, Puerto Rican jibaros, and landscapes.

    Mr. Sumpter’s art celebrates Black Revolutionary War soldiers

    His statue of Clemente was unveiled at Roberto Clemente Middle School in 1997, and Mr. Sumpter told The Inquirer: “I think I’ve captured a heroic image, an action figure depicting strength plus determination.”

    He was among the most popular contributors to the Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Franks bar, and his many exhibitions drew crowds and parties at the Bacchanal Gallery, the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Plastic Club, and elsewhere in the region and Puerto Rico. He hung out with other notable artists and community leaders, and collaborated on projects with his son, Philip III, and daughter, Elisabeth.

    Mr. Sumpter worked often in clay and paper, made murals, and designed commemorative coins and medals.

    He even marketed a homemade barbecue sauce with his wife, Carmen. His family said: “He is remembered for mentorship, cultural fluency, and presence as much as for material works.”

    He founded Phil Sumpter Design Associates in the 1960s and worked on design and branding projects for a decade with institutions, educational organizations, and other clients. He was art director for WKBS-TV, WPHL-TV, and the Pyramid Club.

    “The word for him,” his son said, “is expansive.”

    Mr. Sumpter was friendly and gregarious. He became enamored with Black cowboys and Western life as a boy and went on to ride horses around town, dress daily in Western wear, and depict Black cowboys from around the world in his art. His viewpoints and exhibits were featured often in The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Tribune, Philadelphia Magazine, Dosage Magazine, and other publications.

    Mr. Sumpter (in white cowboy hat) views his statue of Roberto Clemente in 1997.

    He was an air observer for the Air Force during the Korean War and later, while stationed in England, studied sculpture, ceramics, and drawing at Cambridge Technical Institute. His daughter said: “He taught me how to open the portal to the infinite multiverse of my own imagination, where every mind, every soul can be free.”

    Philip Harold Sumpter Jr. was born March 12, 1930, in Erie. His family moved to segregated West Philadelphia when he was young, and he earned a bachelor’s degree in art education at PCA.

    He married and divorced when he was young, and then married Florence Reasner. They had a son, Philip III, and a daughter, Elisabeth, and lived in Abington. They divorced later, and he moved to Hicks Street in South Philadelphia.

    He met Carmen Guzman in Philadelphia, and they married in 2001 and moved to San Juan for good in 2003. He built a studio at his new home and never really retired from creating.

    Mr. Sumpter (second from left) enjoyed time with his family.

    Mr. Sumpter enjoyed singing, road trips to visit family in Pittsburgh, and bomba dancing in San Juan. He was a creative cook, and what he called his “trail chili” won cook-offs and many admirers.

    “He was a larger-than-life person,” his son said. “He was fearless in his frontier spirit.” His wife said: “His joy for life was contagious, as was his laughter.”

    In addition to his wife, children, and former wife, Mr. Sumpter is survived by other relatives.

    A celebration of his life was held earlier in Puerto Rico. Celebrations in Philadelphia are to be from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at Dirty Franks, 347 S. 13th St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19107, and from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 15, at the Plastic Club, 247 S. Camac St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19107.

    Mr. Sumpter’s work was featured in The Inquirer in 1994.
  • He watched the Ringling Bros. circus as a kid in South Jersey. This year, he wrote the script for the latest tour.

    He watched the Ringling Bros. circus as a kid in South Jersey. This year, he wrote the script for the latest tour.

    South Jersey native Jordan Gershowitz is no stranger to the bright lights.

    In fifth grade, he wrote, cast, and directed his first musical at Westampton Middle School. Named Trial of Treason, the play was a “loose” retelling of the Revolutionary War, with the kind of sci-fi elements only true ’90s kids will appreciate.

    Gershowitz’s story starred two characters who build a machine to travel back to the time American traitor Benedict Arnold was court-martialed for abusing military power. Gershowitz gave his actors ketchup packets to smear on their shirts to act out battle scenes.

    “I don’t remember how we split up the viewing audience, but it was definitely a one-day-only production,” he joked.

    South Jersey Jordan Gershowitz is the story editor and co-developer of Netflix’s new kids series “Hot Wheels Let’s Race.” The show premiered on March 4, 2024.

    Years later, Gershowitz became the bassist for the neon pop-rock band Rushmore. They opened for the likes of the Plain White-Ts and Justin Bieber, and were nominated for best breakout artist at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

    These days, Gershowitz, 38, is busy working on another production with historical ties: the new Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

    The iconic traveling circus, billed as “The Greatest Show on Earth,” opens at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday. All eight shows will feature dancing acrobats, nimble trapeze artists, and Skylar “the human rocket” Miser, among other performers.

    Gershowitz, who has previously written for Netflix’s Hot Wheels Let’s Race, Sharkdog, The Snoopy Show, and other shows, penned the script for the 148th edition of the longest-running circus in American history.

    Gershowitz has written all the dialogue for the show guides and characters, including the robo-puppy named Bailey Circuit, and sequenced all the performing acts to establish the overall vibe of the show.

    “Ringling Bros. is like the gold standard of family entertainment,” he said. “It was a fantastic opportunity to be a part of it.”

