PHILADELPHIA, March 3, 2023 – March is Women’s History Month. In Philadelphia, home to Betsy Ross, Pearl S. Buck, Patti LaBelle and many other trailblazers, museums and attractions honor the contributions made to society by both historical and modern-day women all month long.
Celebrate the life and achievements of women past and present at events throughout the city. Hear from contemporary female movers and shakers at the Free Library of Philadelphia author events, witness women’s history in the making with moving performances at Penn Museum’s CultureFest! and the National Liberty Museum’s NLM at Night poetry slam, release your inhibitions at Crossing Vineyards’ Ladies’ Night Out and Stratus Lounge’s Women’s Way Wednesdays, and support local lady creatives at The Colored Girls Museum’s Sit a Spell exhibition and on the Sisterhood Sit-In Philly trolley tour.
Read on for details on how to celebrate Women’s History Month in Philadelphia in 2023.
Badass Women’s History Tour of Philadelphia from Beyond the Bell Tours
Ongoing (Fridays through Mondays)
This two-hour excursion from local tour group Beyond the Bell focuses on accomplished and trailblazing women in Philadelphia history. Among them: Hanna Callowhill Penn, who prevented a war between Pennsylvania and Maryland; and Ona Judge, who escaped slavery from President George Washington; and Barbara Gittings, a gay rights activist.
Where: Various locations including The President’s House, 600 Market Street
Sisterhood Sit-In Trolley Tours
Through Saturday, March 25, 2023 (Saturdays only)
Returning for a second year, these popular trolley tours take visitors directly to some of Philly’s great Black women-owned shops and restaurants. Running three times a day on Saturdays in February and March 2023, the two-hour tours stop at six businesses: Harriett’s Bookshop, French Toast Bites at Cherry Street Pier, Ceramic Concept, Bookers Restaurant & Bar, Modest Transitions and Nyambi Naturals Urban Beauty. This year’s tours — dubbed Rebel Rides — honor Rosa Parks on the year of her 110th birthday.
Where: Harriett’s Bookshop, 258 E. Girard Avenue
Through Saturday, April 29, 2023
Celebrate television’s most iconic gal pals! Join Rose, Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia as they ditch Miami for Philadelphia — and try to solve a murder mystery. You get to be part of the action during this immersive theater experience as the feisty foursome asks for help in figuring out whodunnit. In true Golden Girls fashion, be sure to sip on a few cocktails while you piece together the clues.
Where: Red Rum Theater, 601 Walnut Street
Women’s History Month at the National Constitution Center
Through March 31, 2023
Uncover the history of women’s suffrage in America by exploring the National Constitution Center ’s exhibit, The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote . In addition, keep an eye out for daily pop-up talks in the suffragist story corner and an interactive Women Leading the Way show, tracing the suffragist movement from the colonial era to today. Women’s History Month programming is included in regular museum admission. A special Wawa Community Day (March 25, 2023) includes free admission, a kids’ town hall with famous suffragettes and a make-and-take craft table.
Where: National Constitution Center, 525 Arch Street
Sit a Spell: An Invitation. An Invocation at The Colored Girls Museum
March to September 2023 (Saturdays and Sundays only)
Philadelphia Printworks and D.C.’s Black Women Radicals advocacy group showcase works by emerging local and international Black women artists during this exhibition in Germantown. Creators include quilter Ellen Blalock, who uses fibers to weave vivid and captivating narratives, and painter Daphne Arthur, who conjures art with smoke. Visitors can also step into an Afrofuturistic speakeasy tucked on the third floor featuring “What Black Feminists Taught Me,” a photography series exploring women and gender in Philadelphia. The Colored Girls Museum caps admission at 10 slots per tour, so an advanced ticket purchase is required.
Where: The Colored Girls Museum, 4613 Newhall Street
Through March 19, 2023
Enter an Afro-Venezuelan dreamscape of folklore and liberation. In this bilingual percussive play, a magical queen, who passed along her gifts to her descendants, travels in time to meet them in the present day. Love the show? All performances by Azuka Theatre are pay what you decide at the end. (Pretty cool, right?)
