Date:

June 7, 2009

The Race

The world’s most competitive cyclists turn their sights on Philadelphia for the annual Philadelphia International Championship every June, when about 300,000 fans line an arduous road course to watch hundreds of elite pro cyclists whip through some of Philadelphia’s most beautiful streets.

The scenic course includes the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Kelly Drive, and, of course, the infamous Manayunk “Wall,” a 17% grade hill rising sharply off the banks of the Schuylkill River.

The race is a culmination of a weekend of related festivities that are great for the entire family.

Best Places To Watch

The best places from which to watch the race are:

• the “Feed Zone” located near the start/finish line along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway,
• the Family Fun Zone on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art,
• along Main Street in Manayunk,
• along the Manayunk Wall,
• Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park,
• and various spots along Kelly Drive in Fairmount Park, which you must walk to since the Drive is closed to traffic.

Thinking of coming to see the Race?  The Independent Hotel in Philadelphia is now taking reservations.  Click on make a reservation or call us today! 

The Independent Hotel, Philadelphia’s newest premier boutique hotel, has partnered with the Spirit of Philadelphia to bring you a most entertaining and unique dining experience. 

Come aboard and enjoy the most entertaining lunchtime experience in Philadelphia featuring our Grande Buffet! This two-hour cruise on Philadelphia’s historic harbor is perfect for an afternoon getaway, a birthday, office party, entertaining out-of-town guests, you name it.

Let us walk you through a cruise:

• Big smile - a keepsake photo of you and your party will be taken upon boarding, so go ahead and “mug” for the camera. (You can pre-purchase or decide at the dock when you return.)
• “This way please” - we will greet and seat you. Please note that many tables are designed for cabaret-style seating with other guests, reminiscent of ocean-going cruises. Order drinks, then feel free to get up and explore the ship - especially our outdoor strolling decks.
• Bon Voyage! - As the ship pulls away from the dock, grab your streamers and your drinks and join our Spirit entertainers in a festive Bon Voyage toast.
• Bon Appétit - Once you’ve been invited up to our Grande Buffet, take as little or as much as you like. You can even go back for seconds and thirds as long as the buffet is open!
• Oooo, ahhhh - while you dine, we’ll entertain you with a fascinating narrated tour of Philadelphia’s breathtaking skyline easily seen from our huge panoramic windows.
• Live Entertainment - Throughout the cruise, Spirit’s staff will dazzle you with impressive renditions of your favorite tunes. Sit back, relax and enjoy the talent.
• Stretch your legs - head topside for the largest outdoor patio deck in Philadelphia and catch a breath of fresh air and an amazing view.
• Rock ‘til you dock - from line dances to Top-40 hits, our DJs know how to get everyone up and dancing, right to the end of your cruise.

About the Spirit of Philadelphia
Perfect for parties of two to 500 guests, the three-deck Spirit of Philadelphia offers a sleek and fresh approach to dining and dancing on the water:

• Three climate-controlled dining & entertainment decks
• Huge panoramic windows all around
• Bathrooms on two interior decks
• Outdoor strolling decks at bow and stern
• Full outdoor patio deck topside with cafe-style seating
• Full-service bars
• Handicap accessible
• Two dance floors and staging areas
• Flexible seating arrangements

Packages starting at $264.00 and includes:

* Overnight accommodations for (2) people

*(2) Tickets aboard the Spirit of Philadelphia

*Two hour festive river cruise

*Bountiful Buffet

*Narrated skyline tour

*Vibrant entertainment with a lively DJ playing a full range of dance hits

To book your package click here:  http://theindependenthotel.com/philadelphia/?cat=22

The Independent Hotel, Philadelphia’s newest premier boutique hotel, has partnered with the Spirit of Philadelphia to bring you a most entertaining and unique dining experience. 

Come aboard and enjoy the most entertaining lunchtime experience in Philadelphia featuring our Grande Buffet! This three-hour cruise on Philadelphia’s historic harbor is perfect for an afternoon getaway, a birthday, office party, entertaining out-of-town guests, you name it.

