The PIFA Street Fair will be coming to Broad Street on Saturday, April 30. With an already abundant art scene in Philadelphia, this is an innovative idea that will only add to the artistic caliber of the city. The street fair will come towards the end of the month-long Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA), which will be taking place between April 7 and May 1.

With the Kimmel Center spearheading the project (using the city of Paris as inspiration), the Festival will take place between Chestnut and Lombard Streets and will include plenty of food vendors, street performers, two stages for musical performances (please say Nicki Minaj), a public outdoor garden including an area for the kiddies, and, oh yeah…a giant Ferris wheel!

You may be thinking that you have no recollection of there being a park or garden in this vicinity; that’s because there isn’t. The PIFA crew will be building a 55-by-80-foot grass-covered area right in front of the Doubletree Hotel (Broad and Locust), which will be equipped with café-style seating and we’re thinking there will be plenty of pretty flowers as well (garden, right?). There is no word yet on what type of food vendors will be present, but we’re thinking (hoping) that some of our favorite local restaurants will be in attendance.

The grand finale for the festival will be the aerial Maudits Sonnats show by La Compagnie Transe Express, an impressive circus artist act from France, where they will be performing from one hundred feet in the air in a chandelier lighting system. The PIFA Street Fair will take place all day from 11am to 8:30pm and is free to the public (with the exception of food, drinks, etc.). This is definitely something we are putting on our to-do list as it will be a new and incredibly positive event for Philadelphia locals to enjoy with family and friends. Excitement for warmer months is in their air; our excitement is for the gigantic Ferris wheel.