While there’s always a lot happening in Pennsylvania any year, 2026 is especially jam-packed.
Across the commonwealth, there are events celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the American Declaration of Independence — including in the city where the document was signed, Philadelphia. Pittsburgh is hosting the National Football League Draft, and six World Cup matches will take place in the City of Brotherly Love.
There’s so much going on in the commonwealth in 2026 that national publications have taken note, with National Geographic naming Pittsburgh as one of the best places to travel to, Travel + Leisure listing Philadelphia as one of the 50 places to go, the BBC giving a nod to Philadelphia as one of its 20 best places to head to, and Architectural Digest naming Philadelphia as one of its top spots to travel.
Here are some of the highlights of events happening in Pennsylvania in 2026.
Celebrating the United States’ 250th anniversary
This year marks the country’s semiquincentennial, and there are events across the commonwealth commemorating the event.
In the City of Brotherly Love, you can celebrate by heading to the Museum of the American Revolution’s “The Declaration’s Journey” exhibit, which explores “the history and global impact of the Declaration of Independence from 1776 to today,” according to the museum’s website. The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia will open two new galleries in time for the anniversary, with one gallery exploring the separation of powers in the federal government and the other delving into the founding of the country and offering the public a glimpse of one of 14 known original copies of the Constitution. The America’s Founding Gallery will open Feb. 13 and the Separation of Powers Gallery is expected to debut in May.
Friends of the Tanner House and the Free Library of Philadelphia will present the For Love to Thrive Black Cultural Heritage Celebration, a free four-hour resource fair that will connect the public with the people and organizations involved in Black heritage work in the region. A list of the organizations involved can be found by clicking here. The event will take place from 12 p.m.-4 p.m. on Feb. 21 at the Parkway Central Library.
Also in February, the Philly Pride Center is set to open in time for the 250th celebrations. Located at South 12th and Locust streets in Midtown Village, the center will highlight the city’s role in LGBTQ+ rights and history and offer information about LGBTQ+ and ally businesses.
Come this summer, the Wawa Welcome America Festival in Philadelphia will offer 16 days of family-friendly programming. There will be concerts, fireworks, block parties, a parade, and more.
The town of Gettysburg will commemorate the 250th anniversary and the area’s place in U.S. history from July 1-4 with historical reenactments, tours, concerts, and more. The four-day celebration will conclude with a day of live music, family programming and fireworks over the battlefield.
Valley Forge is also planning 250th celebrations, and the Valley Forge Park Alliance is currently looking for people whose ancestors were connected to Valley Forge. If you have ties to Valley Forge, email [email protected], and someone will connect with you.
In Harrisburg, you can explore the State Museum of Pennsylvania’s “Revolutionary Things: Objects from the Collection,” a newly opened 3,000-square-foot exhibition featuring more than 140 artifacts from three centuries of Pennsylvania and U.S.history. Items include the flag carried by the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment of the Continental Army and an original exhibition display from the 1876 World’s Fair held in Philadelphia.
For those who would rather explore history from the comfort of their own home, visit the Revolutionary City Portal that was created by the American Philosophical Society, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Library Company of Philadelphia. The online project allows the public to learn about the American Revolution through a wide range of stories and historical documents that show how Philadelphians were finding out about and participating in the Revolution.
Watch the World Cup in Philly
This year’s 39-day World Cup tournament will kick off on June 11 in Mexico City, and matches will be held in 16 cities across North America — three in Mexico, two in Canada and 11 in the U.S., including six matches at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The tournament will run from June 11 through July 19, and the Philly games will take place between June 14 and July 4.
For those who won’t be in attendance at the stadium, the city is hosting a tournament-long, free-admission FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill in East Fairmount Park. The event will include giant screens broadcasting live matches, food and beverage vendors, live music, cultural events, and more.
To find tournament tickets and other information about the matches, click here.
NFL Draft Week in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh will host a major sports event this year as well, with the National Football League holding the NFL Draft from April 23-25 in the city. During the three-day event, Pittsburgh will host various draft activities, including a free fan festival with live music, games, and autograph sessions.
Admission is free for the primary fan event, known as the NFL Draft Experience, but you must register for the NFL OnePass app in order to attend. Seating is limited and requires preregistration.
Additional information about the NFL Draft can be found here.
Soul food, pierogi and pickles: PA’s food festivals
There’s no shortage of quirky things to do in Pennsylvania, including food festivals that celebrate everything from the mushrooms grown in the commonwealth to pickles in Pittsburgh.