Where: Proscenium Theatre at The Drake, 302 S. Hicks Street
Women’s Way Wednesdays at Stratus Rooftop Lounge at Kimpton Hotel Monaco
Through March 29, 2023 (Wednesdays only)
This weekly pop up by Stratus and the Sisterly Love Collective celebrates Women’s History Month with music by women musicians, as well as food and drink from woman-owned or -operated restaurants, breweries, distilleries and wine companies — with new chefs featured each week. Women’s Way Wednesdays kick off March 1, 2023 with a cocktail party that includes champagne, wine and beer tastings, oysters, endless hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction and more. Get your tickets in advance, and note that 100% of ticket sales — and a portion of the drink proceeds — go toward supporting Women’s Way, a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of women and girls and to gender and racial equity.
Where: Stratus Lounge at Kimpton Hotel Monaco, 433 Chestnut Street
Women’s History Month at the Barnes Foundation
Already home to some of the world’s most prominent art collections, the Barnes explores arts and culture by celebrating Black women maestros and artists this month.
- First Friday! Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra: This monthly mixer features cocktails, light bites and a performance by Philly’s own Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Jeri Lynne Johnson. The March performance is part of an international series celebrating women conductors during Women’s History Month. Tickets are required and include early access to the museum’s brand-new Tell Me What You Remember exhibition (March 3, 2023).
- Sue Williamson & Lebohang Kganye: Tell Me What You Remember : The work of South Africa’s most acclaimed contemporary artists, Sue Williamson and Lebohang Kganye, who came of age during and post-apartheid, is on display during this much-anticipated exhibition . Using films, photographs, installations and textiles, the artists address legacies of racial violence and social injustice, as well as history, memory and the power of self-narration (March 5 – May 21, 2023).
Where: Barnes Foundation, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Women’s History Month Events at Independence National Historical Park
March 4-31, 2023 (Saturdays and Sundays only)
“All men are created equal” was just the beginning. Independence National Historical Park highlights the rich histories of the women who built America with a series of pop-up events every weekend this March.
- Pop Up Program: “From Pickets to the Polls : Women’s History Month at Independence”: At 10 a.m., the Independence Visitor Center explores the fight for equal rights by women throughout history.
- Ranger Talk: “In Her Own Words: Women Who Tell Our Stories” : Learn about women who changed the course of American history and the ways their stories and words were shared.
- Ranger Talk: “Women Who Printed Our Stories” : Head through the courtyard and pop into the Franklin Court Printing Office to learn how women influenced the writing, printing and publishing worlds in the 1700s.
Where: Independence National Historical Park, 143 S. 3rd Street
Ladies’ Night Out at Crossing Vineyards
Thursday, March 9, 2023 | 6-9 p.m.
It’s wine o’clock at Crossing Vineyards. Grab the gals and treat yourselves to Bucks County-made wines, drink specials and light bites. Then, offer up a toast to making history now.
Where: Crossing Vineyards, 1853 Wrightstown Road, Newtown
NLM at Night: It is Better to Speak: A Women’s History Storyslam at the National Liberty Museum
Thursday, March 9, 2023 | 6-9 p.m.
Lend an ear — or grab the mic — at this special, women-centered poetry slam. The event features empowering tales from seasoned storytellers and amateurs alike. Tickets are required.
Where: National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut Street
Women Author Events at the Free Library of Philadelphia
March 9-29, 2023 (select dates)
A host of successful women authors share their stories at the Free Library of Philadelphia this March. The impressive lineup includes a facilitated discussion with Debra Lee ( I Am Debra Lee: A Memoir ), former BET CEO and founder of the Leading Women Defined Foundation (March 9, 2023); and a presentation by Angela Saini ( The Patriarchs: The Origins of Inequality ), an award-winning science journalist and reporter (March 29, 2023). Tickets vary in price , books can be purchased at the end of each event, and events include book signings and meet and greets with the authors.
Where: Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine Street
CultureFest! Celebrate Women Artists and Creatives at the Penn Museum
Saturday, March 11, 2023
It’s a daylong celebration of femme creativity at the Penn Museum. On tap: live pottery wheel-throwing demos, dance performances, drag queen story circles and a powerful performance by choral musicians from the Marian Anderson Museum and Sister Cities Girlchoir. The festivities are included in regular museum admission.
