March 21, 2024
Tina Dillon/Tina Dillon Photography/South Street Art Mart
South Street Art Mart will throw its second Rex Manning Day Block Party. Pictured above is a performance from the 2023 event.
You'd be forgiven if you've never seen the 1995 cult classic film "Empire Records," but devotees to the movie have made a holiday out of it.
South Street Art Mart, located at 530 South 4th Street, will throw its second Rex Manning Day Block Party on Saturday, April 6, to celebrate the comedy-drama that centers around an indie record store.
The block party will be held outside the artist-run shop with a punk aesthetic and will feature multiple musical performances and vendors. According to Nicole Krecicki and Nicole Wiegand, the couple who owns South Street Art Mart, the party is a chance to celebrate "the spirit of the '90s and the indie/DIY ethos at the center of it all."
Rex Manning Day refers to a washed-up pop idol character who appears in "Empire Records." The character visits the eponymous record store on April 8, and the employees refer to the event as "Rex Manning Day."
Fans of the film turned April 8 into a meme and their own observed holiday, which also marks the day when grunge rock icon Kurt Cobain was found dead.
Krecicki and Wiegand began celebrating Rex Manning Day about 14 years ago when they began dating. In 2018, Bill Arrowood of South Street Cinema invited the couple to run a pop-up shop, which eventually transformed into the permanent South Street Art Mart location.
The mart then partnered with Repo Records for Rex Manning Day crossover in-store promotions and giveaways.
"In the spirit of the movie, we started dreaming of having a block party in front of our store, so we gave it a go last year and it was absolutely incredible," the couple said in an email.
Attendees and vendors at the 2023 Rex Manning Block Party interact in front of the South Street Art Mart.
Partners involved with this year's Rex Manning Day Block Party include Repo Records and South Street Cinema, along with MilkBoy South Street, WXPN and Liquid Death.
Attendees of the free block party can also enjoy performances from Jounce featuring Danny Tamberelli and Anna Copa Cabanna, King Azaz, Petrol and Disco Disciple. Vendors include Philly AIDS Thrift, Queen & Rook, Toxic Femme and others.
While Krecicki and Wiegand say that you don't have to have seen "Empire Records" to join in the fun, it can certainly help. "If you love the movie, this is for you. If you've never seen it, we promise you'll want to," the couple said. "Last year we had quite a few folks come through wearing character costumes from the movie, so we always encourage a fun cosplay.
Along with listening to Tamberelli and his band play songs from the movie, "Empire Records" fans can also buy Rex Manning Day merchandise on-site or take a picture with a cardboard cutout of "Sexy Rexy" himself. As fans would say, "Damn the man, save the Empire."
