May 16, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The South 9th Street Italian Market Festival returns this weekend along with the Roxborough Spring Fest and Made on American festival.
Spend time outdoors with a beer in hand or on top of a pole this weekend at one of Philadelphia's many street festivals.
The season of block parties continues with the Roxborough Spring Fest, a showcase of art and food trucks, and the Made on American festival, a beer-focused gathering with mini golf on the side. The Italian Market will also welcome visitors for two days of handball, hoagies and greased pole competitions that, somehow, have nothing to do with the Eagles.
Nature lovers can volunteer to clean their local park or kid around with some goats at Johnny Brenda's Sunday brunch. And if you want to stay in, Bucks County's own Sabrina Carpenter is making her "Saturday Night Live" debut.
Spend your Sunday brunching and bonding with goats in Fishtown. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Johnny Brenda's will host a pen of billies and nannies, which diners can meet under the restaurant pergola. The goats are with Sly Fox Brewing, the beermakers that present goat races at their Pottstown location each year. Some of the same furry athletes that participated in the 2024 games will be at Johnny Brenda's, along with five of Sly Fox's beers.
A Saturday festival in Roxborough will celebrate the warming season with food trucks, face paint and flower crowns. Roxborough Spring Fest will be held noon-6 p.m. on Ridge Avenue between Lyceum and Leverington avenues. Beyond the requisite craft market and live music, festival-goers can expect karate demos, a student art show and balloon animals. (Bonus points if you ask for the Allegheny woodrat.)
Philadelphians never met a utility pole they wouldn't climb — not even one caked in oil or lard. That rich cultural history of shimmying where we're not supposed to will be on full display at the South 9th Street Italian Market Festival, which returns Saturday and Sunday. The fest's signature greased pole climbing competitions will take place each day at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m., and visitors can also play handball, check out a hoagie contest or sample classic Italian eats along the street.
Brewmasters will bring their lagers, ales and stouts to Olde Kensington on Saturday for the annual Made on American festival. The outdoor beer tasting will showcase 27 breweries from the Philadelphia area, with a few local distilleries to boot. In between sips, order snacks from one of the dozen food vendors or take that liquid confidence to play a round of mini golf.
It's the last weekend of Love Your Park Week, which means there's still time to give your local green space a glow-up. The biannual Parks & Rec event calls on volunteers to clear litter and tend to trees, gardens and flowerbeds. You can find and register for a cleanup through the website's map tool.
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