Best of 2026

You might think mid-February is a tad early to put out a best of the year list, but doesn't it kind of feel like it's been 12 months already? Don't we need to celebrate joy wherever we can find it? 2026 has been so bleak right out of the gate that I'm calling out some favorites that have been some bright spots in the bleakness.

Best Netflix + book pairing

Perhaps you, like me, are enjoying the latest season of "Bridgerton" on Netflix. While we wait for the second batch of episodes, I cannot recommend more highly hanging out with George Eliot's Middlemarch. Middlemarch takes place from 1829-1832, only about 15 years after "Bridgerton," so you can stay in the mood, while soaking in Eliot's observations about making a good match and living a good life. Has anyone more precisely mapped a human interior than George Eliot? There was at least a week in this eternal month where it felt like Middlemarch was one of the only reliable sources of pure pleasure around for miles.

Best lobby buzz

Complications in Sue, a new opera presented by Opera Philadelphia at the Academy of Music, and the contrast between the frigid outdoors and a nice, warm, buzzy lobby was a high point. With a libretto by Michael R. Jackson, cabaret star Justin Vivian Bond in the title role, and ten composers playing a kind of exquisite corpse game with the score, not every element landed for me, but it was wonderful to see Opera Philadelphia take some big, ambitious swings. And their pay-what-you-can policy for every performance means that I was able to go see it and I suspect was a huge factor in the vivacious lobby full of people of all kinds of ages and races. I know some folks came in from out of town to see the performance and it makes me hopeful that Philly can be a cultural destination the way it was for me when I lived in DC and would pop up for Fringe season.

Best handwritten goodbye to Philadelphia

My favorite Philadelphia Phillie, Nick Castellanos, is moving to San Diego, under not the happiest of circumstances. But as local journalist Kelsey McKinney so aptly puts it in her article of the same name, "The Phillies Can Never Make Me Hate Nick Castellanos." Nick himself pulled out a pen and some looseleaf paper, wrote out some thoughts and posted the two quite difficult to read notes to his instagram account. What a wonderfully odd choice! I'll still be sporting my Castellanos jersey and wish him all the best in his next chapter in San Diego.

Best emotional research questions

Social practice artist Chloë Bass put out a call on her instagram for help thinking about what it feels like to operate "in the midst of unprecedented loss." In the name of "crowd-sourcing information as a form of emotional research," she asks "what do you believe is at current risk of loss? What has already been lost, in your experience?" See more details here and/or email your losses to studio.chloebass@gmail.com.

Best new awards ceremony

The Flamboyance Awards arrive as "a celebration of NEW performance works ... made and created here in Philly" in 2025. Nominations are now closed but tickets are on sale and the award celebration will be on March 9 at Deep End Studios. As part of a "New Philly Aesthetic" the Flamboyance Awards muse on this question: "What makes Philly-made performances unique and different?" These awards were created to recognize the artists here who are reflecting and reimagining the shape of our local and contemporary performance landscape." Produced by the Gay Play Club and a brainchild of Thomas Choinacky, I believe!, tickets are available here. (I'll be out of town on March 9 and am very sorry to miss it; if you'd like to be our roving correspondent and send in a little report, let me know!)

Best drop-down menu

I lost my hat and gloves on the subway in New York and my loss was mitigated by the fun I had in filling out the MTA's lost and found form online, which was delightfully specific. I like the idea that all hats could be one of these four categories, or it's just 'other hat.'

Best thing to keep warm

I saw The HawtPlates perform at HERE Arts Center in January and I'm still feeling warmed by their incredible creation, Dream Feed. The show has closed but you can hear some of the music from it and an interview with the musicians below:

Sisterly Affection (a bit of Philadelphia appreciation)

Local legend and Philadelphia journalist Dan McQuade passed away last month. To dig into Dan's body of work is to find a multitude of Philadelphia appreciations done by one of the finest appreciators of its personality quirks.

As a fellow aficionado of highway rest stops, this is one of my favorite pieces that he wrote:

The Garden State Parkway’s Jon Bon Jovi Rest Stop Is Playing Fast And Loose With Famous Quotes | Defector

CHEESEQUAKE, N.J. — Have you ever scored a touchdown? I never played real football, so my own experiences have been pretty low-key, but man, did they feel great. I think I remember almost all of them—in two-hand touch on the street, gym class as a kid, flag football games. I even had a standard celebration:…

DefectorDan McQuade

If you are new here, welcome! You can find a bit more context on the 'about' page and feel free to forward along to anyone who might be interested. There is usually a loose focus on Philadelphia and dance/performance-related news bits. Each email ends with a moment of Sisterly Affection, as seen and appreciated while out and about in Philly.