Your Guide to Rocky Season as Philadelphia Celebrates 50 Years of Rocky
For half a century, visitors have come to Philadelphia to climb 72 stone steps and throw their arms in the air. Now the city is giving them more than two months of reasons to stay.
Rocky Season, a citywide celebration of the 50th anniversary of Rocky, runs from September 29 through December 3, according to the Philadelphia Visitor Center. The lineup of races, tours, screenings, public art and boxing-themed events honors the 1976 Best Picture winner and the underdog spirit that made a fictional boxer one of the city’s most famous cultural symbols.
The celebration has grown each year. City Council declared the first Rocky Day in 2023, RockyFest expanded it into a week of events in 2024, and this year organizers stretched it into a full season. “There is no reason that this celebration, especially at its 50th anniversary, should be limited to a day or a week,” said Kathryn Ott Lovell, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Visitor Center.
That growth reflects what the steps have become. “This story, this character and these steps draw people here on a pilgrimage whether as a fan of the movie or as someone who sees themselves as a real-life underdog,” Ott Lovell said. Tourism officials have estimated that millions of people visit the statue and steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The season opened with the release of Sylvester Stallone’s memoir, The Steps, available at the Parkway Visitor Center and the Rocky Shop at the base of the famous steps. For four nights beginning September 30, a custom projection celebrating the anniversary has illuminated the museum steps from 7 to 10 p.m., presented by HarperCollins’ William Morrow imprint and Philadelphia creative studio Klip Collective. Tonight is the last night to see it.
Saturday also belonged to Philadelphia’s real-life champion. The inaugural Smokin’ Joe Frazier Run, Walk, Roll honored the Olympic gold medalist and heavyweight champion with an inclusive community athletic event welcoming runners, walkers and wheelchair participants. The event marked the 55th anniversary of the Fight of the Century, Frazier’s March 1971 bout against Muhammad Ali. Frazier’s story shaped much of Rocky Balboa’s, from punching sides of beef in a meatpacking plant to training runs up the museum steps. His statue, which captures the left hook that floored Ali, was moved this summer to the base of the steps, the spot where the Rocky statue stood for two decades.
The calendar stays busy through the fall. The Rocky Philadelphia Bus Tour returns on weekends from October 10 through November 29, taking fans through neighborhoods and locations featured in the films. The Meat Market Challenge lands on October 24, and the bus tours get a Halloween edition on October 31.
The biggest weekend arrives November 13 and 14. On Friday, the Rocky statue will be formally rededicated, a homecoming 44 years in the making. Stallone commissioned the statue from sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg for 1982’s Rocky III, and it was first unveiled at the top of the steps that year. It later spent two decades beside the base of the steps, moved inside the museum this spring and summer as the centerpiece of an exhibition, and in September was permanently installed back atop the steps, about 14 feet from the edge near the walkway where Rocky’s shoe prints are embedded. The next day, the Rocky Run is expected to bring 45,000 runners from all 50 states and 75 countries to Philadelphia.
Film fans get their own highlights in November. The original Rocky returns to theaters November 7 through 11 in a 4K restoration with behind-the-scenes footage and a greeting tied to the upcoming biopic I Play Rocky, which gets a limited release November 6. On November 12, Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski will discuss his new book Going the Distance, about Stallone, Philly and the story of Rocky, in a Q&A with SportsRadio 94WIP’s Rhea Hughes at the Conservatory at Laurel Hill West, the filming location for the grave sites of Adrian and Paulie. Tickets include a copy of the book.
Even man’s best friend gets a moment. On November 14 and 15, the National Dog Show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks will feature a Rocky 50 activation, with Bullmastiffs celebrating the legacy of Rocky’s beloved dog Butkus and therapy dog ambassadors available to meet.
Organizers say more announcements are coming, including a chance for fans to make their mark on the record books and a celebration of the film’s unforgettable musical legacy. For the full Rocky Season calendar and event details, visit the Philadelphia Visitor Center.
