Niesha Kennedy, PR Manager
West Park Cultural Center
215-278-3450
nkennedy@westparkcultural.org
WEST PARK ARTS FEST CELEBRATING 10 YEARS
Philadelphia, PA – Founded by West Park Cultural Center in 2008, the West Park Arts Fest is celebrating 10 years and moving to the Avenue of the Republic near the Please Touch Museum. This site is adjacent to the Centennial Commons – an exciting public space project under construction by Fairmount Park Conservancy as part of Philadelphia’s Reimagining the Civic Commons initiative.
Fairmount Park Conservancy and Global Philadelphia have joined West Park Cultural Center as organizers for this free public event advancing the festival’s mission to bring communities together in the park, promote greater awareness of the area’s history and heritage while celebrating the arts and cultural diversity of Philadelphia. The festival embraces partnership and has over the years been made possible in great part to the participation of many arts, cultural and community partners from West Philadelphia and across Philadelphia.
On Saturday June 3rd from 12pm to 5pm attendees of all ages will enjoy two stages of exciting culturally diverse performances by some of the area’s best dancers, musicians, vocalists, and spoken word artists. Some of the talent will include the popular West Philadelphia Orchestra, Badd Kitti, Gretchen Elise Music, Megan Flynn Dance Company, Academy of Classical Indian Dance, Jasmin Yahne Dance Company, Clowns Without Borders, and much more. The event will invite participation in dance, collaborative painting with WEPAINT, free guided historical trolley tours through the Centennial District, heritage storytelling with Global Philadelphia, children’s activities with the Franklin Institute PACTS Program, Tree House Books, Patchwork Storytelling Guild, Keepers of the Culture and more to be announced. As part of the celebration, Fairmount Park Conservancy’s Arts & Culture Program, with the support of ArtPlace America, has commissioned artists to create special installations and interactive elements that draw their inspiration from the neighborhood, the park and the history of the 1876 Centennial. Festival goers will see a standing timeline created by Global Philadelphia that documents Parkside’s history and heritage with pictures and text.
Attendees can buy unique items in the Handmade Market, browse other vendors and enjoy refreshments from food vendors and the popular Parks on Tap – the traveling beer garden developed by Fairmount Park Conservancy with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and FCM Hospitality. An estimated 1,500 are expected to attend. Participating partners this year include Mann Center, Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute, Tree House Books, and more.
Sponsors as of this writing include ArtPlace, Scungio Borst, Zerflin, UPS, Santander, ShopRite, Rockland Capital, West Philadelphia, Financial Services Institution, and Zakian. The event is also supported in part by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.
To learn more about the festival visit http://www.westparkcultural.org/westparkartsfest and http://www.facebook.com/westparkartsfestival For more information call 215-473-7810 or email info@westparkcultural.org.
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