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Meet your city with a summer of multicultural festivals at Penn’s Landing
Any summer weekend on the Delaware River waterfront will prove what a diverse city Philadelphia is, but for anyone who wants to dive deeper into the sights, sounds, crafts, history, and food of the many cultures that make up our city, the PECO Multicultural Festival Series will bring tens of thousands of people to Penn’s Landing throughout the season.
According to the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, the top five nationalities for Philly-area immigrants have changed a lot over the last half century. In 1970, most Philly-bound immigrants were from Italy, Germany, USSR/Russia, Poland, and England. By 2009, that changed completely. Philly now welcomes more immigrants from India, Mexico, China, Vietnam, and the Dominican Republic.
Philly’s population of foreign-born people is close to the US average on the whole: 12.5 percent of the city’s population was born overseas. And there are significant communities from around the globe settled, some for generations, throughout the city and suburbs — integral to the modern Philadelphia.
This year’s waterfront festivals will reflect some of the cultures included in Philly’s current top five immigrant nationalities. There are seven festivals coming up between July and September (an Irish Festival happened in late June).
The Islamic Heritage Festival, on Saturday, July 23 from 2-8pm, will actually get started with a Unity in Diversity Parade at 1pm, processing from 5th and Market Streets to Penn’s Landing. A global open market bazaar, health and wellness fair, games, speakers, and other entertainment will take over from there.
Next is Concilio’s 35th annual Hispanic Fiesta, on July 9 and 10 from 2-8pm, billed as one of Philly’s premier Latino events, with over 15,000 people expected on each day. Food, music, dance, and crafts from almost every Latin American country will be represented.
The African Cultural Alliance of North America (ACANA) will host its 9th annual African Festival on August 7 from 2-8pm. (Based in Southwest Philly, ACANA is an inclusive and broad-based social services organization with a genesis in the arts, aiding local African or Caribbean immigrants.) Expect traditional and modern African-style clothing, arts, crafts, music, and food, as well as a headlining performance by Senegalese pop star Pape Diouf.
The 21st annual Festival of India follows on August 20 from 1-7pm, hosted by the Council of Indian Organizations of Greater Philadelphia. It’s a celebration of India’s Independence Day with art, music, dance, and cuisine.
The Caribbean gets its day in the sun next, with a Caribbean Festival on August 21 from 12-8pm. A “Caribbean workshop,” children’s corner, marketplace, music, and food will represent 14 islands, and proceeds will benefit college students of Caribbean descent.
Mexican rock bands, food, dancing, face painting, and traditional arts and crafts will fill the Mexican Independence Day Festival on September 18 from 2-8pm. Finally, the Brazilian Independence Day Festival will wrap up the season on September 20 from 12-6pm. Brazilian food and goods from a wide variety of vendors will be on hand. Festival-goers can experience dance and music styles including Forró, Samba, Pagode, Capoeira, and more.
Each PECO Multicultural Festival takes place at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing (101 S. Columbus Boulevard, at Chestnut Street). All events are free and open to the public.
At right: A past ACANA festival draws a crowd. Photo by Matt Stanley.
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