Three years after being traded to the Denver Nuggets, Alan Iverson is coming back to Philadelphia. The 10-time All-Star player's return is certainly fueling buzz and ticket sales, but will he be enough to turn around a team that is in the middle of a nine-game losing streak? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Image: Eliot J. Schechter / Getty Images

A puppet in Spiral Q's Peoplehood parade.

The time for holiday shopping has officially descended upon us. If you feel like you're spending too much on gifts, here's one way to counteract it: a weekend full of free activities.

Friday: First Friday in Old City
Wander around as galleries host opening receptions and offer free appetizers, wine and entertainment.

Saturday: Peoplehood Pageant
Spiral Q Puppet Theatre usually hosts its community-building parade and pageant every October, but this year the pageant portion was rained out....until now! At 1 p.m. on Saturday, enjoy this performance with giant puppets at its new indoor location, the Sister Clara Muhammad School at 4700 Wyalusing Ave.

Sunday: Peace Around the World
Designed for families, Peace Around the World is an educational celebration of different holiday traditions. Bring your young ones and learn about a myriad of holiday celebrations through music, stories, art, activities and more.

For more things to do in December, take a look at the December events calendar.

Image: Meg Favreau

La Lupe's nachos

Ever wonder what it's like to be filled with more tortilla chips than a bag of Tostitos? I found out on Saturday when I attended the nacho crawl set up by Lee from Nachos NY, a New York City nachos blog. Attendance was huge: Lee received so many RSVPs for the event that he was forced to turn people away, and still others showed up without RSVPing.

On the crawl we sampled nachos at three spots off of East Passyunk: Royal Tavern, La Lupe and Cantina Los Caballitos. My favorite nachos were the chicken ones at Royal Tavern -- they had a generous dollop of guacamole, fresh tomatoes, not too much chicken and a great zing of lime. Second place goes to the vegan beef nachos at Cantina, which were coated in real cheese despite the fakeness of the beef and had a good, smoky flavor and hot-pepper spice. (They also received praise from meat lovers, which is always a good sign.) La Lupe's nachos were fine, but I thought that their chip-to-topping ratio leaned too far to the chip side, making them a bit bland.

Nachos from the Royal Tavern

Despite being so recently stuffed silly with nacho goodness, I'm charged up to take more nacho adventures soon. Where should I go next? What are your favorite nachos around Philadelphia?

Images: Meg Favreau

Cantina Los Caballitos, the second stop on Saturday's Nacho Crawl.

Unless you're planning to ride Thursday's tryptophan lull straight through to Monday, you'll probably be looking for some things to do this weekend other than eat (or, at the very least, you might be looking for some non-turkey food to chow down on):

Thursday: The Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade
It's hard to go wrong with giant balloons.

Friday: Black Friday
Strap on your shopping shoes and head to the stores. CBS3 has a round up of what times area malls are opening, and Philadelphia Weekly's Style blog has a great list of Black Friday sales at Philadelphia boutiques.

Saturday: Nacho Crawl
Ten dollars gets you in on nacho action at three South Philadelphia restaurants - just make sure you RSVP to lee@nachosny.com.

Sunday: Headhouse Square Winter Wonderland
From now until the end of December, every weekend will include a flurry of events featuring some combination of lights, singing and Santa. Start the series off with the Headhouse Square Winter Wonderland and tree lighting, 5 p.m. on Sunday night.

Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC

Black Friday always breaks my brain a little, pitting the part of me that dislikes crowds against the part of me that likes saving money. I usually go with the part that dislikes crowds and spend Black Friday inside my house, eating sandwiches made from the leftovers of Thanksgiving dinner and looking for deals online. Mmm. Sandwiches.

I'm still debating about whether or not I'll venture out this year, but I am starting to think about where in the Philadelphia area I would visit on Black Friday. There is, of course, the gigantic King of Prussia Mall, whose doors will open at 5 a.m. even though the stores won't open until an hour later. Over at the Cherry Hill Mall, the JC Penney's will open even earlier at 4 a.m. And in Coshohocken and Philadelphia, Ikea is offering free coffee and breakfast until 10:30 a.m. in addition to its sales.

Is there anywhere you're visiting for Black Friday in Philadelphia? A store or sale you go to every year, or an especially good deal you've heard about this year? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

The Philadelphia Marathon

Friday: Learn to Felt
If you wish you could make woolly goods for holiday gifts but don't have knitting or crocheting skills, check out Felting: From Fuzz to Form at the Fairmount Art Center. During this evening workshop you'll learn how to turn old wool sweaters into new, totally giftable goods.

Saturday: A Hard Act to Follow - Circus Cabaret & Dessert Bar
Watch performers from the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts leap, bound and swing through the air, then give yourself a sugar high at the dessert bar.