    The man behind the newest rendition of Ringling Bros. is South Jersey native Jordan Gershowitz. The iconic touring circus opens at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday. The show runs through Feb. 16.

    None of his previous writing credits transported him back to childhood in the same way as Ringling Bros., he said.

    “Ringling is just one of those rare American institutions that I think everyone has a personal memory of,” Gershowitz said. “And for me, it wasn’t just an opportunity to write a circus. It was a really compelling opportunity, and something the entire team was mindful of as we went into this.”

    Before starting the writing process a year ago, he remembered the days he attended Ringling Bros. circuses growing up in Westampton. With his parents, he marveled at the gravity-defying stunts and masterful crowd interactions performed by artists from all corners of the world.

    “I really loved the spectacle of it. Being a kid in the early ’90s, at least in South Jersey, you had to make a lot of your own fun,” Gershowitz said. “So, getting to go to a really big communal experience like Ringling Bros. was just eye-opening.”

    The man behind the newest rendition of Ringling Bros. is South Jersey native Jordan Gershowitz. The iconic touring circus opens at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday. The show runs through Feb. 16.

    With a project as historic as Ringling Bros., Gershowitz said the challenge was reimagining the circus for modern audiences.

    “I didn’t approach it necessarily trying to replace what came before,” he said. “I tried to look at what made it meaningful in the first place to so many people, and then worked with director Michael Schwandt to look at what does that mean for a new generation with social media and TikTok clips.”

    Gershowitz lined up a series of electrifying acts back-to-back, making audiences question which direction the show would go next. He also incorporated more audience engagement, ensuring it felt more like the “Greatest Party on Earth” than a standard circus act.

    The goal, he said, is to keep people off their cellphones and to fully immerse them into the music, the movements, and visual art illuminating the show’s 60-foot screen.

    “You’re weaving all these amazing acts together, so you’re always thinking about pacing, emotion, and how each moment flows into the next,” he said. “It’s a really unique puzzle that you don’t get in other formats, so hopefully the audience is coming away feeling energized and connected.”

    The man behind the newest rendition of Ringling Bros. is South Jersey native Jordan Gershowitz. The iconic touring circus opens at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday. The show runs through Feb. 16.

    Gershowitz’s script has transformed the circus into a more-interactive and “fun-filled” experience for generations of crowd-goers to enjoy, said Ringling Bros. DJ Lucky Malatsi.

    “He made sure that we were able to connect with the audience, not only with the slang, but with all the conversation pieces,“ Malatsi said. ”It’s not your traditional, ‘Welcome to the circus.’ It’s more, ‘Come vibe with us. We’re having a party.’”

    Since the tour opened Jan. 2, Gershowitz has enjoyed seeing audiences react to his work in real-time. He still loves writing for TV, but he said there’s nothing like seeing an arena filled with families cheering and dancing to a show like the Ringling Bros.

    “When you’re writing for television, it takes a really long time for the audience to watch. Watching TV is also very solitary,” he said. “But the cool thing about Ringling, you’re watching the show along with the audience, and you can feel the energy.”

    The man behind the newest rendition of Ringling Bros. is South Jersey native Jordan Gershowitz. The iconic touring circus opens at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday. The show runs through Feb. 16.

    Their reactions remind him of his own as a young circus fan, which later inspired his own performances in school plays and at music venues as one-fifth of Rushmore.

    With the production’s Philly tour stop, he hopes to forge similar memories for young crowd-goers, and remind longtime circus fans of the magic that first struck them in their youth.

    “Ideally, everyone is going to leave post-show talking to each other about what they saw and how it made them feel,” he said. “[Ringling] opened my eyes to larger possibilities, so hopefully it does the same for kids in the area. Whether they’re a future performer, or they start to see the world is much larger than their neighborhood.”

    The Ringling Bros. tour stop runs through Feb. 16, Xfinity Mobile Arena, 3601 S. Broad St., Phila. Tickets at ringling.com.

  • NFL to buck decades-long trend to open 2026 season; Eagles won’t lose home game to international play

    NFL to buck decades-long trend to open 2026 season; Eagles won’t lose home game to international play

    We knew that Roger Goodell was serious about pushing the NFL internationally, but we didn’t know he was this serious.

    The NFL is considering beginning the 2026 season on a Wednesday night, bucking a two-decade trend of holding the annual NFL Kickoff game on a Thursday night.

    After winning the Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks would traditionally host the kickoff game Thursday. But the NFL has also announced that its first game in Melbourne, Australia — featuring the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams — will take place in Week 1, and sources confirm the report from Puck’s John Ourand that the NFL is considering having it be the first game of the season.

    The league could also decide to hold the traditional Seahawks-hosted kickoff game Wednesday and the Australia game Thursday. Either way, we’re looking at the 2026 season beginning on a Wednesday night for just the second time in nearly eight decades.

    The last time the NFL kicked the season off on a Wednesday was 2012, when the league shifted its schedule to avoid going up against President Barack Obama’s speech during the final night of the Democratic National Convention. Prior to that, the NFL hadn’t opened the season on a Wednesday since 1948.

