🎤 Why performers are boycotting this Philly venue

🎭 Philly Approves $5M for Arts As State Budget Talks Continue

Following funding cuts from the National Endowment for the Arts, local cultural institutions and organizations felt the hit, scrambling to cover the costs of performances and projects they relied on the grants for. While the arts sector scored additional funding in the city's 2026 budget, there are still funding gaps that need to be filled. On today’s episode of City Cast Philly, host Trenae Nuri speaks with Patricia Wilson Aden, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, on the city’s cultural scene’s funding future and whether state lawmakers will show support. [🎧 City Cast Philly]

🐈 Meet the Volunteers Saving Some of Philly’s 400,000 Stray Cats

You read that number right. Philly has a large population of stray cats roaming the streets, and with local shelters regularly filled to the brim, it’s difficult to safely relocate them. Project MEOW is working to trap, neuter, and ideally rehome these precious furballs one cat at a time. [Philadelphia Citizen]

🍹 Local Bars Pull Out of Center City SIPS

After mentioning Fishtown Taps yesterday, we hope it’s going better than Center City SIPS! Three bars have called it quits after a rowdy Wednesday night of crowds on Sansom Street, leading to police barricading the street and restaurantgoers turning elsewhere. This is in stark contrast to the event’s origin as a chill neighborhood happy hour. [🔒 The Inquirer]

• Related: If you’re looking for a more low-key way to celebrate Philly’s beverage scene, Caletta’s next “Drinks We Love” pop-up is July 13. [📝 Hey Philly]

🎸 The Concert Venue With No Performers

Speaking of chaos, World Cafe Live has been embroiled in controversy ever since its new CEO Joe Callahan took over. Employees dissatisfied with the new leadership staged a walkout earlier this month, only to be fired and banned from the premises. Now performers are ditching the venue and canceling or relocating shows in solidarity with the workers; the venue, however, is still selling tickets for those shows. [🔒 Philly Mag]

Brewerytown is more than just the booze.

While its name originates from its legacy as a hub for German breweries in the 19th and 20th centuries, a variety of businesses exist today, from cafes to thrift shops, even as some local taprooms are keeping the past alive.

The neighborhood’s boundaries run roughly between Oxford and Poplar streets in the north-south direction, and between 25th and 33rd streets from east to west, according to the Fairmount Community Development Corporation. Girard Avenue serves as a prominent business corridor.

So what’s there to do if you visit?

Grab a Bite

Don’t start your day on an empty stomach. Here’s where you can go for a quick snack.

• 🛹 Together Skateboarding & Coffee offers classic cafe drinks and pastries, and in the back you can also find apparel and skate decks for sale.
• 🥟 Empanadas United’s signature dish is its chicken empanada, but the cheesesteak empanada will fill you with Philly’s best flavors.
• 🥯 Bagels & Co.’s delectable options aren’t just limited to the bagels – you can slather some sundried tomato, honey nut, or even Oreo cream cheese onto your order.

Be One With Nature

Stop here if you need some fresh air or are scoping out a sanctuary.

• 🌱 Brewerytown Garden serves about 80 households in the community, growing thousands of pounds of food to share at its farm stand including rhubarb, strawberries, and asparagus.
• 🏀 Considered “the Jewel of Brewerytown,” Athletic Square Park is the community’s central community space with its large sports field, basketball courts, and recreation center bringing residents together.

For the Kiddos

• 🧸 Kith + Kin allows the imagination of kids and their caregivers to break free in its indoor playspace. Beyond the playroom, it also offers support groups and educational classes to encourage healthy childhood development and parenthood.