This morning I was reading the Inquirer's article about how, after briefly defecting to New Jersey, the 2010 Dad Vail Regatta is going to be in Philadelphia after all. This is good news for Philadelphia, but the more surprising news for me came in the fourth paragraph of the article (emphasis mine):

Mayor Nutter, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, Dad Vail president Jim Hanna, and Herb Lotman, a local businessman who helped bring the world the Chicken McNugget, said at a City Hall news conference that they were confident they would find the money to keep the regatta here for several more years.

Uh...the McNugget? That's right. I wasn't familiar with this, but two of McDonald's biggest successes - Chicken McNuggets and individually frozen hamburger patties - were both created by Keystone Foods, a West Conshohocken company founded by Lotman. Check out this brief profile of Keystone Foods if you're interested in learning more about the company.

Photo: Chris Hondros / Getty Images

"What's the sound of 100 tubas?" doesn't quite have the same ring as "What's the sound of one hand clapping?" I can't help you with the second question, but this weekend, I've got you covered for the first, plus chances to see art by city employees and buy some awesome handmade and secondhand goods.

Friday: City Employees Art Exhibition
Part of the year-round Art in City Hall program, this annual exhibition showcases the talents of city employees and their families. The exhibit space is only open when City Hall is open - that's 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays - but if you work in Center City, head on over during your lunch break.

Saturday: TubaChristmas
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the aforementioned tubas. Visit the Kimmel Center at noon on Saturday to check out this free concert of tubariffic Christmas tunes. Or, if you're a tuba, euphonium or sousaphone player, read about how you can sign up to participate.

Sunday: Punk Rock Flea Market
"Punk rock" is in the name, but don't think that all you'll find here is old CDs and used Doc Martens. The Punk Rock Flea Market features a variety of people selling everything from gorgeous handmade art and ceramics to secondhand clothes to baked goods, and it's a great place to find unique gifts. There is a $3 fee to enter the flea market, which goes to support local show promotions agency R5 Productions.

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

To eat or not to eat? Where is the question. If you've been looking for somewhere new to eat, take a look at these recent restaurant reviews:

Fond
PYT
The Adobe Cafe

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesswebb/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

This weekend, three annual events provide some basic necessities: food, warmth and laughter.

Friday: This is the Week That Is
Check out 1812 Productions' annual show, which serves up political satire with new jokes every single night.

Saturday: Firebird Festival
Lighting a giant wooden phoenix sculpture on fire is certainly one way to beat the winter chill. Go enjoy the bonfire and associated entertainment out in Phoenixville.

Sunday: Latkepalooza
Celebrate Hanukkah and enjoy latkes from some of Philadelphia's most awesome restaurants like Sabrina's Cafe and Zahav. Mmmm. Latkes.

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