    So why doesn’t the NFL just schedule its new Australian game on Friday, as they’ve done the past two years with their Brazil games? Because under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, the NFL is prohibited from scheduling games on Friday nights from mid-September to mid-December to protect high school and college sports.

    With some help from the calendar, the NFL was able to squeeze in a Week 1 Friday night game the past two seasons. This year they league isn’t so lucky, with kickoff Thursday falling on Sept. 10.

    NBC Sports Philadelphia fans will soon be able to save money on YouTubeTV

    Whether it happens Wednesday or Thursday, the Seattle Seahawks will begin to defend their Super Bowl championship title at home to start the season, likely against the Chicago Bears.

    Two big question marks remain: The first is where will the Australia game air? The NFL is negotiating broadcast rights with streaming companies, and the favorite has to be YouTube, which streamed last year’s Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers matchup from Brazil.

    YouTube exec Christian Oestlien has said the streamer wants to carry more live NFL games, and it proved it can handle the demand with minimal tech problems.

    There’s also Netflix, which is entering the final year of streaming NFL Christmas day games and looks for big events to stream on its platform. The league’s first-ever game in Australia airing in primetime in the U.S. would certainly quality.

    But Peacock could also be a possibility. NBC’s subscription streaming service had the rights to the NFL’s first Brazilian game, and last year it had the rights to a Week 17 Saturday night game between the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens.

    Another unanswered question is when the game will air in the United States. Airing the game in prime time on the East Coast means dealing with a 16-hour time difference. An 8 p.m. kickoff time in Philadelphia on a Wednesday would mean the game was starting at noon Thursday in Melbourne.

    Eagles likely to play in an international game?

    The Eagles played in São Paulo, Brazil in Week 1 of the 2024 season.

    The expansion into Australia is one of a record nine NFL games being held outside the United States this season.

    Here’s a quick recap of what we know:

    • Melbourne, Australia: 49ers at Rams
    • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: TBA at Dallas Cowboys
    • Paris, France: TBA at New Orleans Saints
    • Munich, Germany: TBA at TBA
    • Mexico City, Mexico: TBA at 49ers
    • Madrid, Spain: TBA at TBA
    • London, England (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium): TBA at TBA
    • London, England (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium): TBA at TBA
    • London, England (Wembley Stadium): TBA at Jaguars

    The Atlanta Falcons — who aren’t on the Eagles 2026 schedule — have announced that they are the designated home team for one of the international games. The Washington Commanders will also be the home team in one international game, according to the Athletic.

    The Eagles have a ninth home game in 2026 thanks to the NFL’s 17-week season, and season-ticket holders have been notified that all will be played at the Linc. But the Birds remain in the mix to play an international game as an away team.

    First, there’s Rio de Janeiro, where the Eagles could face the Cowboys. The Birds have marketing rights in Brazil and played there two seasons ago, but the NFL generally avoids scheduling divisional matchups in international games (though it’s already bucking that trend with 49ers-Rams in Australia, plus the Chiefs have played the Chargers, an AFC West foe, twice on foreign soil).

    Still, this year’s Brazil game will take place on a Sunday afternoon — during daylight saving time, there is a one-hour difference between the East Coast and Rio de Janeiro. While the NFL likely won’t want to move such a marquee matchup into an international venue, Eagles-Cowboys at 4:25 p.m. on a Sunday does feel right.

    Mexico City is also in play, because the Eagles face the 49ers on the road next season. So is London, because the Birds are scheduled to play a road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the home teams in the two remaining games have yet to be announced. But it doesn’t seem likely the NFL would want to waste the ratings potential of the Eagles on a game with a 9:30 a.m. Philly kickoff.

    The NFL also hasn’t announced which teams will host games at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, and Bernabéu in Madrid, Spain.

    Quick hits

    Two puppies go at it during Puppy Bowl XXII Sunday.
    • The Super Bowl averaged 124.9 million viewers Sunday, down from last year but still good enough for the second-highest audience in the game’s history. But we should be talking about this year’s Puppy Bowl, which featured three Pennsylvania pups and drew 15.3 million viewers on Animal Planet and across Warner Bros. Discovery properties earlier in the day, the show’s biggest audience since 2018.
    • Credit where it’s due: Now former Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos acknowledged bringing a beer into the dugout last season, but he wouldn’t have fessed up if the Athletic’s Matt Gelb hadn’t asked about the incident.
    • Kudos to the Baltimore Banner, the successful digital news start up down in Charm City, which announced plans to expand its sports coverage to Washington after the Washington Post eliminated its entire sports desk. Banner editor in chief Audrey Cooper said the outlet plans to start by hiring beat reporters to cover the Washington Nationals and Washington Commanders, calling it “part of our unwavering commitment to serve Maryland with honest, independent journalism.”
    • Sports podcaster Josh Shapiro, who also happens to be the governor of Pennsylvania, got former Sixers general manager Billy King discussing a wild, four-team trade that nearly sent Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons ahead of the 2000-01 season. Of course, Iverson went on to be named NBA MVP that season and led that iconic Sixers team to the NBA Finals. They haven’t been back since.
  • A ‘Cease Operations’ notice was posted on World Cafe Live’s door this week

    A ‘Cease Operations’ notice was posted on World Cafe Live’s door this week

    Is the World Cafe Live about to close for good?

