Bucket List June 29 - July 4th: Philadelphia, The Greatest City Never Sold

With Independence Day weekend and the last six days of the 11-day Wawa Welcome America celebration, your hardest decision will be between choosing which events, free or otherwise, to do right up until July 4th. This week's Philly Hub bucket list for Philadelphia, the Greatest City Never Sold: 

Wednesday, June 29: Center City Sips kick off at 5 p.m., so expect $4 cocktails, $3 vino, $2 brews and 1/2 off appetizers at all participating restaurants. Hint: The 20th birthday party held weekly provides two hours of giveaways and specials & an hour of complimentary bites is at Union Trust, 717 Chestnut. Take advantage of the last Waterfront Wednesday free concert at Penn Treaty Park at 6:30, so no need to miss out on Sips.

Thursday, June 30: Weekly events: Opa Restaurant's Thursday Block Party, Opa Glendi, continues with free global music. Old City Social provides a later happy hour from 6-8 p.m. with $3 Hoegarden, Don Q Rum and Sky Vodka cocktails along with 1/2-price appies.

Friday, July 1: It's finally First Friday (5 to 9 p.m.) again and after taking a hiatus during June for Philly Beer Week, the monthly free Drink Philly First Friday party is back. Show up at the Drink Philly HQ in Old City at 239 Chestnut, Unit 2B and indulge in free cocktail and cuisine samples. Afterwards, stroll 2nd for some great First Friday deals, galleries and other art-related sights. At 9 p.m., you can head to Love Park and sing along to Hairspray, but while the movie's free to watch the public disturbance citation for singing raucously won't be. If art isn't cutting it, celebrate Canada Day (July 1) by watching the Phillies beat the pants off the Toronto Bluejays, eh? The games at 1:05. 

Courtesy of Uwishunu.com

Saturday, July 2:  BYOD brunch means you can bring your pooch to brunch at Square 1682 and serve him some gourmet puppy chow. It's almost as good as bring your kid to work day, except your pup won't keep asking you questions. From 12-4 in the afternoon, check out the Chinatown Block Party complete with open-air market, entertainment and Asian cuisine. At night, grab a blanket, picnic and some buds and watch free fireworks at Penn's Landing, kicking off at 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 3: For $7, all-you-can-eat ice cream is basically stealing. From 12-5 p.m. at Penn's Landing,  this Super Scooper All-You-Can-Eat Ice Cream Festival is a can't-miss - not only is it in a tent, all proceeds go to the Joshua Kahen Fund for curing pediatric cancer. So you're eating ice cream for the kids, do you need another reason to go? (Also open July 2 and July 4).

(Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC)

Monday, June 4: Happy Independence Day! Obviously the place to be is Philly's 4th of July Jam, headlined by the Roots and with appearances by Earth, Wind, and Fire, Michael McDonald and Sara Bareilles. It starts at 7 p.m. and runs until about 11 p.m., and will be immediately followed by fireworks. Before night falls, you can hang out at the location of the concert, the 20th and Eakins Oval on Ben Franklin Parkway, for the Party on the Parkway. (Family-friendly fun) Oh, the parade starts at 11 a.m. if you want to watch that too. Me? I'm going to find a pool to hang by until the Jam.

For More Events this Weekend: For a breakdown of July 4th events in Philadelphia, visit uwishunu.com  For free or cheap events, read this Examiner.com Page for Philadelphia Budget Events. Also,  follow me on twitter for constant updates. And most importantly, if you're headed to the New Jersey Shore for Independence Day, Drink Jersey Shore has got you covered for bar specials, events and restaurants to hit up while you're there.http://www.welcomeamerica.com/