It’s been a knockout week for Rocky Balboa.
It included the second annual Rocky Day, in honor of fictional Philly legend Rocky Balboa and the release of the original “Rocky” 48 years ago, and kicked off the first-ever Rocky Fest, a week of Rocky-themed festivities for folks of all ages. The Philadelphia Visitor Center Corporation teamed with other organizations and institutions in the city to boost Philly pride and celebrate the spirit of a persevering underdog.
Reporter Kiersten Tate, who has only recently come to Philly, agreed to do some of these Rocky “experiences” and report out on them.
Rocky Bus Tour
The Visitor Center teamed up with WeVenture Tours to make their Rocky-themed tour of the city accessible to the public. On Tuesday, people from different parts of the country — and other nations — boarded a PHLASH bus to visit locations made famous by the film series. Most locations, they drove by, but they got off the bus for landmark sites, such as Laurel Hill Cemetery along the Schuylkill River and the Front-Susquehanna intersection in Kensington.
Why Laurel Hill? For those who might not have seen the full Rocky filmography, they visited the cemetery to see the gravestones for Balboa’s beloved wife Adrian and her brother Paulie Pennino. Bill Doran, the cemetery’s superintendent, shared his experience fixing the inscription on Adrian’s tomb before filming the fifth installment, “Rocky Balboa,” in 2006.
After that, folks stopped at the intersection in Kensington where they could see Adrian’s old pet shop and Mighty Mick’s Gym across from it. Tour guide and destination manager Adam Clements presented a cutout of Balboa, the infamous “Italian Stallion” robe, and red boxing gloves for people to take photos and make memories.
The tour wasn’t all “Rocky” — while the bus cruised along Balboa’s workout path, Clements discussed Philadelphia’s history as a big destination for Italian immigrants and the birth of the Italian Market and the cheesesteak.
The guide also pointed out similarities between “Rocky” and Philly to demonstrate the genius craft of the movie.
“Philadelphia, for so long, was the overlooked city that was sandwiched in between New York and D.C.,” Clements said. “When [the film] came out in 1976, Philly was going through some really tough times, and this movie comes out about this down-and-out boxer [who] comes from a tough situation … That’s Philadelphia in a nutshell.”
However, some guests shared their knowledge of boxers or their experiences with meeting them or “Rocky” cast members. Clements loves that he is not the only teacher on the Rocky tour.
“When it comes to Rocky, a lot of my guests — as much of a fan as I am — they are like super fans, and they’ll educate me on some things, or they’ll quote something, or they’ll talk about a backstory that I had never known before, or know some amazing fact that I had never known before, and I’ll then incorporate that into my tour,” he said.
Real Life Rockys, by Mural Arts
Mural Arts Philadelphia and the Visitor Center held a short ceremony at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Wednesday to launch the “Real Life Rockys” project, a group of portraits surrounding the Rocky statue that highlight the stories of remarkable Philadelphians who actively make a difference in the city.
Artist Conrad Benner originally conceived the idea for this project. In his speech, he said, “Rocky’s determination, grit and ultimate hopefulness speaks to a lot of the Philadelphians that are in the city.” As a non-Rocky afficionado, Benner wanted to find people who emulate the themes of the movie series.
The everyday Rockys include heavyweight boxer Jimmy Young, Paralympian-turned-physician Michelle Konkoly, and nonprofit founders Chantay Love and Joshua Santiago. Each honoree was nominated by their peers for their service work or athletic prestige.
For example, Love co-founded Every Murder Is Real, an organization dedicated to healing victims of gun violence and their loved ones. Konkoly survived a five-story fall that resulted in multiple upper-body injuries, but she went on to swim in the 2016 Paralympics. She is currently a resident pediatric physician at the Magee Rehab Center, where she got treatment after the accident.
Ash Ryan, the artist for the Rocky Fest project, depicted the honorees in a vibrant way that echoed street art. She was proud to contribute to a project that portrays Philly in a positive light.
“On the news, you kind of hear some scary stuff happening in Philly or group crime and stuff,” the muralist said. “It just makes me feel that Philly pride to know that I’m coming from a city where change is happening.”
The beauty of the portrait project also lies in the universal feeling of admiring perseverance. In her childhood, Konkoly did not understand the Rocky references her father made, but his love for the film went hand in hand with the life lessons she learned.
“Having that Rocky spirit of, ‘You’re gonna get knocked down; you gotta get back up,’ instilled in me through my whole life, has allowed me to overcome all the obstacles I’ve had,” she said, referring to her spinal cord injury and recovery.
Mural Arts Executive Director Jane Golden, Visitor Center CEO Kathryn Lovell, and Commissioner Susan Slawson presented the honorees and their loved ones to the audience with lots of enthusiasm.
“It’s such an incredible group of people,” Konkoly said, “and it’s so cool to have so many different aspects of what it means to be a Philadelphian represented here.”
The Real Life Rockys mural will remain at the Museum of Art for the next 30 days, and the Rocky Philadelphia bus tour will continue until Sunday, Dec. 8. A portion of profits from the bus tour will also be donated to Laurel Hill Cemetery.
And that’s not all.
A Rocky film marathon runs Friday to Sunday, at the Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street. And the Philadelphia Zoo will host a date night on Saturday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