    The West Philadelphia music venue has been embattled since the leadership team led by Joe Callahan took over from founder Hal Real in last spring.

    In May, workers walked out during a Suzanne Vega concert, complaining of “unfair treatment.” In July, the venue’s landlord, the University of Pennsylvania, delivered a notice to vacate, saying the WCL owed $1.29 million in rent and utilities.

    Callahan challenged that eviction notice with a counterclaim in Common Pleas Court, with no court date currently set.

    The venue has remained open as the drama has continued: the venue’s liquor license lapsed for weeks in the fall, and workers complained of light paychecks and firing without cause.

    And on Wednesday, the latest sign that the venue’s immediate future is in danger appeared taped to the doors of the building at 3025 Walnut St. that also houses Penn radio station WXPN-FM (88.5), a separate business.

    The Cease Operations – Stop Work Order that was taped to the door of the University City music venue World Cafe Live on Wednesday.

    In bold black lettering, the notice reads: “CEASE OPERATIONS — STOP WORK ORDER.”

    The notice “by order of the Department of Revenue” says the WCL, which consists of the 650-capacity downstairs Music Hall and 220-capacity Lounge, will be forced to close as of March 11 because it will lose its Commercial Activity License as a result of “serious tax violations.”

    The notice was attached to the glass doors to the venue early Wednesday but had been removed from there by the end of the business day. On Thursday morning, it was taped to the wall in the entryway, facing inward and partially hidden by a traffic cone.

    Penn wants to evict World Cafe Live, but the venue remains open. But for how long?

    Real founded the venue in 2004. It has served as a community hub as well as a home for XPN’s much-loved Free at Noon series for two decades. Does the “Stop Work Order” mean that it is bound to close for good in four weeks’ time?

    Not necessarily. The WCL has a fairly busy entertainment schedule booked between now and March 11, and some dates into May and June.

    XPN has brought the Free at Noon series back to the Walnut Street location after relocating to Ardmore Music Hall in November and December while the WCL’s liquor license was lapsed. There’s a sold-out show there on Friday with Sam Beam of Iron & Wine.

    Shows are slated for this weekend in the Music Hall with the Jazz Room: A Journey to New Orleans and a “Don’t Call Me White Girl” comedy show. Shows scheduled in the Lounge include comedian Reginald Ballard and vocalist Alex Moreno Singer.

    On March 11 — the date the stop-work notice cites as the deadline — the Poetry Cafe open-mic night is scheduled for the Lounge. Future dates include Joe Conklin & the City Rhythm Orchestra on March 20, and Martha Wash, a dance music vocalist and former member of the Weather Girls, on June 27.

    Whether those shows will come to pass depends on the status of the unpaid taxes, which are being billed to Real Entertainment Philadelphia Inc., the nonprofit that still bears its founder and former CEO’s name.

    World Cafe Live President and CEO J. Sean Diaz poses at the embattled West Philly music venue Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.

    Messages left for Callahan (who stepped down as CEO last fall but remains chair of the WCL board) and J. Sean Diaz, who is listed as the venue’s CEO and president on the World Cafe Live website, were not responded to on Thursday.

    Stern warnings of closure from the Philadelphia Department of Revenue also occurred during Real’s tenure, World Cafe Live insiders say. They were resolved when the venue caught up on its back taxes, allowing it to stay open.

    In a statement, the Philadelphia Department of Revenue said it is “unable to discuss specific taxpayers due to state confidentiality laws.”

    The city, the statement reads, “pursues license revocation when a business is unregistered, has a delinquent tax balance, and/or unfiled returns.”

    The posting of a revocation notice, the statement says, “indicates that the business is not tax compliant, and its removal generally indicates that the business has come into compliance.”

    This article has been updated with a statement from the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Revenue.

  • 💖 A weekend for lovers and the Galentine’s Day girlies| Things to do

    💖 A weekend for lovers and the Galentine’s Day girlies| Things to do

    Love is in the air, so this week’s newsletter is for the region’s friends and lovers.

    If you’re still scrambling to lock down your Valentine’s Day plans, or looking for Galentine’s Day excursions for you and your friends, I have a gift for you to unwrap this weekend.

    I’m talking Galentine’s Day parties, romantic train rides through Bucks County’s foothills, and a dinner date at a new double-decker restaurant in Midtown Village.

    These aren’t only events for the love-obsessed. There’s a theme park-inspired exhibition opening at the Franklin Institute, as well as a century-old celebration of the international surrealist movement and Presidents Day activities.

    Read below to finish carving out your weekend plans.

    — Earl Hopkins (@earlhopkins_, Email me at thingstodo@inquirer.com)

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    Irene Levy Baker and Chris Mullins Jr. lead a toast at McGillin’s on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026 in Philadelphia. Attendees gathered for a book talk on “Cheers to McGillin’s: Philly’s Oldest Tavern” on Tuesday.

    Forget the dating apps, people. Find love at this 166-year-old bar.

    McGillin’s Olde Ale House, the 166-year-old pub in Center City long owned by the same family, has mastered the art of match making.