Sunday: The Philadelphia Marathon
Not running? Watch the race from one of the marathon's cheer zones, many of which also feature food, drink and entertainment.

Sunday Bonus: Morimoto's Happy Hour
While I was drooling over Philadelphia Magazine's list of the Best Happy Hours, and I noticed one particularly awesome thing: Morimoto starts the week off early by offering its happy hour specials on Sunday nights. Come on, it's been a long weekend: go eat some sushi.

Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC

Wait, this can make a pie?

I'm a master of the side dish, but a dunce when it comes to cooking turkey. (I'm also very lucky - I've hosted Thanksgiving twice over the past few years, and both times I avoided cooking the bird.) If you also feel like your chef skills could use a little buff-and-shine before Thanksgiving Day, it's not too late. Here's a little run-down of upcoming Thanksgiving cooking classes in the area:

• Cranberry Chutney Canning
  Have your chutney and can it too. In this November 21 class, students will learn how to make and preserve cranberry chutney, which makes both a great Thanksgiving condiment and a nice holiday gift.
• A Down Home Thanksgiving
  On November 19 and 20, Reading Terminal Market is offering a dinner session that centers around that famous multi-bird, the Turducken. Learn how to cook the meal -- complete with sides like broccoli rabe with pork belly and baked sweet corn casserole -- and get to eat it too.
• Thanksgiving Side Dishes
  This November 19 class at Cherry Hill's La Campagne won't help turkey woes, but it should help you make some sides that could potentially outshine the bird.
• Thanksgiving Wrap-Up for Kids
  Yes, it's after Thanksgiving, but Kitchen Kapers' post-turkey-day class teaches kids how to cook with Thanksgiving leftovers and could buy you some child-free holiday-shopping time.
• Finally, if you want to eschew cooking all together this year, check out my list of the Best Philadelphia Thanksgiving Restaurants.

Image: © Meg Favreau

Visit Reading Terminal Market this weekend for forgotten foods.

According to CBS3's Doug Kammerer, we're in the middle of a good ol' nor'easter right now, which means we'll be seeing this rain and dreary whether for most of the weekend. Here are some weekend picks that'll keep you inside:

Friday: Body Worlds 2
The original exhibition of stripped-down and preserved human bodies is back at the Franklin Institute, this time with brains. Tickets for the 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. slot are only $18 as opposed to the regular $27, so go spend your happy hour learning about human anatomy.

Saturday: Festival of Forgotten Foods
From 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturday, head to Reading Terminal Market to taste forgotten Philadelphia foods like teaberry ice cream and snapper soup.

Sunday: Train Festival
The skies are supposed to finally clear up on Sunday and forecasts are calling for temperatures in the mid-60s - get outside! If you have a rail-loving wee one, spend that outside time at the Train Festival in the Camden Children's Garden.

Not enough fun for you? Find more things to do on the November Events Calendar.

Photo by J. Smith for GPTMC

As I'm writing this, I can hear the sweet sound of the El rumbling by a few blocks from my house. Six days after it began, the 2009 SEPTA strike ended at 12:45 this morning. The deal finally reached between SEPTA management and Transport Workers Union Local 234 calls for a $1,250 bonus per worker plus, according to the Inquirer,

The five-year contract also calls for a 2.5 percent raise in the second year, and a 3 percent raise in each of the final three years. It increases workers' contributions to the pension fund from the current 2 percent to 3 percent, and increases the maximum pension to $30,000 a year from the current $27,000 a year.

How did the SEPTA strike affect your commute? Will you go back to using SEPTA today? What do you think of the contract deal? Sound off in the comments or join the discussion in the forum.

Between Election Day, the SEPTA strike and the World Series, it's been a crazy week here in Philadelphia. This weekend, do something fun:

All Weekend: The First Person Arts Festival
Celebrating "memoir and documentary art," the First Person Arts festival features films, talks, workshops and more (including karaoke!) through the weekend.

Friday: First Friday
Throw on a winter coat and brave the chill of November's First Friday. Go classic in Old City or check out the art openings, live music and more in Mt. Airy, the Frankford Avenue Arts Corridor, or Doylestown.

Saturday: Bacon, Sausage and Scrapple Making
From 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, stop by the Howell Living History farm in Lambertville, NJ to "meet your meat" as farmers make popular pork products while you watch. For $2, children can also participate in a craft program and make soap on a rope.

Sunday: Watch the Eagles
The Phillies didn't win the World Series. Disappointing? Yeah. Oh, yes. But this Sunday, fill your mouth with the only two words that could possibly replace "Go Phillies" right now: Go Birds.