Boathouse Row Relighting Ceremony Thursday Night

Finally! The Boathouse Row relighting happens Thursday. After a year in the dark, the iconic Boathouse Row lights will return along the Schuylkill River.

One of the most scenic spots in Philadelphia got a literal glow-up this past year. This Thursday night we will see just how much the lighting along the Schuylkill River boathouses has improved. Located right next to one of the busiest, most frustrating highways in the country for drivers, Boathouse Row is pretty and serene.  The boathouses themselves date back to the 19th century. A Philadelphia landmark. The stretch of lights illuminating the boathouses were added later, and offer a beautiful night-time view as drivers head in and out of Center City Philadelphia on the Schuylkill Expressway. Day or night, the string of boathouses offer a pleasant landscape for drivers along the always busy Schuylkill Expressway.

The lights along Boathouse Row were introduced back in 1979, and have traced the boathouses along the river for over 50 years. The lighting has been updated and refurbished a few times in that span. In 2005 the boathouses switched to LED lighting. The lights were last refurbished in 2016 before being turned off in March of last year for a complete upgrade. The original plan was to have the lights back up and running by the end of 2023. A few delays pushed the relighting ceremony to early March 2024, about a year after going dark. The lights will be re-lit and better than ever, this Thursday evening, March 7th, 2024.

The city is celebrating with an official re-lighting ceremony, which is open to the public, this Thursday, March 7th from 6-8pm. At 6pm, city officials will begin with a few speeches commemorating the project and those involved, and then the real light show begins at 7pm.

According to the Fairmount Park Conservancy, “the new lighting system has 6,400 individual LED lights, with 16 million color combinations.” The lights can change from one color to another. They can also fade from one to the next, and be programmed in a way that appears to make them sparkle or “dance” along the boathouses. I can’t wait to see it.

As always, the Boathouse Row lights will go on at sunset and off at sunrise, and can also be programmed to celebrate Philadelphia sports teams, holidays, and special events too. If you’re driving by the river and see all of the boathouses in green, it could be for the Eagles, St. Patrick’s Day, or any number of reasons. As it’s hard sometimes to guess the official cause, with this upgrade, there’s a new Instagram handle that you can follow to find out.

Follow @boathouserowlights for more information. The account will be dedicated to showcasing the new lights along Boathouse Row and highlight those holidays and specific lighting colors. You can also make a request for a special event, holiday, or sponsored show. For specific requests, visit boathouserowlights.org or contact info@boathouserowlights.org. All fee proceeds will go to maintaining the lights on Boathouse Row. The costs per request varies depending on the complexity, time of day, and business or non-profit purposes.

This Thursday, March 7 from 6-8pm.

Along Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive at the Fish Ladder, directly across the river from Boathouse Row.

Enjoy food trucks, music, a dedication short ceremony, and a perfect view of the illumination of the new lights on Boathouse Row,. The light show will showcase the new lighting capabilities beginning at 7pm, and the show will repeat. There's a page set up with answers to frequently asked questions about Boathouse Row. Find it HERE.

They are taking Philly to New Heights. That's right, Jason and Travis Kelce spend time with family in Philadelphia. The most popular brothers in the world are once again breaking the internet. This time in and around Philly, which obviously makes us feel very proud.

It all started when one of Travis' barber's posted a pic of him and Travis from a hotel room in Philly. He said he made the special trip specifically to cut Travis' hair. That led everyone to try and figure out why was Travis Kelce in Philly and what was he doing here. There have been numerous reports that he was here for Jason and Kylie's daughters Ellie and Bennie's birthday and a few other people said it was their birthday party and Bennie's Baptism.

Taylor Swift is currently in Singapore doing 6 sold-out shows. The majority of Swifties want to know when and if Travis is headed to see more of the Eras Tour or if he will just wants to see her when she gets back. She's finished this part of the Eras Tour next weekend in Singapore and then she doesn't start back up again until May 9th in Paris. So she's off for almost two months until her European leg takes off and obviously, April will be busy because she's releasing The Tortured Poets Department which drops April 19th.

Back to Jason and Travis in Philly. Travis and Jason spent time today at the Brookline Volunteer Fire Company in Havertown, which is where Jason lives. Two awesome listeners Steph and Jess got to meet them and shared their photos with us. In a few of the pics you can see a boom mic, which at first was confusing, but another listener said they filmed an episode of their New Heights podcast at the fire station and supposedly Jason jumped through a burning table! I guess we will have to see on Wednesday if that's true or not. I thought maybe Travis was here in person to film the podcast because Jason was going to officially announce this retirement. It might be a very emotional week.

We know that Travis was growing his beard out for the playoffs. It was super long but obviously, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl so it worked out. Before Travis went to see Taylor Swift perform the Eras Tour in Australia, he trimmed it, and needless to say he looks better than ever.
https://x.com/DaOtterside/status/1764439943454011888?s=20

Travis' normal barber, Patty Cuts, is from Philly. He wasn't available this weekend, so another famous barber made the trip from NYC to Philly to cut Travis' hair. They took a picture together in what looks like a hotel room. I said I was pretty sure it was the Four Seasons and sure enough, someone DMed me that their sister rode the elevator with Travis at the Four Seasons earlier today!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C4Bz9XTP8J6/?igsh=MTZ1cW9sN29vdWpmeQ==

This is the cutest video. The NFL Combine was last week and Andy Reid was there to help scout new talent for the Chiefs. While he was there, he did a few interviews and obviously, they all asked about Taylor Swift. He said she's wonderful and she made homemade pop tarts for the offensive line during the season! Andy said he didn't get to try them and he was upset. I keep thinking of the visual of Travis Kelce pulling into Arrowhead carrying Tupperware filled with homemade pop tarts for his teammates. Ha.
https://x.com/enews/status/1762939470372880464?s=20

Jason and Travis spent time this afternoon with the Brookline Volunteer Fire Dept.  Two amazing listeners Jess and Steph also got to meet them.  Their Dad is the Chief of Police so they were some of the lucky ones who got to hang with the most famous duo on the planet. Needless to say, they said they couldn't have been nicer.

I was DMing with Steph and I asked her if she asked Travis if he is going to Singapore to see Taylor. Ha! She said she didn't ask him anything about Taylor Swift, that it was small talk, but they were so nice and it was the best day.