    Along with serving draft beer, wings, cheesesteaks, and an especially good french onion soup, McGillin’s is the place for future couples to meet.

    This month, the bar held a reunion for couples who struck romance at the long-beloved ale house.

    They came together, like alumni of the same beloved college club, wearing red and white name tags with the year their McGillin’s romantic meeting took place. They drank from frosted glasses and sat under tinsel hearts, clapping especially hard for the long married couples seated among them.

    Read my colleague Zoe Greenberg’s piece about this bar’s mating magic.

    The best things to do this week

    🚂 All aboard the love train: Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a luxurious and romantic train ride through Bucks County’s picturesque foothills. The hourlong trip comes with savory crudités and charcuterie, plus a glass of bubbly champagne to wash it all down.

    🖼️ In a Dreamworld: It’s the last weekend to catch “Dreamworld: Surrealism at 100” at the Phialdelphia Museum of Art. It’s a traveling exhibition that features 200 works that celebrate a century of the international surrealist movement.

    🇺🇸 Presidents Day Weekend fun: At the Museum of the American Revolution, the extended weekend will be layered with special programing. There will be sea chest unpacking, Revolution Place playtime, and a deep dive into how Abraham Lincoln interpreted the founding document.

    💞 A night for the girlies: Among all the Valentine’s Day events happening this weekend, there’s a little something for the girls, too. This Friday, Fishtown’s Evil Genius is hosting a Galentine’s Party featuring DJ Louie P, who will spin pop anthems as patrons enjoy pints of craft brew and V-Day themed cocktails.

    📅 My calendar picks this week: Valentine’s Day at the Museum of Illusions, Valen-Tide’s at Adventure Aquarium, and Make Love Market at LOVE Park.

    Universal Theme Parks makes world premiere at Franklin Institute

    The Franklin Institute hosts a world premiere exhibit this weekend that turns movie magic into hands-on discovery.

    The new theme park-inspired exhibit gives visitors a behind-the-scenes look at Universal’s biggest franchises. There will be immersive sets and interactive displays inspired by franchises such as Minions, The Secret Life of Pets and Sing, Super Nintendo World, Jurassic World, and more.

    Tickets are now available for the world premiere on Saturday. The exhibition will be on display through Sept. 7.

    Winter fun this week and beyond

    🎪 The Greatest Show on Earth: The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey traveling circus will bring high-flying acrobatics and extreme cycling to Xfinity Mobile Arena starting Friday. The non-stop party in South Philly continues through Monday.

    🍲 A Midtown Village eatery: The team behind Philly’s cheesesteak bar, Taste, opened a chic NYC and Miami-inspired eatery, Savú. The seasonal menu features items like Maryland crab-stuff egg rolls, jumbo crab cakes, caviar bumps, and other New American bites.

    🎭 A Disney fairytale opening: The musical adaption of the Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast, brings this magical fairytale to the Academy of Music. The beloved story runs through Feb. 22.

    Staffer picks

    Pop music critic Dan DeLuca lists the top concerts this weekend and a few holiday pop-up jams happening this month.

    🎸 Thursday: Local songwriter Josh Owens’ dreamy indie pop band Lazyacres is playing at the South Street nightclub Nikki Lopez with Attic Posture, Bowling Alley Oop, and Dante Robinson.

    🎸 Friday: The Knee-Hi’s, self-described as a “female fronted garage glam rock band existing as a living love letter to rock and roll,” will takeover Ortlieb’s alongside Ione, Star Moles, and Thank You Thank You on Friday.

    🎤 Saturday: A year after releasing his latest album, The Co-Star and a holiday collection, R&B heartthrob Eric Benet will grace the City Winery stage on Saturday.

    🎤 Also on Saturday: Philly cumbia klezmer punk band Mariposas Galacticas join forces with Baltimore-based cumbia ska outfit Soroche and DJ Pdrto Criolla to celebrate “radical love in all its forms” at Johnny Brenda’s.

    🎸 Sunday: Closing out Valentine’s Day weekend is folk-goth guitarist Marissa Nadler, who will bring her noir-ish soundscapes that have won over folkies and metal heads to Milkboy Philly on Sunday.

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

    Alright, lovers and Galentine’s Day diners, I hope this week’s newsletters was a proper gift to you.

    — Earl Hopkins

    Courtesy of Giphy.com
  • Julius Erving remembers Philly fans forever reminding him of the debt he owed them — until it was ‘paid in full’

    Julius Erving remembers Philly fans forever reminding him of the debt he owed them — until it was ‘paid in full’

    Throughout basketball history, few players have been as transformative a talent and cultural figure as NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving.

    Footage of the former Philadelphia 76er’s thunderous dunks, stylish finger rolls, and suave demeanor off the court still draw applause from basketball fans, decades after his 1987 retirement. The iconic forward is still championed by Sixers fans for bringing the city an NBA title in 1983.

    It was in Philly where Erving embraced one of the world’s most impassioned fan bases and learned of the phrase, “You owe us one,” after falling short in the NBA finals three times between 1977 and 1982.

    “I was like, ‘What the hell does that mean?’” he said to The Inquirer. “I was getting pissed. I was not happy with the situation.”

