Revolutionary Philadelphia: 1776

Revolutionary Philadelphia: 1776 takes over the Museum of the American Revolution on October 17 and 18, from 10 AM to 6 PM both days. It's a living history festival that drops you right into the autumn of 1776, when Philadelphia served as the headquarters of the Revolution. The museum plaza becomes a recreation of the city during that year, with dramatic vignettes and hands-on activities led by period residents. You'll find a marketplace where you can haggle over goods and artisans demonstrating their crafts, and you'll hear neighbors arguing politics and loyalties while British forces march south from New York.

There's a choice to make while you walk through: enlist with the Philadelphia Associators and back Washington's Army, hold fast to your loyalty to the King, or play both sides. The whole weekend leans on the 1776 Pennsylvania constitution, adopted that September, which was radically democratic for its day and included a Bill of Rights fifteen years before one appeared in the U.S. Constitution. It's part of the city's semiquincentennial, the year-long '52 Weeks of Philly Firsts' marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence—a milestone that's drawn national press from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, and The Boston Globe.

On Saturday, October 17, author Tom Hand will be signing books in the museum's rotunda from 1 PM to 3 PM, and that's included with museum admission. The living history interpretation on the museum plaza is free and open to the public; the guided tour, Revolutionary Philadelphia: 1776, is a 60-minute experience that costs $10 with museum admission. The museum is at 101 S. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106.