PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Reading Terminal Market is celebrating 50 years of the original “Rocky” movie by letting fans recreate a classic scene.
On Saturday, a 225-pound slab of beef will hang from Filbert Street for “Rocky” fans to take a swing at or pose with. It requires a minimum $20 donation to help raise money for families facing food insecurity.
“Please don't hit it too hard,” said Reading Terminal CEO Annie Allman. “...This thing is frozen solid, so no one should really use the chance to, like, work out your aggressions.”
Johnny “Cannoli” Garbarino, a local bare-knuckle fighting champion, will throw the first punch.
“The fact that I'm here today reenacting a ‘Rocky’ scene that I grew up watching and that actually excited me and gave me the drive to become a fighter — it's a very, very special, emotional moment for me.”
There will also be a Rocky look-alike contest, and whoever does Balboa the best gets a $200 Reading Terminal gift card.
“So we'll have the street blocked off, we'll have a DJ out there playing Rocky tunes, because how many times does one need to hear ‘Eye of the Tiger?’”
The slab of meat will be cut down and given to jaguars and other big cats at both the Cape May and Elmwood Park zoos. Donations will go towards a holiday pantry in partnership with nonprofit Sharing Excess.