    Julius Erving speaks during the “Soul Power: The Legend Of The American Basketball Association” world premiere at Regal Cinemas Union Square on February 10, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Prime Video)

    The fans were reminding Erving that he owed the city a championship. It was only after he and fellow Hall of Famer Moses Malone swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1983 finals that he paid his debt to the City of Brotherly Love. Fans shouted out the words that have stuck with him all these years on: “Paid in full.”

    Erving, affectionately and fittingly known as “Dr. J,” surgically dissected opposing defenses. He and fellow NBA star David Thompson went on to inspire talents like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

    But veteran sports fans know Erving’s legacy was cemented years before he took his first steps on the floors of South Philly’s Spectrum. One of his early visits to Philadelphia was in April 1971, when he signed to the American Basketball Association to play for the Virginia Squires.

    An image of Julius “Dr. J” Erving from the Prime Video docuseries, “Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association.”

    Erving went on to win two ABA championships and three MVP awards in five seasons. He joined ABA greats Rick Barry, Artis Gilmore, Connie Hawkins, and Spencer Haywood as the faces of a league that would soon merge with the NBA in 1976.

    The merger brought a new brand of fast-paced, high-flying action to the NBA, and elements like the three-point line, dunk contest, underclassmen signees, and other additions that continue today.

    The legacy of those ABA greats and visionaries are the subject of the new sports docuseries, Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association.

    “It just sets the stage for the memories that I have, the friendships that were developed, and the history that was established with the ABA,” Erving said.

    Image of ABA coaches and crowds from the Prime Video docuseries, “Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association.”

    The four-part series, streaming on Amazon Prime Video to commemorate 50 years of the ABA-NBA merger, chronicles the ABA’s formation, triumphs, and challenges during the late 1960s and ’70s.

    Emmy-winning director Kenan K. Holley said he wanted the series to be a “player-driven” story that addressed the league’s on-court innovations and debunked the idea that the ABA was an inferior semipro league.

    “Amazon executives saw the vision. They saw the ABA story was worth telling, and told us to lean into the characters,” he said. “That gave my team the North Star creatively. We knew we had the goods because of all the guys in the league, from Rick Barry to George ‘the Iceman’ Gervin, Dr. J, and others. That was the key.”

    (L-R) Tony Curotto, Todd Lieberman, Derrick Mayes, Kenan Kamwana Holley, Julius Erving, Bob Costas, Hannah Storm, Brett Goldberg, Artis Gilmore, George Karl and Brian Taylor attend the “Soul Power: The Legend Of The American Basketball Association” world premiere at Regal Cinemas Union Square on February 10, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Prime Video)

    The series highlights the hotly-contested rivalry between ABA and NBA players, the personal, financial, and legal battles ABA stars faced, and the early advancements in women’s team ownership.

    There are even brief flashes of downtown Philadelphia and City Hall, depicting the moments leading up to Erving’s ABA signing.

    Soul Power shows how players like Erving were trying to save a league that made such an imprint on sports, but it was faltering due to disinvestment.

    “It wasn’t a fun position to be put in, especially if you know you’re trying to fight for rights of players who gave a commitment to the league and made the sacrifices to keep it afloat for the years that it was around,” Erving said.

    (L-R) Kenan Kamwana Holley and Julius Erving speak during the “Soul Power: The Legend Of The American Basketball Association” world premiere at Regal Cinemas Union Square on February 10, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Prime Video)

    Holley also wanted Soul Power to right the wrongs of past depictions of the ABA. To do that, he needed to earn the trust of figures like George Karl, Barry, Ralph Simpson, and Erving.

    “They have a chip on their shoulder because the way the league’s been handled in the past with certain documentaries,” Holley said. “There was a serious trust-building period where we had to let them know look, ‘If I tell your story, it will be a player-driven story.’”

    Erving was approached about the project five years ago. The first year was largely information gathering, Erving said, but Holley soon stepped in to tie all the narrative threads together.

    Julius “Dr. J” Erving pictured during the filming of the Prime Video docuseries, “Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association.”

    To be among the leading voices in the series, which earned him an executive production credit, Erving said, was a “gift.” And at the core of the project, he’s proud to see the series reflective of the brotherhood shared between him and the other pioneers who contributed to the series and ABA history.

    “It was a one for all, all for one approach we shared,” he said. “There was no hating. It was a genuine feeling of relief like, ‘Wow, they’re recognizing my guy or us,’ and it was shared.”

    Holley said he’s excited for younger sports fans to see how influential the ABA was, not just in basketball, but the sports world at large.

    “It does my heart good, and I feel grateful to have played any part in helping bring these guys the validation that they deserve,” Holley said.

    “Soul Power” is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

  • They grew up correcting everyone about their last name. Years later, they discovered the deep Philly history behind it.

    They grew up correcting everyone about their last name. Years later, they discovered the deep Philly history behind it.

    Twin brothers Larry and Kelly Ganges grew up outside of Trenton with people constantly mispronouncing their last name. “Grange, Grain, Ganger,” they’ve heard it all.

    So they developed a standard reply: “It’s Ganges like the river [in India].”

