Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival: In Pictures
Near perfect weather brought out thousands of festival-goers for the annual Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival this Saturday, May 19th. Walnut st. was blocked off to traffic from Broad to 22nd, where the city’s finest dining, chicest boutiques, and most stylish dogs (including one in an Alexander McQueen scarf, the proof is in the pictures below!) were showcased. Special shout outs to the ladies at Arcadia Boutique, Seun and doggy Duke for Duke & Winston, and newcomer Kembrel. Thanks to Lacroix, Rouge, and a plethora of Star restaurants for offering delicious gourmet tidbits and plenty of thirst-quenching imbibements.
By Marissa Oswald
What To Do This Weekend…
Warning: if you leave your house this weekend, be prepared for an insane amount of traffic, loud music and street vendors literally anywhere you go.
For the seventh year, this annual festival will once again celebrate East Kensington and the wonderful things the neighborhood has to offer with an afternoon of live music, food and fun as well as 200+ booths of local arts vendors. Some of the featured crafters whose handmade creations are likely to make you swoon include, As The Crow Flies and Co. (vintage ceramic china and stained glass jewelry), ABJ Glassworks (affordable and stunning 3-dimensional stained glass terrariums, mobiles, nightlights and lamps), Orgotten (sustainable, eco-friendly clothing/handmade, cruelty-free jewelry) and Two Lucky Cats (fun, vibrant textile accessories). Saturday, 12-6pm. Free. Trenton Ave. between Norris St. & Frankford Ave.
Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival
One of the city’s most popular spring festivals, the annual event attracts over 10 thousand people around the region each year, rain or shine. For the sake of conserving space, let’s just say that basically every store and restaurant in the neighborhood will have something special going on—cooking demos, sales, workshops, live entertainment, kid’s activities, free shit, ect. In the midst of all the chaos, just be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the spring fashion booth from Rittenhouse Row’s many super-chic boutiques (Knit Wit, Sephora, Town Home, Joan Shepp, Arcadia, South Moon Under, Bella Turka, ect.). Saturday, 12-5pm. Free. Rittenhouse Row (Walnut St. between Broad & 19th Sts.)
9th Street Italian Market Festival
That’s right, yet another festival. So what does this one have to offer that the other two do not? In short, cannolis. In fact, you’ll find delicious, authentic Italian food literally everywhere you look (beat that Rittenhouse!) There will also be stages set up at each intersection with live music throughout the day and a craft marketplace between Fitzwater & Christian Streets featuring one-of-a-kind, handmade items from a juried selection of local artists. What local artists, you ask? Ummm…presumably whichever ones aren’t in Rittenhouse or Kensington. Again, the party doesn’t stop in the event of rain. Saturday-Sunday, 10am-5pm. Free. Along 9th St., between Fitzwater & Federal Sts.
During the Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival, SA VA will be serving light refreshments and hosting a trunk show featuring three talented local designers who make all their items right her in the U.S.A: Toggery, J&I Jewelry and BCS Designs. Founded by Kate D’Arcy, Toggery is a contemporary fashion collection for women that blends beautiful design with luxurious, environmentally conscious fabrics (50 percent organic). The J & I jewelry collection is highlighted by gemstones and freshwater pearls, each piece hand formed in their Philly studio. Finally, there’s Center City designer Beth Soffer of BCS Designs who will be bringing along her collection of exquisite gemstones and 18K gold plated chains. Saturday, 12-3pm. Free. @ SA VA (1700 Sansom St.)
Nadeau Grand Opening Celebration
Enjoy drinks and nibbles while being one of the first to discover Manayunk’s newest retail haven: Nadeau. The store offers beautifully handcraft hardwood furniture imported from around the globe. This includes traditional and brightly painted dressers, TV stands, chair, accessories and more. And while perhaps not as cheap (or shitty) as Ikea furniture, Nadeau’s prices are actually pretty reasonable, especially considering that none of their pieces are mass-produced or cookie-cutter. Saturday, 10am-6pm. Free. @ Nadeau (4131 Main St.)
