Press Release

AFRICAN AMERICAN CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2006 Festivals, Exhibitions And Events In The Greater Philadelphia Region

Philadanco

Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC

PHILADELPHIA, June 1, 2006 - Art lovers, history buffs, theater goers, music mavens and sports fans will find a year packed beginning to end with festivals, sporting events, art shows and cultural events in Philadelphia. Highlights for 2006 include the 30th anniversary of the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Odunde Afrikan-American Street Festival and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation’s Pioneer Awards, being held in the city for the first time.

JUNE 2006

Through June 2006
FRIDAY NIGHT GOSPEL CELEBRATION. Every Friday night in June, traditional and contemporary gospel music fills the air at Penn’s Landing during this exciting new series. (215) 922-2FUN, www.pennslandingcorp.com

June 8-July 30, 2006
DISNEY’S THE LION KING. The most eagerly awaited stage production, The Lion King is a visually stunning, technically astounding show making a limited run at the Academy of Music. (215) 893-1955, www.kimmelcenter.org/broadway

June 11, 2006
ODUNDE AFRIKAN-AMERICAN STREET FESTIVAL. This annual street festival celebrates the Yoruba New Year, beginning with a spiritual procession to the Schuylkill River and ending with a lively street fair. (215) 732-8510, www.odundeinc.org

June 10-September 10, 2006
PECO MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL. These fun, family-friendly festivals celebrate the diverse ethnic heritage that makes Philadelphia unique. Weekend-long events focus on the food, music and culture of Ireland, Poland and the Caribbean, among other countries. (215) 922-2FUN, www.pennslandingcorp.com

June 15-30, 2006
DANCEBOOM. The Wilma Theater’s annual dance festival features two weeks of performances by local artists and companies. (215) 546-STAGE, www.wilmatheater.org

June 16, 2006
DRUMMING UP THE SPIRIT. This historic walking tour begins at Columbus Boulevard and Chestnut Streets and takes visitors to sites related to early African American history. At Washington Square, participants see drumming, dancing and historical re-enactments. (215) 222-8882, www.pennsylvaniajuneteenth.com

June 16-19, 2006
IN THE SUN AND SNOW. The Pinnacle Performance Group travels to various venues throughout the city to perform a 10-minute play based on the diaries of two teenage girls of different races who lived in Philadelphia during the Civil War. www.wstonline.org

June 17, 2006
TOUR OF THE UNION LEAGUE OF PHILADELPHIA. This 60-minute tour of the Union League concentrates on the League’s Civil War history, its role in Philadelphia and its position as a supporter of African American civil rights during the 1860s and 1870s. (215) 563-6500

June 17, 2006
U.S. COLORED TROOP RE-ENACTMENT. The Johnson House Historic Site hosts an encampment of the Third United States Colored Troops, who will demonstrate how they recruited and trained new soldiers to fight for the Union cause. Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas re-enactors will also be on hand. (215) 438-1768, www.johnsonhouse.org

June 18, 2006
FREEDOM CELEBRATION PARADE AND FAMILY FESTIVAL. This annual parade begins at the All Wars Memorial at 20th & the Parkway and ends at the Lincoln Statue in Fairmount Park. Following the parade there will be art activities, music, dancing, poetry readings, food vendors and more. (215) 222-8882, www.pennsylvaniajuneteenth.com

June 19, 2006
INSIDE THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA (HSP). This event celebrates Philadelphia’s African American past with a look at rarely seen items from the HSP collections, including the Emancipation Proclamation, William Still’s original Underground Railroad diary and selections from the Pennsylvania Abolition Society papers. (215) 732-6200, www.hsp.org

June 19, 2006
JUNETEENTH COMMEMORATION. The African American Museum in Philadelphia’s Juneteenth commemoration includes a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by children from the Freedom Theater, historical re-enactments and a military honor guard. (215) 574-0380, www.aampmuseum.org  

June 23-25, 2006
WEST OAK LANE JAZZ & ARTS FESTIVAL. Now in its third year, this outdoor neighborhood festival is where jazz and the arts meet on the 7100 and 7200 blocks of Ogontz Avenue. (215) 438-5366, www.westoaklanefestival.com

June 28-July 4, 2006
SUNOCO WELCOME AMERICA. Celebrating the nation’s birthday, Sunoco Welcome America! is a weeklong party with free events for all ages throughout the city. (215) 683-2200, www.americasbirthday.com

JULY 2006

July 6-August 13, 2006
QUIDAM. Cirque du Soleil returns to Philadelphia with its live touring production that transforms an anonymous world into a place of hope and connection. Broad Street & Washington Avenue, (800) 963-9634, www.cirquedusoleil.com

July 21-23, 2006
ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC FESTIVAL. WXPN-FM, the public radio station of the University of Pennsylvania, hosts musical legends and new performers of all genres at Wiggins Park on the Camden Waterfront. (856) 757-9400, www.camdenwaterfront.com