    Decades on, they’d find out the deep Philadelphia story behind it.

    When the brothers, now 72, got older and traveled, they’d grab the phone book in whatever town they were in to see if anybody with their last name was listed. Then they’d call and ask if they knew anybody in their family; they often did.

    “So we all thought, no matter where we were,” said Larry, “we were connected with somebody,”

    But they were also connected with something — a ship, a travesty, and a providence.

    (From left to right) Twin brothers Larry Ganges, and Kelly Ganges, pose for a portrait at the Lazaretto in Tinicum, Pa., on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. “It allows us to view and experience Black history,” Kelly said. “Pride in knowing our family was in this journey.”

    The brothers’ first clue of their extended heritage arrived in 1975, when Kelly, was a student at Trenton State College. His journalism teacher, familiar with Bucks County cemeteries, asked if Kelly knew about the gravestones of two soldiers buried there.

    Torbert and William Ganges had fought in the Civil War’s colored regiment, but Kelly couldn’t be sure if they were his relatives.

    Nearly 30 years later, the brothers still don’t know if they are related to the soldiers, but they have discovered that their heritage is, as Kelly describes, “bigger than us, [it] extends beyond the continental United States and involves potentially the world.”

    That information came in a phone call.

    In the early aughts, Larry was working as the New Jersey Department of Health’s assistant commissioner for the HIV/AIDS division. His secretary told him that David Barnes, a University of Pennsylvania professor of history and the sociology of science, was on the line to talk about a different epidemic.

    72-year-old twin brothers Kelly Ganges (left) and Larry Ganges, pose at the Lazaretto in Tinicum, Pa., on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.

    Barnes, who was seeking anyone with the Ganges name, had found Larry by chance in a New Jersey state employees directory. He wanted to discuss the 135 Africans who arrived in Philadelphia in 1800 and were detained at the old Lazaretto along the Delaware River.

    At the time, every vessel arriving in Philadelphia was required to stop and be inspected at the Lazaretto — a hospital and quarantine station — where patients with yellow fever were treated.

    Later, a brick facility replaced the old Lazaretto. Downriver from the original, the “new” Lazaretto, operational from 1801-1895, stands near present day Tinicum. It is the oldest surviving quarantine station in the Western Hemisphere and one of the 10 oldest in the world.

    By the call’s end, Larry had learned not just the origin of his name but how his ancestors arrived in America.

    “Wow, we had never heard about it. We just didn’t know,” he said.

    The story goes: In 1800, the United States naval ship Ganges intercepted two schooners (the Phoebe and the Prudence) off the coast of Florida, near Cuba. Despite a new federal law banning the carrying of human beings for enslavement, the schooners, which experts believe disembarked from near Sierra Leone, contained 135 people from Africa, imprisoned as slaves, bound for the New World.

    Ganges’ naval officers boarded the schooners — the Phoebe on July 19, 1800, and the Prudence on July 21, 1800 — took the enslaved into custody, and delivered them to the Ganges’ home port: Philadelphia.

    A NPS worker removes an interpretive panels – “The Dirty Business of Slavery” – at the President’s House site in Independence National Historical Park Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026.

    When the schooners’ owners sued to reclaim their “property,” a Philadelphia judge ruled that the 135 aboard were people (not property) and ordered them freed. The Africans were remanded to the old Lazaretto for quarantine where they remained for up to three months.

    Subsequently Sambo, Milnor, Yelle, and Culico Ganges and the rest of the 123 survivors were indentured to Pennsylvania Abolition Society members and others.

    After Barnes’ phone call, the twins and their (late) older brother, Tendaji Ganges, visited the Lazaretto. At that time, the dilapidated building was locked. But Kelly returned with Barnes and gained access inside.

    “I saw all of the little rooms … it was interesting to touch a piece of history, and know that that’s the genesis of how our family came to the United States,” he said.

    “These modern-day heirs carry the legacy of resistance and survival into today’s conversations around justice, identity, and belonging,” said filmmaker Rah Crawford, whose documentary The Art of Brotherly Love focuses on the Ganges’ story.

    A single rose and a handwritten cardboard sign (“Slavery is part of U.S. history learn from the past or repeat it”) are inside an empty hearth at the President’s House site in Independence National Historical Park late Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 after workers removed display panels about slavery.

    When the film premiered in Brooklyn last year, Larry said that as he sat in the audience watching, he was shaking, almost in tears. His wife asked, “Are you OK? Are you cold?”

    He was overcome with emotions: “I was sad, I was happy, I was mad.”

    Although, as the brothers say, “we’ve got the generic connection to the name,” they don’t have a connection to identify individual family members that came through the old Lazaretto; they can’t yet determine how their bloodline was carried to them.

    But thanks to the efforts of family historian Michael Kearney, who is tracking descendants of the Ganges’ survivors, Larry is confident that “my children and my children’s children [are going] to know what the story is, and to know how to access it, and know who the players are …. And hopefully this movie is not the last of what’s going to occur.”

    The “Life Under Slavery” sign at the President’s House in the Independence National Historical Park. The sign has since been removed. Photo from Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025.

