Press Release

PHILADELPHIA IS PARTY CENTRAL FOR BEN FRANKLIN'S 300th BIRTHDAY BASH
Region-wide Celebration Features Official Exhibition, Events, Tours, Menus And Packages

**Access hi-res images of Ben Franklin 300 Philadelphia**

PHILADELPHIA, January 25, 2006 - During Benjamin Franklin’s 300th birthday year in 2006, no one will be feting Franklin quite like Philadelphia, his adopted hometown. In addition to hosting the world premiere of a major Tercentenary exhibition, the Philadelphia region's historic sites, cultural attractions, restaurants and hotels will honor Franklin with special exhibits, programs, tours, menus and packages. Ben Franklin 300 Philadelphia festivities will run from fall 2005 through the end of 2006. More information is available at www.gophila.com/ben.

Ben Franklin at Elfreth's Alley

Photo by B. Krist for GPTMC

The Centerpiece Exhibition (December 15, 2005-April 30, 2006)
The centerpiece of the celebration is the international traveling exhibition Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World, making its world premiere from December 15, 2005, through April 30, 2006, at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center. The exhibition will immerse visitors in Franklin's world and leave them inspired by his example. Highlights include five of America's key founding documents, all signed by Franklin; a 25-foot model ship that visitors can climb aboard to recreate Franklin's method of charting the Gulf Stream; and a video animation of a young Franklin swimming with a kite to save energy.

Tercentenary Consortium Celebrations (January-December 2006)
In 2000, five of Philadelphia's finest cultural institutions with ties to Franklin formed a consortium to begin planning a celebration for the first founding father to turn 300. Each member of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary consortium, made up of the American Philosophical Society, The Franklin Institute, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the University of Pennsylvania, has created programming throughout the year to salute Franklin:

• The Franklin Institute will celebrate its namesake’s birthday with Ben’s Curiosity Show, a high-energy demonstration that recreates Franklin’s most dramatic experiments, through January 1, 2008.
• In the new exhibition, The Princess and the Patriot: Ekaterina Dashkova, Benjamin Franklin and the Age of Enlightenment, portraits, memoirs, letters, court attire, medals, jewelry and other decorative arts-many never seen in this country-will be on view at the American Philosophical Society, February 17-December 31, 2006.
• Visitors to the Library Company of Philadelphia can explore Franklin's connection to the printed word in Franklin and the Book, an exhibition about Franklin as printer, publisher and author, May 16-December 1, 2006.
• The Philadelphia Museum of Art's In Pursuit of Genius: Jean-Antoine Houdon and the Sculpted Portraits of Benjamin Franklin assembles the best versions of Houdon's famous sculpture in various media, as well as Franklin sculptures by other French artists, May 13-July 30, 2006.
• The University of Pennsylvania is sponsoring Penn in the Age of Franklin: 1740-1790, a virtual space in which visitors can examine the University's founding and early development during Franklin's lifetime. The site includes 18th-century books, original documents and minutes from the first meetings of the University's Board of Trustees.

Arts And Culture Connections (September 2005-2006)
Other Philadelphia arts and cultural organizations will honor the ultimate Renaissance man with plays, performances and exhibitions that would no doubt make Ben proud. A sampling includes an exhibition at The Rosenbach Museum & Library featuring a large collection of almanacs printed by Franklin, through March 19, 2006; an original musical by the American Theater Arts for Youth, Benjamin Franklin: An American Tale, exploring Franklin’s life in the U.S. and abroad, through April 25, 2006; and the Pennsylvania Ballet’s Ben-inspired revival of Franklin Court, March 3-11, 2006. More than 40 other organizations are planning related programming as well. The calendar of events is available at www.benfranklin300.org.

Franklin's Philadelphia Tour (Ongoing)
After seeing the exhibition, visitors will be encouraged to immerse themselves in Franklin's Philadelphia, where his rich legacy is still alive. To make it easy for tourists to walk in Franklin's footsteps, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) has created Walking in Franklin's Footsteps, a self-guided tour available at www.gophila.com/ben. The hour-long experience leads tour takers through the same streets Franklin walked and to the places he worked, prayed, played, lived and founded.

Eat, Drink And B. Franklin (December 15, 2005-April 30, 2006)
Franklin loved to eat, drink and be merry. In Philadelphia, there are many ways to do just that in Ben's honor. Here's a look:

• Restaurants and nightspots are getting in on the act with A Penny Saved prix-fixe menus for 300 dimes ($30.00); an Early to Bed, Early to Rise brunch; and Desserts for Ben, with names like "Franklin Minted," "Lightning Bread Pudding" and "The Dogood Apple." Many bars are serving up specialty concoctions, such as the "Printer's Pickle Martini" and the "Franklin Royale." Yards Brewing Company is even brewing a specialty ale in Ben's name, "Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce."
• "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy," Franklin once said. The Tippler's Tour with Franklin and Friends, run by Once Upon A Nation, includes visits to colonial and modern-day watering holes with Ben and a colonial tour guide giving history and anecdotes along the way. Timing and cost to be determined.
• On the first Friday of January, February, March and April 2006, visitors can visit Ben's Birthday Salon, a variation on the Paris salons that he loved so much. Colonial dancing, songs, games and Franklin tales by Once Upon A Nation storytellers are all part of the fun at the Free Quaker Meeting House.
• Perfect for the kids, Ben and His Traveling Trunk features colonial games, B. Franklin dress up and make-and-take crafts at a variety of locations. Places and times to be determined.

Ben's Birthday Hotel Package (December 15, 2005-April 30, 2006)
To experience all-things-Franklin in Philadelphia, visitors will need to spend a night- or two. Ben's Birthday Hotel Package, available throughout the run of the exhibition at nearly 40 hotels in the five-county region, will include overnight hotel accommodations (one- and two-night options), two tickets to the Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World exhibition and the Little Book of Benefits, a coupon book good for savings and special offers at restaurants, shops and attractions. The package will be bookable online at www.gophila.com or through participating hotels beginning in October.

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Ben Franklin 300 Philadelphia is a year-long celebration of Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday, coordinated and marketed by the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, the National Constitution Center and CBS 3. Festivities will run from fall 2005 through 2006 and will focus on the world premiere of the international traveling exhibition, Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World at the National Constitution Center. The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, a non-profit organization, is supported by a lead grant of $4 million from The Pew Charitable Trusts and established to reaffirm Franklin's enduring legacy in his 300th birthday year. The Tercentenary was founded in 2000 by the American Philosophical Society, The Franklin Institute, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the University of Pennsylvania. For more information about the exhibition, related programs and traveling to Philadelphia, visit
www.gophila.com/ben.

CONTACT:

Cara Schneider, GPTMC
(215) 599-0789, cara@gptmc.com

Kim Rothwell, Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
(215) 790-7837, kim@alta247.com