Let us walk you through a cruise:

• Big smile - a keepsake photo of you and your party will be taken upon boarding, so go ahead and “mug” for the camera. (You can pre-purchase or decide at the dock when you return.)
• “This way please” - we will greet and seat you. Please note that many tables are designed for cabaret-style seating with other guests, reminiscent of ocean-going cruises. Order drinks, then feel free to get up and explore the ship - especially our outdoor strolling decks.
• Bon Voyage! - As the ship pulls away from the dock, grab your streamers and your drinks and join our Spirit entertainers in a festive Bon Voyage toast.
• Bon Appétit - Once you’ve been invited up to our Grande Buffet, take as little or as much as you like. You can even go back for seconds and thirds as long as the buffet is open!
• Oooo, ahhhh - while you dine, we’ll entertain you with a fascinating narrated tour of Philadelphia’s breathtaking skyline easily seen from our huge panoramic windows.
• Live Entertainment - Throughout the cruise, Spirit’s staff will dazzle you with impressive renditions of your favorite tunes. Sit back, relax and enjoy the talent.
• Stretch your legs - head topside for the largest outdoor patio deck in Philadelphia and catch a breath of fresh air and an amazing view.
• Rock ‘til you dock - from line dances to Top-40 hits, our DJs know how to get everyone up and dancing, right to the end of your cruise.

About the Spirit of Philadelphia
Perfect for parties of two to 500 guests, the three-deck Spirit of Philadelphia offers a sleek and fresh approach to dining and dancing on the water:

• Three climate-controlled dining & entertainment decks
• Huge panoramic windows all around
• Bathrooms on two interior decks
• Outdoor strolling decks at bow and stern
• Full outdoor patio deck topside with cafe-style seating
• Full-service bars
• Handicap accessible
• Two dance floors and staging areas
• Flexible seating arrangements

Packages starting at $329.00 and includes:

* Overnight accommodations for (2) people

*(2) Tickets aboard the Spirit of Philadelphia

*Three hour festive river cruise

*Bountiful Buffet

*Narrated skyline tour

*Vibrant entertainment with a lively DJ playing a full range of dance hits

To book your package click here:  http://theindependenthotel.com/philadelphia/?cat=22

The Independent Hotel Philadelphia is Philadelphia’s newest premier boutique hotel.  Located just minutes from the University of Penn campus, The Independent Hotel

Sunday May 17, 2009

At the University of Pennsylvania, you’ll find a historic, Ivy League school with highly selective admissions and a history of innovation in interdisciplinary education and scholarship. You’ll also find a picturesque campus amidst a dynamic city and a world-class research institution

The Independent Hotel, Philadelphia’s newest premier boutique hotel, wishes to congratulate it’s Community Partner Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Center City Campus, for being ranked as one of America’s best hospitals!  Thomas Jefferson Univerity Hospital has been granted MAGNET® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) MAGNET Recognition Program®. ANCC is a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association.

Less than five percent of hospitals in the US have achieved MAGNET status which recognizes superior patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice.

Highly regarded as the “gold standard” of nursing excellence, MAGNET recognition provides a benchmark by which consumers and patients can measure the quality of care they can expect to receive at a hospital.  MAGNET-recognized hospitals are associated with improved patient care outcomes as well as attracting top notch physicians, nurses and healthcare professionals.

“Jefferson is extremely proud of the high caliber of our nurses and the exceptional care they provide to patients,” remarked Mary Ann McGinley, PhD, RN, senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer. “MAGNET status validates what we already know and enhances our reputation as a center of excellence.”

“Through our journey to achieve MAGNET status, the significant contributions that our nurses make to the profession are even more evident,” Dr. McGinley noted.  “In their everyday practice, Jefferson nurses apply their clinical knowledge, expertise and research to improve care and to create an environment of excellence for our patients.”

Hospitals applying to the MAGNET Recognition Program must demonstrate and document along with sources of evidence that the fundamental characteristics identified as the “14 Forces of Magnetism” are internalized within the institution.  Organizational structure, quality of nursing care and the professional environment are vigorously evaluated. Jefferson’s 1200-page MAGNET application document filled 10 volumes which included written narratives, exhibits and demographics. MAGNET organizations must provide annual monitoring reports and apply for re-designation every four years.

“MAGNET recognition further strengthens Jefferson’s position as a leader of quality care and nursing excellence,” commented Thomas J. Lewis, Jefferson’s president and chief executive officer.  “Jefferson is honored to be among the best in the country for both medical and nursing services.  It’s why patients choose Jefferson.”