What To Do This Weekend
It’s Friday in the City of Brotherly Love… and for the first time this week, I’m no longer contemplating buying a paddle boat or building an ark. Hopefully the weather will be beautiful into this weekend, because there are quite a few things happening in town!
FRIDAY:
//REWARD Mid-Season Sale REWARD Boutique in Old City had me at hello; unique clothing, sweet staff and they may or may not have hosted a secret show for one of my favorite bands around the New Year. This coming Friday, May 8th, a mid-season sale is starting for swim, shorts, sandals and dresses. Selected collections for both men and women are going to be on sale– with up to 40% off SS’09 Wood Wood, Paul & Joe Sister, Ksubi, Tsumori Chisato, and many more!
//PAFA 108th Annual Student Exhibition “A PAFA tradition for over a century, this exhibition allows visitors to see and purchase works by BFA students… A free public preview reception of the Annual Student Exhibition will take place Friday”
The ASE Public Opening takes place on Friday, May 8, 2009. The event runs from 5.00 pm – 8.30 pm in the Samual M.V. Hamilton Building. More info here.
//JENNA LEIGH Runway Show featuring America’s Next Top Models “Local designer Jenna Leigh, along with America’s Next Top Models, Caridee English and Jaslene Gonzalez, and world-renowned celebrity spin master, DJ Berrie will unveil the Autumn/Winter 2009 Jenna Leigh collection”
Friday, May 15th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Runway Show begins promptly at 8:15
The Piazza at Schmidts
2nd Street & Germantown Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19123
SATURDAY:
//Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival This is a favorite of mine. Starting Saturday morning, Walnut Sreet will be closed down from Broad to 19th to host a pedestrian parade and events. The event is rain or shine and there is more info here.
//Second Saturday Don’t miss the final Second Saturday open mic of the season! It will be held at the Painted Bride in Old City.
“Second Saturday was created to provide a less commercial, open, inspirational cafe in which local artists can gather to share, discuss, and perform their work. At Second Saturday open-mic events, anyone is welcome to perform, hang out, and enjoy the free organic coffee and wi-fi. These free events are held from 12-3pm, so we strongly encourage performers to arrive by 12:30 to sign up in order to secure a spot.
Past performances have included spoken word artists, vocalists, jazz guitar, a tabla and sitar duet, folk music, ‘rhapsodic essayists’, collaborative poetry writing, and more! So bring your instruments, voice, poems, stories, miming/juggling skills, monologues, etc. and hang out with us this Saturday afternoon.”
For more info, contact laneshe@paintedbride.org or 215-925-9914 ext. 17.
SUNDAY: Happy Mother’s Day!
//If your Mom totally rocks, go to World Cafe Live The Mothers Day Brunch at World Cafe Live seats from 11am- 2pm. There will be a special Mother’s Day Menu created by Executive Chef, Matthew Babbage; The menus is a la carte and ranges from Smoked Salmon to Cheese Blintzes to Eggs Norwegian. The brunch will take place upstairs and there will be – of course- live music by the LP Stiles Trio. Reservations recommended (215) 222-1400 or here.
//If your mom is a little batty, go to the Philadelphia Zoo! On Sunday the Philadelphia Zoo will be seating Brunch attendees at two seatings– 9:45am and then at 12pm noon. The breakfast includes a buffet, “an up-close animal encounter”, a craft for the kids in the Zoo’s Peacock Pavilion. What I think is the coolest is the self-guided tour of the Zoo’s animal mothers (aww!). All reservations must be made in advance here.
//Scarlett Alley If you want to go shopping for Mom and help moms across the world, be sure to check out Scarlett Alley in Old City. If you visit their website here they will donate 10% of your purchase to the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women & Children, when you use promo code 1231 at the time of checkout.