On the Benjamin Franklin Parkway's 100th birthday, there will be a huge block party

The Parkway Soirée will include a mini Night Market, live music, birthday cake and fall beer gardens

The Benjamin Franklin Parkway on a hazy and hot summer day.
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Oct. 26 will mark 100 years to the day when the Benjamin Franklin Parkway opened completely for the first time.

To celebrate the momentous occasion, there will be a huge block party from 5 to 10 p.m. with tons of activities.


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The Parkway Soirée will begin with dessert first, then dinner. Grab a slice of birthday cake at the Franklin Institute then walk to Logan Square for a mini Night Market, where there will be some of the city's most popular food trucks.

If you'd rather BYO food, pack a picnic to enjoy at Sister Cities Park. There will be jazz by Drew Nugent and the Midnight Society, performances by vintage dance troupe Old City Sweethearts and games like croquet and chess.

For the 21-plus crowd, there will a few pop-up beer gardens to check out on the Parkway. 

The Free Library of Philadelphia will open its rooftop beer garden, the Academy of Natural Sciences will have "Dino Drafts" with dance performances and the Rodin Museum will bring back its Parisian-themed garden bar.

Over at the Moore College of Art & Design, the West Philadelphia Orchestra, a 14-piece brass band, will perform and there will be caricatures and chalk drawings by talented Moore students.

That's not all the Parkway Soirée has to offer, though. Several Parkway museums and cultural institutions will have special programming, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Barnes Foundation.

View the full lineup of activities and experiences here.


Parkway Soirée

Friday, Oct. 26
5-10 p.m. | Free to attend
Various locations on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway

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