July 21, 2022
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
The 2nd Street Festival is once again taking over Northern Liberties on Sunday, Aug. 7 after a two-year pandemic delay. From noon to 9 p.m., check out musicians, food and drink vendors, beer and cocktail gardens, art vendors, and other small businesses.
Summer in Philadelphia is synonymous with block parties, food festivals and neighborhood street fairs.
After a two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2nd Street Festival is set to return to Northern Liberties, with more than 200 bands, DJs, restaurants, food vendors and shops taking part in the city's largest neighborhood festival.
The 2nd Street Festival runs from noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 7, and is free to attend. Food and drinks are pay-as-you-go, with some familiar options and new restaurants that have opened throughout the pandemic.
The festival extends along 2nd Street from Spring Garden Street to Girard Avenue, more than three-quarters of a mile long.
"2nd Street Festival is back and bigger than ever in Northern Liberties," said Ann Lastuvka of Virginia Belle Events, the executive producer of the festival. "One of Philadelphia's largest and greatest summer traditions returns with the largest footprint in our history, plus tons of new vendors and programs this year. We have been working for months and months to bring back this beloved event and we can't wait to see everyone back at North 2nd Street this summer."
In addition to more than 50 restaurants, food trucks and other vendors, the festival features 15 outdoor beer and cocktail gardens. Each serves a variety of sponsored brands, like Yards Brewing and Hornitos tequila. The full list is below.
• Anejo Philadelphia
• Bourbon & Branch
• Cantina Dos Segundos
• El Camino Real
• Figo Restaurant
• Heritage
• Jerry's Bar
• Joe & Kay's Produce
• North Bowl
• Northern Liberties Neighbors Association
• Spuntino Wood Fired Pizzeria
• The 700
• The Shake Seafood
• Urban Village Brewing Co.
• Standard Tap
In addition to several neighborhood mainstay restaurants serving food outdoors, some of Northern Liberties' newest eateries are joining the fun. These include Bagels & Co., Madison Kay Cookies, Pera Turkish Cuisine, Soy Cafe and The Winston.
"When we started this festival, we just wanted to celebrate our neighborhood and have fun doing it," said Oron Daskal, co-founder of the festival and owner of North Bowl and South Bowl. "It's amazing how much interest it draws now and how much life it brings to 2nd Street. The event is important to bring attention to our neighborhood, but it also raises money for our neighborhood organizations for the services they provide to our residents and businesses."
Two dozen musical acts will perform on two main stages and several other areas throughout the festival.
The Germantown Avenue stage features eight performances throughout the day. The performance area will be DJ'ed by DJ Xtina and Rebel Foster. The full lineup is below.
• Noon: Moonroof
• 1 p.m.: Bougie & The Beasts
• 2 p.m.: Bickel Brothers Band
• 3 p.m.: Mobbluz
• 4 p.m.: Koser
• 5 p.m.: M11son
• 6 p.m.: Dell-P
• 7:30 p.m.: Solar Circuit (headliner)
The Fairmount Avenue stage is DJ'ed by DJ Nate G and features eight performers from 12:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The full list is below.
• 12:30 p.m.: Upholstery
• 1:30 p.m.: Plush in the Box
• 2:30 p.m.: Gretchen Emery Band
• 3:30 p.m.: Venn Sung
• 4:30 p.m.: Dirty Soap Band
• 5:30 p.m.: Reggae Thunder
• 6:30 p.m.: Last Generation on Film
• 7:30 p.m.: Swing that Cat (headliner)
The family-friendly festival includes a splash zone and playground at The Piazza, along with balloon animals and sculptures. Libertee Grounds is hosting a pop-up outdoors, letting visitors practice their mini-golf games. There also will be glitter tattoos and dog tricks.
The Lab by Vanguard features a climate chaos carnival and interactive circus arts activities.
From noon to 5 p.m., organizers with the 20/20 Photo Festival are hosting a fundraiser photo booth at The Piazza. For a small donation, festival-goers can leave with a print of their photo and have a digital copy sent. Proceeds benefit Homies Helping Homies, a mutual aid effort in Southwest Philadelphia. The 20/20 Photo Festival occurs annually in September.
Art Star will be on site, along with dozens of artists and crafters. Booths and tables will be set up for guests to browse and purchase.
More information about the upcoming 2nd Street Festival can be found on its website.
Aug. 7, 2022
Noon to 9 p.m. | Free
2nd Street from Spring Garden Street to Girard Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19123
