Around the Block: 4/18/25

4/18/25

Witty takes, can't-miss Philly updates, insider info, and curated listings - by Jeff "City" Block

Philly Street Festivals

Grease Pole Climbing Competition. Apparently, “An Italian Market Tradition.”

Hey Readers—Who doesn’t love a street festival?

I already wrote about April’s Open Streets in my 3/21/25 ATB.

Then last Wednesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer posted an article on “22 must-attend Philadelphia spring markets and street festivals in 2025.” I am not going to cover all 22 in this newsletter, but rather, I am going to attempt some solid information and/or pithy comments on those festivals that I find most interesting, unique, delicious, or just plain ol’ convenient. Here we go—

Let’s start with two festivals offering various Asian Foods.

• The Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park. A few facts: it is open every Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm through October 6th. So basically, every weekend, all day, through the entire spring and summer. Also, plenty of opportunities and plenty of options. 72 regular stands plus various pop-ups. Come hungry and with your bags because there are plenty of amazing food options served here– both prepared food and ingredients to take home. Lao, Cambodian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, fusion, and more. Perhaps some Cambodian sausage, stuffed wings, and sugar cane juice. Inquirer Foodie Michael Klein advises on how to get the most out of the Southeast Asian Market here.

  
  

• Then there is Panda Fest. It runs only two days and bills itself as “the biggest Asian food festival.” This event runs April 26th & 27th at Dilworth Plaza and must be awesome because every time slot was sold out weeks ago, and you can’t even get tickets on the secondary ticket site (though there is a waitlist). I would start gearing up for Panda Fest 2026, or perhaps more practically, enjoy the Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park.

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Now let’s move to all of the Festivals in Northwest Philly. And there are a lot!!

• Germantown Jazz Festival--April 25th -27th. The First Annual!! “Where Jazz meets History in the Heart of Germantown.” Significant Jazz plus a vendor and kids’ market. Donation and Ticket Information here.

  
  

• Manayunk StrEAT Food Festival. April 27th, 11 am-5 pm. Great food and (spoiler alert) very crowded! I wonder how they decided on StrEAT over FEASTival? Hmmm?

  
  

• Mt Airy Day is Saturday, May 3rd. Food, music, kids fun, and more.

  
  

• Chestnut Hill Home & Garden Festival. May 4th. Okay, I am going to have to check out this and the Clover Market (below) to really understand the difference.

  
  

• Roxborough Spring Fest. Hit this on May 10th, and you could literally go to a half dozen Northwest festivals in less than a month. Though, only this one has the Rockin’ the Ridge Car Show!

  
  

• Chestnut Hill Clover Market—This annual market features makers, artisans, and vintage vendors selling their crafts and wares. Food and music as well. Sunday, September 7th from 10 am-4 pm. The CHCM also ran last week, but oh, well… we missed that.

  
  

A few more with great-sounding food:

• Flavors on the Avenue. East Passyunk has the city’s hottest food scene. In its 15th year, this festival brings those eateries out into the street. April 27th,11 am-4 pm.

  
  

• Brauhaus Schmitz Maifest. Okay, you know how when you go to Disney World or Universal Studios, you can shell out extra funds so you shorten the lines? You don’t want to on principle, but lots of excuses-- how often do you schlep the family to Orlando? You are paying so much already for the whole trip. Maybe you are actually getting more for your money, right? Well… I am not sure the same rationale really applies to drinking beer, eating schnitzel, and using “private” bathrooms at 8th & South, but you can either attend this event for free or… pay $100 for a Maifest VIP ticket. I think that food and some of your beer (depending on the volume you consume) are included. And private bathrooms can be very important (also depending on how much beer you drink). Saturday, May 3rd.

  
  

• South Ninth Street Italian Market Festival. May 17th and 18th, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. Artisan food and craft vendors. And, of course, a “Grease Pole Climb.” Note: Jeff and the City Block Team do not support climbing greased poles. That being said, GO BIRDS!

More festivals are listed here, but I think their links are all messed up – I corrected them for the events I noted above.

Have a great weekend.

Warm regards,

Jeff

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Some imagery in this e-newsletter was sourced via visitphilly.com and Canva.