    Despite federal efforts to mute the history of enslavement in America — history panels at the President’s House referencing the Ganges story were removed from the site last month — the Ganges brothers know it’s important to share their story.

    “People made it through the troubled journey, the Middle Passage, and landed on American soil and contributed to make America a great nation,” said Kelly, “And nobody can ever deny that, and people can try and whitewash it and try to erase it, but it’s not going to work, because it’s real. Our contribution is documented.”

    Prior to the opening of the President’s House in 2010, filmmaker Crawford was commissioned to create storyboards for a video installation at the site. Through his research, he first learned of the Ganges’ story, launching a 15-plus-year journey to produce the documentary.

    Filmmaker Rah Crawford’s documentary “The Art of Brotherly Love” documents the story of the long-forgotten rescue of 135 enslaved Africans by the “Ganges” in the 1800s,

    The Art of Brotherly Love, presented in partnership with Creative Philadelphia, is both a documentary and a trailer for a forthcoming animated feature. The Philadelphia premiere is slated for Feb. 14 at Ritz Five.

    After the documentary screens, Kelly Ganges hopes that, “it just continues to cascade out — to inspire more genealogists and historians, and to reach more descendants and the next generation.”

    “The Art of Brotherly Love,” Feb. 14, 11:30 a.m., Landmark’s Ritz Five, 214 Walnut St., eventbrite.com

  • In 1775, 24 men met in a Philadelphia tavern. That meeting led to ending slavery in America.

    In 1775, 24 men met in a Philadelphia tavern. That meeting led to ending slavery in America.

    In 1773 Dinah Nevil, an Indigenous, Black, and European multiracial woman and her four children arrived in Philadelphia from Flemington, N.J, under orders from a slave trader who intended to eventually sell Nevil to the Deep South, or perhaps the Caribbean.

    Nevil protested.

    Philadelphia authorities sympathetic to her plight, kept her in a work house for two years while figuring out the next steps to her freedom. The conditions were so horrid two of her children died.

    An image of Dinah Nevil imagined by the 1838 Black Metropolis.

    Enter Israel Pemberton Jr. and Thomas Harrison, Quakers who, like most Quakers in colonial Philadelphia, actively fought slavery. Keeping people in bondage was considered immoral in their religion.

    Pemberton and Harrison filed a lawsuit against Nevil’s enslaver because they sought to set a precedent by making it unlawful to sell Black people into slavery on free soil, not just in Pennsylvania, but in all of the colonies.

    So, on April 14, 1775, Quaker leaders and educators Anthony Benezet and John Woolman gathered 24 men — 17 of whom were Quakers — at the Rising Sun Tavern to discuss legal strategies on how to make that happen.

    Artist Iris Barbee Bonner’s No. 1 statue pays homage to William Still, an Underground Railroad conductor and key member of the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society.

    That was the first gathering of an antislavery society in America and it will be celebrated Saturday at the African American Museum, part of the Philadelphia Historic District’s weekly firstival day party. Firstivals are a yearlong celebration of America’s 250th birthday marking events that happened in Philadelphia before anywhere else in America and often the world.

    The group led by Benezet and Woolman named themselves the Society for Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage. In addition to Nevil’s case, they advocated for four other people of color who were in the midst of being sold away from their families. Nevil was ultimately freed when Harrison bought her and within days, signed manumission papers.

    In 1776, 18 years after Quakers told their members they could no longer participate in the slave trade, Quakers were forbidden from enslaving people. Thanks to the Quakers’ advocacy, Pennsylvania enacted the 1780 Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act, America’s first law to end slavery.

    A formerly enslaved man was thrown out of an Old City church. He then founded America’s first African Methodist Episcopal church.

    Four years later, 18 Philadelphians resurrected the Society for Relief of Free Negroes and renamed it Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society, or PAS. Their goal was to stop Black and brown people from being indiscriminately picked up and sold into slavery in what was now a free state, but also to end slavery all together.

    “They knew they couldn’t do it overnight,” said Emma Lapsansky-Werner, an American history professor at Haverford College. “What they did was organize so that one-by-one Black people would find freedom.”

    Within two years, the PAS grew to 82 members and inspired other cities like New York and Boston to establish branches of their own. In 1787 — the same year the delegates voted that Black people were three-fifths of a person — Ben Franklin became the society’s president and under his leadership, the society petitioned the legislature to amend the act of 1780. This included preventing enslavers from taking pregnant enslaved women to the South so their children would remain property.

    William Still was a member of the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society and chair of the Vigilance Committee of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society.

    The PAS wasn’t without its prejudices. It wasn’t until 1842 — 67 years after its founding — that Robert Purvis, a Black man, was allowed to join. William Still joined in 1847. Through Still’s work at the PAS and the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, he served as an Underground Railroad conductor helping more than 1,000 enslaved people find freedom.

    The PAS still exists today and advocates for equal rights and opportunities for all Americans.

    This week’s Firstival is Saturday, Feb. 14, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., The African American Museum Philadelphia, 701 Arch St. The Inquirer will highlight a “first” from Philadelphia Historic District’s 52 Weeks of Firsts program every week. A “52 Weeks of Firsts” podcast, produced by All That’s Good Productions, drops every Tuesday.