Mini Mug is an inclusive, safe and fun place for babies & toddlers to connect with their caregivers and community. Our indoor pop-up playspace offers drop-in or membership options, including arts programming, storytime, and sensory activities encouraging exploration and play. Housed at the Painted Mug Cafe, visitors can also enjoy coffee and snacks for purchase while supporting the mission of this LGBTQIA+ performance space and event venue.
Open play is offered 9am-12pm, Monday-Friday. Optional structured activities and classes are offered @10:00am each day. All classes and activities are included in the entrance fee.
Weekly Activity Calendar (10am):
Monday - Sensory Play
Tuesday - Music & Movement
Wednesday - Sensory Play
Thursday - Music & Movement
Friday - Storytime
*keep an eye out for special guest classes
Click To Complete The Playspace Waiver Before Arrival
Our Story
Lori and Jen are always looking for fun spaces to bring their 2 young kids where they can socialize and explore safely while also giving Lori and Jen some time to refresh with food or drink and meet new friends. We’ve partnered up with the Painted Mug to make this happen. Lori’s background is as a special education teacher and American Sign Language/English interpreter. She is also the co-chair of the board of Philadelphia Family Pride. Jen’s background is in dance and arts education, performance, and administration. As residents of South West Philadelphia, they are interested in continuing to build community in the neighborhood through an inclusive, fun, and supportive environment.
Contact Mini Mug: minimugplayspace@gmail.com
Accessibility
There are two steps up into the cafe and a single use, all-gender restroom. We are currently fundraising to build a ramp, and renovate the bathroom to accommodate the turning radius of a wheelchair. Not all tickets include seating, but guests who require seating for medical reasons should email thepaintedmugcafe@gmail.com to reserve seats at no additional cost.
Transportation
We are located at 1527 Jackson Street, on the corner of Jackson and Mole, just a few blocks from the BSL Subway and one block from the 2 and 79 buses. There is parking available in the neighborhood, but many streets immediately around the cafe have two-hour limits. Free, unrestricted parking is available a few blocks west of the cafe, and there is plenty of metered parking on Snyder, Passyunk, and Broad Street, all less than two blocks away.
Informed Consent Space
The Painted Mug is committed to ensuring all our guests are aware of what they may encounter in our space. While most of our events are sober events, we also occasionally host BYOB events and private events with Alcohol. We also have events with content that is not appropriate for all audiences. All events with alcohol and age restrictions will be clearly labeled. Please check the event description for more information about this specific event.
COVID Policy
Our staff reserves the right to require masks at any event when respiratory illness transmission rates are high. If you have questions about this or any other Painted Mug policy, please email thepaintedmugcafe@gmail.com
The Painted Mug Cafe, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a new performance space, venue for rent, and (soon-to-be) full-service café with espresso bar. ‘The Mug’ was developed by a collaborative team of queer artists seeking to serve and empower our LGBTQIA+ community through ambitious programming made accessible—physically and digitally. The café is on track to be worker-owned, and we will reinvest in the QTPOC and disabled artists of our city by prioritizing a shared narrative in our programming. ‘The Mug’ is an intentional LGBTQIA+ performance space and designed to decenter drugs and alcohol.
We seek to provide opportunities for growth for our member-artists, including access to work, talent-incubation, and professional development. We believe a performance space for queer artists designed by queer artists is as empowering as it is unique.
For our neighbors, we seek to be an LGBTQIA+ affirming asset of the community with great coffee, and the venue chosen to host those personal milestone events that will become lifelong happy memories.
Find more The Painted Mug Cafe Events and Family & Education events in Philadelphia