Philly Free Street closes North Broad for family fun
On Saturday, August 11, 2018, North Broad Street (from City Hall to Butler Street) will host Philly Free Streets — a people-powered initiative of the City of Philadelphia that closes streets to cars, inviting people to walk, bike, and play. This year’s event will include several family-friendly events including the Beech “Jazz on the Ave” Music Fest, Yoga & More on North Broad, and the Beach on North Broad.
The annual Beech “Jazz on the Ave” Music Fest (see page 36) will continue North Philadelphia’s jazz history, and the festival has become one of the must-attend summer concerts of the year. This year’s event takes place at North Broad and Cecil B. Moore, which is where headliner and Grammy-nominated artist PJ Morton will take the stage. The event will also include other live performances, food trucks, vendors and family-fun activities. The event takes place noon to 8:30 p.m.
In addition, the North Broad Renaissance (NBR) will activate the proposed “Health District” where the community will take advantage of a car-free North Broad and have yoga (and other fun fitness activities) on North Broad between Venango Street and Ontario Streets. This will be the first of other planned outdoor health activities to start attracting outdoor health events to address the health crisis in the 19140 ZIP code – one of Philadelphia’s sickest ZIP codes. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
North Broad’s first pop-up beach will also kick off during Philly Free Streets at North Broad and Master Streets. The Beach on Broad will be a weekend series, kicking off August 11 through August 19. There will be various activities (including life-size Scrabble, Connect Four and Jenga) as well as volleyball, hammocks and yes – sand! The event starts at 8 a.m.
“By opening up one of the city’s main thoroughfares to pedestrians and cyclists, Philly Free Streets will bring a new energy to North Broad Street,” said Shalimar Thomas, executive director of the North Broad Renaissance. “We are thrilled that this year’s route will allow participants to experience North Philadelphia as they never have before and allow us to activate key sections along the route and bring together families from more than eight connecting communities.”
All events are free and open to the public.
For more information, call 267-318-7772 or email [email protected]. To learn more about Philly Free Streets, visit phillyfreestreets.com.
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