While visiting Jefferson Hospital, we would love to be your host hotel.  To book your room simply click on “Reservations”

April 23 - 25, 2009

As the first and oldest of relay meets, the Penn Relays has always tried to stay at the forefront of advances in the sport.  From April 23 to April 25, Philadelphia will be dashing with spectators from around the world who are eager to see tomorrow’s Olympic stars at one of the oldest and longest-running track and field events in the world.

So who competes in The Penn Relays? Men and women from high schools, colleges, clubs, the armed services, prepatory schools and even elementary schools. This year, during some 33 hours of competition, participants from ages eight to 80 will run more than 425 races — that’s more than one race every five minutes.

Paul Cézanne’s posthumous retrospective at the Salon d’Automne in 1907 was a watershed event in the history of art. The immediate impact of this large presentation of his work on the young artists of Paris was profound. Its ramifications on successive generations down to the present are still in effect.

This exhibition features forty paintings and twenty watercolors and drawings by Cézanne, displayed alongside works by several artists for whom Cézanne has been a central inspiration and whose work reflects, both visually and poetically, Cézanne’s extraordinary legacy.

Based on the remarkable resources of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, both in its holdings of major works by Cézanne and in its large collections of early modernist works—thanks to A. E. Gallatin and Louise and Walter Arensberg—this show is a unique occasion to experience the continuing impact of this influential painter.

Francis Alÿs (Belgian, born 1959)
“I remember blaming Cézanne (or was it that I blessed him) for having saved me from having to deal with the enigma of painting.”

Max Beckmann (German, 1884–1950)
“Cézanne was my greatest love and still is when I think of French art.”

Georges Braque (French, 1882–1963)
“To my way of thinking, there is no master equal to Cézanne.”

Paul Cézanne (French, 1839–1906)
“In my thought one doesn’t replace the past, one only adds a new link to it.”

Charles Demuth (American, 1883–1935)
“John Marin and I drew our inspiration from the same source, French modernism. He brought his up in buckets and spilt much along the way. I dipped mine out with a teaspoon, but I never spilled a drop.”

Alberto Giacometti (Swiss, 1901–1966)
“Cézanne did not … seek to be original. And yet there is no painter so original as Cézanne.”

Arshile Gorky (American, born Armenia, 1904–1948)
“Cézanne is the greatest artist, shall I say, that has lived.”

Marsden Hartley (American, 1877–1943)
“[Cézanne had] ideas that were to make the world of painting over again.”

Jasper Johns (American, born 1930)
“As for the Cézanne [Bather], it has a synesthetic quality that gives it great sensuality—it makes looking equivalent to touching

Ellsworth Kelly (American, born 1923)
“Cézanne tackled and conceptualized the three-dimensional world in terms of its underlying structure and our uncertain relationships to it.”

Fernand Léger (French, 1881–1955)
“[Cézanne’s] influence was so strong that in order to free myself I had to move all the way to abstraction.”

Sherrie Levine (American, born 1947)
“I engage the idea of removing the artist completely from the artwork, so that it becomes a kind of group project with audience participation.”

Brice Marden (American, born 1938)
“Cézanne, my hero.”

Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954)
“I thought: If Cézanne is right, I am right. Because I knew Cézanne had made no mistake.”

Piet Mondrian (Dutch, 1872–1944)
“Beauty in art is created not by the objects of representation but by the relationships of line and color (Cézanne).”

Giorgio Morandi (Italian, 1890–1964)
“We sat down around the big table and talked about art,” John Rewald recalled, “not so much about his [Morandi’s] as about the masters he admired, above all Cézanne and Seurat.”

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973)
“[Cézanne] was my one and only master! Don’t you think I looked at his pictures?”

Liubov Popova (Russian, 1889–1924)
“Cézanne no longer depicted the impression of the object, but only its essence.”

Jeff Wall (Canadian, born 1946)
“I have always admired Cézanne.”

20 Days until Opening Tap

Over 445 events at dozens of venues

in the city and suburbs
And more to come!

The second-annual Philly Beer Week (PBW) 2009 will kickoff on Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m., in the spectacular Comcast Center lobby and Winter Garden (17th street and JFK Boulevard) with the Opening Tap, a celebration honoring over 30 regional breweries whose beer help make Philadelphia “the best beer-drinking city in America.” The Opening Tap will begin with a ceremonial ‘first tap’ using the official Philly Beer Week Keg Mallet, followed by a strolling beer tasting and a festive awards ceremony. Opening Tap tickets cost $40 and can be purchased online at www.phillybeerweek.org ($50 at the door.)

