Philadelphia Celebrates the City’s Geek Elite

There’s many reasons why I love the City of Brotherly Love. The place is filled with things to do and places to go from end to end, from museums and nightlife to education and history. The same city that houses the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall plays host to the Eagles, the Phillies, the Flyers and Sixers, not to mention a WizardWorld Comic Con every year.  You’ll find the fiercest sports fans here, not to mention some of the fiercest geeks.

In the spirit of the man himself, Ben Franklin, over the last few years the Philadelphia geek scene has really started to grow.  Since 2011 we’ve seen events like Philly Tech Week and the Philadelphia Science Festival take over springtime in the city as proof of that, highlighting the best that Philadelphia has to offer in science, technology, entrepreneurship and art. And with all of the projects going on the city year round, not just during these celebrations, it’s no wonder that someone somewhere thought that the best of Philly geekery should be honored.  So the fine folks at Geekadelphia and the Academy of Natural Sciences put together the Philly Geek Awards, taking place this year on August 17th.

The Philly Geek Awards are a spectacular, annual, one-night event celebrating Philadelphia’s vibrant community of geeks. From the artists and the innovators, the programmers and the scientists, the authors and the do-gooders – this ceremony honors the outstanding accomplishments of Philly’s best and brightest.  The Geek Awards have been presented now for the past three years at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.

It’s an awards show just like the huge ones you see on TV – black tie, red carpet (with a cocktail hour, of course) that will have the city’s premier geeks in their finest trappings featuring notable and local presenters and nominees.  The only difference between this and the televised shows is that it’s smaller, more fun, and features subject matter that’sfar more interesting whether you’re a geek, a Philly person, or both.  Not to mention getting to hang out at the Academy of Natural Sciences with your fellow geek ilk with some owls and a T-Rex skeleton is a pretty fun time before the show.  But the best way to get a feel for what the event is really to watch last year’s recap video.

So now that you’re itching to go, tickets go on sale Monday, July 29th at 10AM for $25.  This will get you entry to the show and the cocktail hour at the Academy.  You better watch your clock and act fast when they go up, because the show has completely sold out two years in a row to a live audience of over 400.  And being featured on FOX News, Philadelphia Daily News (front cover, 8/20/11), CBS Philly, Philadelphia Weekly, Philadelphia CityPaper, The Philly Post (PhillyMag.com), Newsworks, Philadelphia Metro and more, it’s an event you don’t want to miss.

In the mean time, check out the Philly Geek Awards site for more info.  And take a look at Geekadelphia to get Philly geek cultured and the cool things happening at the Academy of Natural Sciences while you’re at it.

Tushar Nene
Staff Writer
@tusharnene