February 28, 2011
To Conclude PIFA, The Kimmel Center Will Close Down Broad Street For A Giant Street Fair, Complete With A Ferris Wheel, French Circus Artists Performing 100 Feet In The Air, More Than 80 Street Vendors And More!
PIFA thrusts Philly’s cultural community onto the world stage with 25 days of performances, exhibits and events, concluding April 30 with an all-out, all-day street fair. (Image courtesy PIFA/Mimi Lien)
The standards of Philadelphia’s arts scene are already quite high. Our city boasts a thriving cultural community, replete with world-renowned art museums, award-winning performing arts and trailblazing artists from fashion designers to playwrights to photographers to conductors.
But as the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA) approaches — mark your calendar: April 7-May 1 — it’s clear that Philadelphia’s arts scene is in for a turbo charge; and you get to reap the benefits.
PIFA’s deep imprint on Philadelphia’s cultural landscape will be felt by the colossal citywide convergence of art, ideas and inspiration that hasn’t been since a century ago in Paris. And the French theme is fitting: Philadelphia is a 21st century City of Light, a breeding ground for uninhibited creativity. This energy will never be more transparent than with PIFA’s marquee concluding event, the Broad Street Fair.
Saturday, April 30, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the stretch of South Broad Street from Chestnut to Lombard will be transformed into an all-out street celebration inspired by the allure of Paris. Between 80 and 100 vendors, craftsmen and exhibitors will fill the street while Philadelphians ride a genuine Ferris Wheel and enjoy a wide variety of performers and bands (there are two stages).
One of the many striking elements of the PIFA Street Fair will be a 55’ x 80’ grass-laden garden park in front of the Doubletree Hotel, with café-style seating and lots of family programming.
For the grand finale, just as the sun sets, a troupe of circus artists directly from France will perform 100 feet high in the air above the crowds from a 250 ton crane with a performance like nothing you’ve ever seen.
This culmination of 25 days of performances, exhibits, and events promises to leave a lasting impression on this city and its artistic endeavors, perhaps more so than any event in the past.
We’re pumped.
PIFA
April 7-May 1
www.pifa.org
To see our previous coverage of PIFA, click here.
(1 response)
February 28, 2011, 9:00 am
Ron Jones says:
Please keep me informed very excited about the event!
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