Where: Penn Museum, 3260 South Street
Women’s History Month at the Betsy Ross House
March 11-26, 2023 (select dates)
What would Women’s History Month be without one of Philly’s most notable women? Learn more about Betsy Ross and other trailblazing Philadelphia women during the free Saturday and Sunday programs at the Betsy Ross House. On Saturdays (March 11, 18 and 25, 2023), glimpse into the past and learn about Philadelphia days of old from historic local female figures, including: Margaret Woodby, a free Black woman, a multi-talented baker and a successful business owner, tells the story of her life in the late 1700s (March 11, 2023); Laundress Susannah Cook discusses the grueling 18th-century laundry process and how women made a living doing this work (March 18, 2023); and Mary Crathorne, a chocolatier and mill-owner, shares what she knows about the chocolate-making process and how she built her business in what is now Northern Liberties (March 25, 2023). And on Sundays (March 12, 19 and 26, 2023), performers from the award-winning Once Upon A Nation storytelling program share short, interactive tales about women that the history books left out.
Where: Betsy Ross House, 239 Arch Street
Sister Sunday at The Logan Hotel Courtyard
Sunday, March 12, 2023 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
The second annual Sister Sunday is back! This free outdoor event supporting small women-owned businesses brings together more than 30 vendors offering clothes, jewelry, candles, prints and other handmade goods for sale. Once you’ve got more merch than you can carry, unwind in the courtyard with live music, adult beverages and locally sourced eats from Urban Farmer. No gaslighting, no gatekeeping, just a whole lotta girl bosses.
Where: Courtyard at the Logan Hotel Philadelphia, One Logan Square
Women Makers Market at Hyatt Centric Center City
March 18-19, 2023
Connoisseurs and casual shoppers alike are welcome to Philly’s first Women Makers Market. The event promotes an eclectic blend of women artists, women makers and women-owned businesses, selling locally made ceramics, lingerie, bath and body products and more. Attendees can also book sessions in advance with photographers Inner Light Aura and Vanity Tintype, and embroidery workshops with Sippin’ & Stichin’. The event is free to attend, and the adjacent Patchwork Restaurant hosts brunch from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. While you’re there, check out paintings by Philadelphia-based artist Nataliya Yermolenko, titled Women of the Arts, which are on display from March 1 to April 30, 2023. (A portion of sales of Yermolenko’s work go to Women Against Abuse.)
Where: Hyatt Centric Center City Philadelphia, 1620 Chancellor Street
March 21 – April 9, 2023
Henry the VIII’s former wives — all six of ’em — step out of his shadow and onto the stage in this electric Broadway production that channels 500 years of heartbreak into 21st-century empowerment. Before the show, be sure to pop into the on-site Volvér for the Queen’s Sting, a special, brandy-based cocktail created just for the show.
Where: Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad Street
Friday, March 24, 2023 | 5:15-8 p.m.
During this discussion, Dr. Kerri K. Greenridge, author of The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family , traces the lineage of women from prominent abolitionist families, including the Fortens, the Grimkes and the Douglasses, from the Revolution all the way to modern-day America. Tickets are pay as you wish and include access to the new Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia special exhibition. Keep an eye out for other special events joining the museum’s Women’s History Month lineup.
Where: Museum of the American Revolution, 101 S. 3rd Street
More Things to Do:
Women’s History Trail of Greater Philadelphia
Women have played a pivotal role in Philadelphia since the city’s — and the nation’s — founding. Throughout the Philadelphia region, museums, statues, preserved buildings and cemeteries pay homage to some of the most notable and game-changing women in the city’s history.
Women-Led Kitchens & Restaurants in Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s thriving food scene is due in large part to the incredible talent, skills and dedication of the women who work daily to deliver fresh, flavorful and innovative dishes to local diners. Dine at these women-led kitchens of Philadelphia and support their efforts toward sustainability, community impact and top-quality dining experiences.
About Visit Philadelphia:
VISIT PHILADELPHIA ® is our name and our mission. As the region’s official tourism marketing agency, we build Greater Philadelphia’s image, drive visitation and boost the economy. On Greater Philadelphia’s official visitor website, visitphilly.com , visitors can explore things to do, upcoming events, themed itineraries and hotel packages.
Compelling photography and videos, interactive maps and detailed visitor information make the site an effective trip-planning tool. Visitors can also find loads of inspiration on Visit Philly’s social media channels.
Note to Editors: For high-resolution photos and high-definition B-roll of Greater Philadelphia, visit the Photos & Video section of visitphilly.com/mediacenter .