“The Opening Tap is a one-of-a-kind event featuring our local breweries and their beers, as well as the men and women who create them,” says Don Russell, who along with Tom Peters and Bruce Nichols are the founders of Philly Beer Week.

Invited breweries for the Opening Tap include: Appalachian Brewing, Barley Creek Brewing Company, Brew Works, Dock Street, Dogfish Head, Earth + Bread, Erie Brewing Company, Flying Fish, General Lafayette, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Lancaster Brewing Company, Legacy, Lion, Manayunk Brewpub, McKenzie’s, Nodding Head, Penn Brewery, Philadelphia Brewing Company, Porterhouse, Reading Brewing Company, Riverhorse, Rock Bottom, Roy Pitz, Sly Fox, Triumph, Stewart’s, Stoudts, Troegs, Twin Lakes, Victory, Weyerbacher, Yards and Yuengling.

A group of local beer writers created the awards that will honor each brewery represented at the event. An emcee will announce each award and invite the brewery representative to join them, get their photo taken and receive their PBW award.

“These are not your traditional “Best Of” awards. They have a definite Philly attitude! In this town, we may take our beer seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” says Russell who created the awards with fellow beer writers George Hummel, Bryan Kolesar, Lew Bryson, Jack Curtin, Suzanne Woods, Rich Wagner, Woody Chandler and Carolyn Smagalski.

Food will be available for purchase from the Market at the Comcast Center, and live music is also planned. Attendees must be at least 21 years of age, and no children will be admitted.

Those wishing to take public transportation to Philly Beer Week, can purchase Sip Safely with SEPTA, an unlimited, all-day, bus-trolley-rail pass that will be sold for $9.00, valid any one day between March 6 and March 15. This pass is valid on SEPTA services, to encourage PBW participants to travel safely, rather than driving from event to event. Sip Safely with SEPTA passes are available for sale at most SEPTA locations.

The holidays are quickly approaching and The Independent Philadelphia Hotel invites you to come be out guest and take in not only all the spectacular shopping Center City Philadelphia has to offer but to plan a visit to Franklin Square Outlet Center as well!  We are offering discounted rates through the end of December 2008 - leaving you with more money to shop! 

Holidays In The Square Friday, November 28 through Saturday, December 20
Franklin Square
Presented by Historic Philadelphia, Inc.
FREE!
 
> official website
· · ·
FREE caroling performance in Franklin Square where visitors can sing along with their favorite holiday songs as they stroll through the Square. Take a ride on the Lightning Bolt Express Train, a magical ride around the historic square (tickets required). 11 am – 2 pm, weather permitting.

Dates:

• Friday, November 28, 2008 @ 11:00 am
• Saturday, December 20, 2008 @ 11:00 am

Hello guests of The Independent Hotel, we’re happy to announce fabulous and legendary music artists performing right here in Philadelphia this week!!  We LOVE great music! 

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To celebrate a week of Legends, we are offering 20% off this week for each nights stay to those who have tickets or ticket stubs to these events should rooms be available.  CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR’S!! or call 215-772-1440. 

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Click on the following for concert information:

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John Mellencamp performs at the Mann Music Center this Tuesday: (July 8th)

Ani DiFranco performs at the Mann Music Center this Wednesday  (July 9th)

Van Morrison Performs at the Tower Theatre this Thursday and Friday.  (July 10th and 11th)

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What a great week of live music legends here in Philadelphia!

The Independent Hotel Philadelphia, a center city boutique hotel, is now taking reservations!  With only 24 gorgeous rooms, we feel that we’re offering a unique boutique experience! 

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TO CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF OUR HOTEL AND OUR GREAT NATION, WE HAVE A JULY 4TH WEEKEND SPECIAL OF $139/NIGHT FOR MOST ROOMS.  CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR’S!! or call 215-772-1440. 

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Yesterday, The Independent Hotel had its grand opening celebration.  We were thrilled that the news networks were there to celebrate with us:

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Click to hear Neil Shah being interviewed by a local radio station:  The Independent Hotel Owner Interviewed

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Yes, all the rumors are true! The Independent Hotel Philadelphia is now taking reservations. We are a boutique hotel, with so much more!

Visit the Hotel website at www.theindependenthotel.com to explore our wonderful boutique experience.

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