2024 Step Beyond Celiac 5K Set for Sept. 21

The Step Beyond Celiac 5K walk/run is an incredible opportunity to support Beyond Celiac and raise awareness for celiac disease. By registering and fundraising for this event, you can make a significant impact on the lives of those living with celiac disease. The funds raised through this event will be used to support Beyond Celiac research efforts to improve the quality of life for individuals with celiac disease.

This year's Philadelphia-area event will take place on Saturday, September 21, from 9 a.m. to noon at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. The registration fee is $30. Registration is now live.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

The Phillies last season, ugh . . . coulda, woulda, shoulda. Yet hope springs eternal come Opening Day. The 2024 home opener is Thursday, March 28 at 3:05 p.m. against the Atlanta Braves.

The Phillies' ballpark, Citizens Bank Park, will once again have a dedicated gluten-free stand on the concourse behind home plate (Section 122). This season's menu includes:

• Hatfield Phillies Franks
• Cheesesteaks
• Bowery Caesar Salad
• Herr's Kettle Chips
• Herr's Fire-Roasted Sweet Corn Popcorn
• Peanuts
• Sweet Treat Chocolate Manifesto Brownies
• Sweet Treat Chewy Marshmallow Manifesto Bars
• Redbridge Beer
• Vizzy Pineapple/Mango Hard Seltzer
• Topo Chico Strawberry Guava Hard Seltzer
• Bud Light Black Cherry Hard Seltzer
• Downeast Original Blend Hard Cider
• Bottled Soda and Water

The Crabfries and cheese sauce at all of the Chickie's & Pete's stands (Ashburn Alley and Sections 208, 219, 225 and 319) are gluten free.

Richman's soft-serve ice cream at Old City Creamery (Sections 110, 137, 205, 322 and 330) is gluten-free when ordered in a souvenir helmet.

Ocean City's Manco & Manco has gluten-free pizza at its Ashburn Alley stand, but it is not prepared separately.

Philly Step Beyond Celiac 5K Back In Person

For the first time since 2019, Beyond Celiac's Step Beyond Celiac 5K is taking place in person. It's scheduled for Saturday, September 9, 2023 at Montgomery County College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania (340 DeKalb Pike) from 9 a.m. to noon. Participants who register by August 25 get a race t-shirt.

If you can't make it in person, the virtual 5k can be run or walked from anywhere, indoors or out. Race shirts are available for participants who register for the virtual race by September 30.

Individual registrations are $30.

Suds and Sounds in Atlantic City June 4-5

The 2022 Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival returns to Bader Field (545 N. Albany Ave.) for two days of music and beers (and hard ciders, meads and more).

The Festival will feature Alkaline Trio with special guest Thrice for Session 1 on Saturday, June 4 (2 p.m. to 6 p.m.). At Session 2 on Sunday, June 5 (noon to 4 p.m.), New Found Glory makes their long-awaited return to the Jersey Shore with guests Four Years Strong. The festival also plays host to an acoustic stage that features eight local artists, unplugged and acoustic.

Jersey City's Departed Soles Brewing Company will have at least one of its gluten-free beers at the Festival. (If Sunken Silo Brew Works in Hunterdon County confirms that it will have gluten-free Crazy X American Pale Ale there, I'll update this post.)

Confirmed cideries and meaderies include Armageddon Brewing (New Jersey), Austin Eastciders (Texas), Blake's Hard Cider Co. (Michigan), Original Sin (New York), Moonlight Meadery (New Hampshire) and Romilly Cidre (France). California's Flying Embers will have hard kombucha.

If beer and music aren't enough, the festival will also feature cuisine from Atlantic County restaurants, area food trucks, culinary demonstrations, educational seminars, sideshow acts and other activities. There will be two all-gluten-free food trucks at the Festival: Philly's own Fox & Son and Wholly Bowls.

In addition, the 2022 festivities will host a carnival-like atmosphere. Attendees are invited to enjoy hot wing eating contests, larger-than-life games, Silent Disco, hatchet throwing and keg tossing. In addition, non-brewery vendors will offer unique beer-related apparel and goods.

The 2022 Hops Trot 5K will take place Sunday, June 5 at 10 a.m., starting at Ocean Casino Resort. This fun run will send racers down the boardwalk to some of Atlantic City's favorite watering holes, ending at Bader Field just in time for Session 2. Costumes are encouraged!

General Admission tickets are $70 in advance (plus taxes and fees) and can be purchased online. The festival also offers VIP tickets, group tickets and a Designated Driver ticket for $25 at the door to further encourage attendee responsibility. Although Designated Driver tickets are unlimited, keep in mind that the festival has sold out for the last nine years, so don't wait to get tickets.

The event is rain or shine, and parking is available on site at Bader Field for a fee.

All attendees are urged to taste responsibly. No one under the age of 21 will be admitted into the festival. Valid photo identification must be presented.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Photo by M. Kennedy for Visit Philadelphia™

Baseball is back! After a lengthy lockout and delay to the start of the season, the 2022 Phillies home opener is Friday, April 8 against the Oakland Athletics.

Citizens Bank Park will again have a dedicated gluten-free area. This season, the gluten-free cart is located at Section 122, behind home plate directly across from Guest Services. Expect a similar menu as in past years, with hot dogs, cheesesteaks, cookies and other snacks. Chickie's & Pete's Crabfries at Ashburn Alley and Sections 208 and 319 are prepared in dedicated fryers.

KLYR rum, a new gluten-free distilled spirit made in York County, Pennsylvania, will be sold at stands throughout the ballpark this year.

Meanwhile, Ocean City's own Manco & Manco has replaced Seasons Pizza as CBP's pizza purveyor. While its stand in Ashburn Alley will offer gluten-free pizza, I am still waiting to learn more about preparation, so stay tuned.