The Eastern State May 2026 programming slate brings four Justice 101 conversations, the Memorial Day Weekend Preservation Fest, and the launch of Finding Freedom Civic Season to Eastern State’s ongoing monthly programming. The month hits three core threads — faith, preservation, and civic conversation — with public registration open across the calendar.
The month’s lineup falls under the institution’s yearlong A Time for Liberty initiative, Philadelphia’s most ambitious museum program tied to America’s 250th anniversary. May 13 opened the series with a virtual Justice 101 on The History of Solitary Confinement, led by Thomas “Bug” Finegar and Dr. Kerry Sautner. The remaining May calendar focuses on women’s incarceration, adaptive reuse, and an interfaith dialogue on prison reform.
Four Justice 101 Conversations Anchor Eastern State May 2026
On Wednesday, May 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, Eastern State hosts Dying on the Inside: The History of America’s Incarceration of Women. The conversation, moderated by Cherri Gregg, features Sautner alongside Keisha Hudson, Esq., Chief Defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and Tonie Willis, Founder and Executive Director of Ardella’s House.
On Thursday, May 21 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, Philly Saves: Adaptive Reuse of Sites of Memory and Trauma brings together Michael Coard, J.D., founding member of the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition; Kathryn Ott Lovell, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Visitor Center Corporation; and Paul Steinke, Executive Director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, with Sautner moderating.
Both sessions run in person at the historic site and stream online via Zoom and YouTube. Free admission with advance registration. The Philly Saves conversation directly addresses how Philadelphia’s prisons, churches, burial grounds, homes, and factories can be reclaimed for civic dialogue during the 250th anniversary year.
Memorial Day Weekend Preservation Fest at Eastern State May 2026
On Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24 from 10 AM to 4 PM, the Memorial Day Weekend Preservation Fest opens the historic site to hands-on programming. The Capone: Wealth, Fame, and Preservation pop-up talk explores how a routine restoration project of Al Capone’s cell stripped back the fame to reveal hidden layers of painted decoration.
Additional activities run throughout both days. The LEGO Radial Design Competition challenges visitors to recreate the historic seven-cellblock radial plan using 24 specific bricks. The Demo Wall (Saturday and Sunday, 12-4 PM) features Preservation Trades Center graduates demonstrating brick and rubble-stone repointing techniques used on Eastern State’s historic walls.
The What-IS-It Exhibit and Talk (Saturday at 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM) unpacks the everyday objects that visitors uncover throughout the penitentiary, often from its 20-year period of abandonment. A self-guided scavenger hunt runs alongside the demonstrations. All activities are included with admission, which runs $17-$21, free for children under 7.
Finding Freedom Civic Season Launches at Eastern State May 2026
Finding Freedom Civic Season runs Monday, May 5 through Monday, September 7, offering daily programming from 10 AM to 5 PM. Three guide-led tours anchor the day: 10:30 AM Civil Rights and Stories of Resilience, 11:30 AM Solitary Confinement (tracing the modern legacy of the Separate System), and 12:30 PM General History.
Daily museum activities run between 11 AM and 4:30 PM with all materials provided. The Voices of Change Zine Activity (2-4 PM daily) invites DIY storytelling. Freedom Poetry draws on Langston Hughes, Civil Rights poets, and poetry written by people incarcerated at Eastern State. The Promises of Freedom Wish Wall, presented in partnership with Made By Us, gathers visitor responses to the prompt: What’s your wish for the United States?
Baseball Pop-Up Talks and Home Run Hits run daily at 12 PM on the penitentiary’s historic baseball field, with a Sports and Recreation Scavenger Hunt for kids and caregivers. The Civic Season is included with admission and continues through Labor Day weekend.
Eastern State May 2026 Faith Programming Closes the Month
On Wednesday, May 27 from 5:30 to 9:00 PM, Faith, Reentry, and Prison Reform brings together an interfaith panel to examine how religious traditions have shaped American approaches to rehabilitation. The program is part of The Aaron Reichlin Restorative Justice and Faith Conversations and Lecture250, supported by the Reichlin and Tuck Families and by America250PA.
Michael Moreland, J.D., Ph.D., Professor of Law and Religion and Director of the Eleanor H. McCullen Center at Villanova University, introduces the dialogue. Panelists include Imam Quaiser Abdullah, Ph.D., Director of the Mayor’s Office of Muslim Engagement; Damone B. Jones Sr., DMin, Senior Pastor of Bible Way Baptist Church; Yehuda Pryce, DSW, LCSW, of Defy Ventures; and Lewis Webb Jr., U.S. Peacebuilding Director at the American Friends Service Committee. Sautner moderates.
Sautner framed the month directly: “These programs create space for deeper understanding of the past.” A Time for Liberty is supported by the City of Philadelphia, America250PA, Campus250, the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial, the National Trust Preservation Fund, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The yearlong slate includes 5 festivals, 9 panel discussions, 4 community workshops, and 2 pop-up exhibitions.
Planning Your Eastern State May 2026 Visit
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site sits at 2027 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia. Site hours run 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission is $17-$21, free for children under 7. The Justice 101 conversations are free with advance registration, and the virtual events offer Zoom and YouTube access. Full event registration and current schedule are available at the Eastern State events page.
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