Come on down to Outfest 2010! Organized by Philly Pride, this block party celebrates National Coming Out Day with music, dancing and events for everyone. Oh and guess what…The Independent Hotel is right at the heart of it!!

The main stage will be set up at the intersection of 13th and Locust Sts so we will have a front row seat to some of the most entertaining and exciting LGBT acts. Outfest is one of the biggest LGBT events in the city and provides community members with an opportunity to connect and network with each other.

When: Sunday, October 10, 2010 between noon and 7pm

Where: Philadelphia’s Gayborhood (between Walnut & Pine Sts and Juniper &12th Sts)

Check out the Philly Pride site and get more details about the event.

http://www.phillypride.org/events.html

This weekend come out for Midtown Village’s Fall Festival. There’ll be so much to do I don’t think 8 hours will be enough!

This Saturday, October 2nd, Midtown Village businesses will be out showing the rest of the city what they have to offer. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to enjoy the food, drinks and music that will be available between noon and 8pm.

So grab some friends and come out to the Fall Festival. The weather’s supposed to be great! What were you going to do this weekend anyway? Mow the lawn?

See you there!!

www.midtownvillage.org

Just when you thought Philly couldn’t get any more interesting…they open a casino!

Sugarhouse officially opened its doors on September 23rd and being located at 1001 N. Delaware Ave makes it Philly’s first casino. For those of you new to the gaming scene you can try your luck with one of it’s many slot machines. But for the rest of you who are on a first name basis with Lady Luck there are table games galore.

They’ve made it so easy to visit them that they’ll even pick you up from several locations in center city and bring you right to their front door via the Sugar Express. So if you’re out to dinner with some friends and don’t know what to do next. Head over to one of the Sugar Express stops and make your way up to the casino for some drinks and a chance to win big.

Feeling Lucky? Come to Philly and stay for a while. Winning big can be exhausting so stay overnight at the Independent Hotel and relax.

Still not sure about coming down? Well, let me sweeten the deal for you…

Follow the link below to the Independent Hotel’s website and receive 20% off your stay when you come to town and visit Sugarhouse Casino.

http://reservations.SugarHouseCasinoGrandOpening.TheIndependentHotelExclusive

For more information on Sugarhouse Casino and the Sugar Express visit their website posted below:

http://www.sugarhousecasino.com/

The New York Times has done it again. They took a bustling city filled with hundreds of attractions and broke it down so that even the busiest of people can experience the things locals do everyday.

Lucky for you they came up with an itinerary for the City of Brotherly Love. And lucky for us we are featured! The link posted below will bring you to the NYT article that highlights some of Philly’s most fun and interesting spots.

We hope to see you soon!!!

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/travel/10hours.html

This October the Philadelphia Film Society will be hosting its 19th annual Philadelphia Film Festival featuring works submitted by filmmakers from all over the world. This event has earned its place at the top by showing new and innovative works of art and attracting some of the biggest names in the industry.

If you find yourself reciting movie quotes and referencing your favorite films then this is the place to be. You can make a trip out of it and check out the rest of Philadelphia while you are here. The viewings are held all over the city so there will be no shortage of new and exciting places to explore.

There will be over a hundred films to choose from and while that decision may be daunting your decision over where to stay should not. The Independent Hotel is ready to make your stay in Philadelphia a memorable one. 

Please check out the Philadelphia Film Society’s website posted below for upcoming show times and venues.

www.filmadelphia.org

When: October 14th-24th

Where: at venues all around the Philadelphia area

Love can be found in more places than a John Paul Young song. The Mural Arts Program commissioned artist Stephen Powers to create that warm and fuzzy feeling in West Philly. He has created 50 love letter murals on rooftops along Market Street that are viewable from the El (Market-Frankford line) between 45th and 63rd Streets.

The Murals Arts Program offers a tour of these sweet, funny and inspired by real life murals on Saturday mornings at 10am. They meet at Love park (very fitting) and continue the tour on the train.  

In addition to the Love Letters tour, the Mural Arts Program offers several other tours that cover different areas of the city. You will learn about art, history and about ongoing projects. Some of the tours even have food! Click on the website below and reserve your spot today.

Make sure you come and see the art that makes Philadelphia one of the most interesting cities in the country. Heck! Make a weendend out of it and stay at the Independent Hotel.

 Mural Arts Program Website: www.MuralArts.org

We already know that Philadelphia is the best city on earth, so it’s a shame to think that others aren’t as well informed as the rest of us. Let’s fight vacation ignorance and tell the world that the City of Brotherly Love is just too amazing to be overlooked.

Tripoutgaytravel.com is asking readers like you to give your opinion and show the world (or at least the rest of the U.S.) the best city for gay travelers to visit. With all the art, culture and amazing night life that Philly has to offer it hardly seems like a fair fight.

Tell your friends, tell your coworkers, tell your mom….just tell EVERYONE to go the website posted below and show your Philly pride by voting for our beloved city.

http://www.tripoutgaytravel.com/vote-for-best-u-s-destination-in-the-2010-tripout-gay-travel-awards/