Once the weather (hopefully) turns nicer in April, you can check out the Pittsburgh VegFest. The following month in May, there’s Erie’s Wild Rib Cook Off and Music Festival and the TacoFest at Steel Stacks in Bethlehem. In June, head to Philadelphia for the African Restaurant Week and Edwardsville for the Pierogi Festival. Pittsburgh will once again hold its ode to pickles with Picklesburgh in July. Pittsburgh will also host its Soul Food Festival in September, and Kennett Square will transform into a fungi mecca with its annual Mushroom Festival in September.
Eat your way through Pennsylvania
When Travel + Leisure named Philadelphia one of the best places to go in 2026, the publication specifically called out the city’s culinary scene.
Late last year, three Philadelphia restaurants earned the city’s first Michelin stars — Her Place Supper Club, Friday Saturday Sunday, and Provenance. In January, city restaurants were back in the national spotlight with 14 James Beard Award nominations. From the Cambodian lemongrass cheesesteak at Sahbyy Food to southern Thai food at Kalaya, lamb neck birria at Amá, pupusas at El Merkury, Georgian cheeseboats at Saami Somo, and Ethiopian cuisine at Amsale Cafe, Kaffa Crossing, and Abyssinia, you can find food from around the globe. Don’t miss the city’s Chinatown, where you can check out Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House, Dim Sum Garden, and Sang Kee, among many other restaurants.
Heading to central Pennsylvania, you can dine underground at Mount Joy’s Catacombs Restaurant, which is located beneath Bube’s Brewery in an 1860s beer-aging cellar. While you’re in central Pennsylvania, you can have a meal inside a converted train car at Casey Jones’ Restaurant at the Red Caboose Motel in Lancaster.
Also in Lancaster is Zoetropolis, a movie theater, restaurant and distillery that hosts “Lancaster’s Gayest Happy Hour” every Thursday.There’s also open mics, indie film screenings and a “philosophy-drink-film series.” You can find another gayest happy hour at Brownstone Lounge in Harrisburg, which also hosts the “Great Brownstone British Pub Quiz,” art and cocktail events, comedy nights and more.
On the west side of the state, check out The Zenith, Pittsburgh’s oldest vegetarian restaurant, which doubles as a vintage shop. At the TreeTops Restaurant in Acme, near Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, you can dine in private tree houses and a restaurant nestled in the Laurel Highlands. Find a taste of the South, like fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits, at Tupelo Honey in Pittsburgh. In the mood for coffee and cats? At the Black Cat Market in Pittsburgh, you can ingest some caffeine while hanging out with adoptable cats.
For Chinese food in Pittsburgh, head to Chengdu Gourmet, where the chef has repeatedly been named a James Beard semifinalist. Travel to Duo’s Taqueria for birria de chivo, hamachi pescado and a wide range of Mexican dishes. Dish Osteria in the city’s southside has served Sicilian fare for the past 25 years in a locale that started as a saloon in the 1880s.
Meet our most important celebrity, Punxsutawney Phil
Every year, people from all over the state and beyond gather in the borough of Punxsutawney to see whether the commonwealth’s most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, will see his shadow. The quirky tradition, which apparently has been happening since at least 1886, draws a crowd not only for Phil’s appearance but for events leading up to the main event on Feb. 2. There will be a Groundhog Day kickoff dance on Jan. 30, a lunch with Phil himself on Jan. 31, and a Groundhog Ball on Jan. 31, among other happenings, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
Ride the natural waterslides at Ohiopyle State Park
You don’t need to pay to go to a water park this summer. Instead, head to Ohiopyle State Park in southwestern Pennsylvania and ride the Meadow Run Natural Waterslides. Over centuries, the waters of the Meadow Run tributary have carved natural water chutes into the park’s sandstone. In the summer, you can almost always see people riding the slides, which curve through about 100 feet of streambed before ending in a deep collection pool. For visitor and safety tips, please click here. Once you’re done with the waterslides, be sure to explore some of the other parts of the 20,000-acre park, which offers hiking, bike trails, scenic overlooks, rafting, and more.
Stargaze at Cherry Springs State Park
Cherry Springs State Park in north-central Pennsylvania has been designated an International Dark Sky Park, which means there’s little light pollution and plenty of stargazing opportunities at the 82-acre park situated in the Susquehannock State Forest. The state regularly offers programming there, including winter stargazing, cross country skiing, watching an upcoming lunar eclipse on March 3, and more.