Through August 20, 2006
SPORTS: BREAKING RECORDS, BREAKING BARRIERS. On display at the National Constitution Center, this exhibition focuses on 35 athletes, including baseball legend Jackie Robinson, and their performances in 17 different sports. Artifacts emphasize women’s changing roles, racial and ethnic integration and the emergence of sports superstars. (215) 409-6600, www.constitutioncenter.org  

August 20, 2006
UNITY DAY. This annual family event features live entertainment, kid’s activities and personal enrichment on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. (610) 784-3333, www.wdasfm.com

SEPTEMBER 2006

September 13, 2006-February 25, 2007
LOOK AGAIN: AFRICAN AMERICANA. This exhibition at the Rosenbach Museum and Library highlights and re-interprets materials from the museum’s collections related to African American history and literature. (215) 732-1600, www.rosenbach.org

September 15-October 8, 2006
MASTER HAROLD AND THE BOYS. Running at the Lantern Theater Company, this coming-of-age story set in 1950s South Africa offers a powerful examination of the impact of apartheid on the relationship between Hally, a young white man, and Sam, the black man who has been his lifelong friend. (215) 829-9002, www.lanterntheater.org

September 26-October 1, 2006
I CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU. This new smash-hit show at The Kimmel Center rocks the house with the legendary music of Ray Charles. The performance includes a 12-piece on-stage orchestra and a dazzling company of singers and dancers. (215) 731-3333, www.thekimmelcenter.org/broadway  

OCTOBER 2006

October 27-29, 2006
TREASURES...FROM THE SILK ROAD TO THE SANTA FE TRAIL. The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology presents a show and sale of fine art antiques and textiles from Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas. (215) 898.9202, www.museum.upenn.edu

NOVEMBER 2006

November 12, 2006-October 2007
AMARNA, ANCIENT EGYPT’S PLACE IN THE SUN. The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology presents an exhibition that features more than 100 artifacts from the short-lived royal city of Akhetaten, birthplace of the Pharoah Tutankhamun. (215) 898-4000, www.museum.upenn.edu

December 2006
BLACK NATIVITY. This popular holiday production is a family favorite presented annually at Freedom Theatre. Joyous music and colorful costumes illustrate the sacred story of the birth of Jesus Christ. (215) 765-2793, (215) 765-3313, www.freedomtheatre.org

December 2006
PHILADELPHIA HOLIDAY FESTIVAL. Live performances and endless shopping are hallmarks of the season during the Philadelphia Holiday Festival. (215) 965-7676, www.phila.gov

FEBRUARY 2007

February 3-September 30, 2007
TUTANKHAMUN AND THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE PHARAOHS, PRESENTED BY MELLON FINANCIAL CORPORATION. The first U.S. tour of the treasures of Tutankhamen (King Tut) in 26 years makes its fourth and final stop at The Franklin Institute Science Museum. (215) 448-1200, www.fi.edu

APRIL 2007

April 25-29, 2007
MODERN MASTERS. At the Merriam Theater, the Pennsylvania Ballet performs a diverse and contemporary program featuring baroque classicism with traditional African dance and an arrhythmic score for piano and harpsichord. (215) 551-7000, www.paballet.org

April 2007
PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL. Jugglers, folk singers, puppeteers and acrobats delight young audiences at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. (215) 898-3900, www.pennpresents.org  

ONGOING ACTIVITIES

Every Friday
ART AFTER 5. Friday evenings are something to talk about at the Philadelphia Museum of Art with this weekly evening series showcasing an eclectic mix of world and jazz music. (215) 763-8100, www.philamuseum.org

First Friday Each Month
FIRST FRIDAY. In Old City, dozens of the city’s premier galleries keep their doors open late and provide free refreshments. www.oldcityarts.org

First Friday Each Month
MT. AIRY FIRST FRIDAY. Participating businesses keep their doors open past sunset for visitors strolling Germantown Avenue to shop and enjoy music, art and free refreshments. www.mtairyfirstfriday.com

Saturdays June 24-August 5, 2006
JAZZ CRUISE. Noted Philadelphian musicians bring their talents on board for a two-hour, sunset river tour. (215) 985-9393, www.schuykillbanks.org

Saturdays May-October 2006
PHILADELPHIA NEIGHBORHOOD TOURS. Experience Philadelphia’s most diverse neighborhoods, including Northern Liberties, University City, Chinatown, Germantown, Mt. Airy and the Schuylkill Banks during these three-hour interactive tours. (215) 389-TOUR, www.gophila.com/neighborhoodtours  

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) builds the region’s economy and image through destination marketing to increase the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do in the five-county region. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery. On the pressroom, you can also subscribe to RSS feeds to receive updates on topics that are specifically of interest to you: What’s New, Dining, Events, Seasonal Travel, Hotel Packages and Tourism Research..

CONTACT:

Rosalyn McPherson
(215) 563-6042, mcphersonroz@aol.com

Jeff Guaracino, GPTMC
(215) 599-2290, jeff@gptmc.com

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