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The Trenton Avenue Arts Fest, Featuring the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby

The Trenton Avenue Arts Fest, Featuring the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
1616 Walnut Street, Suite 600
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Contact:
John McInerney
johnm@philaculture.org
215-399-3515

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Who:    The East Kensington Neighbors Association and New Kensington Community Development Corporation
What: A fun-filled family day in Kensington celebrating the arts.
When: Saturday May 22, 12 to 5 p.m.
Where: The 2000 to 2300 blocks of Trenton Avenue in the Kensington Section of Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Music! Dance! Theater! Food! And, oh yes, kinetic art rolling down the streets!  All of it will be part of the Trenton Avenue Arts Fest (TAAF), featuring the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby, from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 22.

The Arts Festival will be held along Trenton Avenue, celebrating East Kensington's local artists, musicians, and restaurants.  The TAAF raises funds for neighborhood projects and revitalization.  More than 100 local arts vendors will sell their handmade creations, two stages will host live bands throughout the day, and local eateries keep festival goers well-fed.

 “The arts are really integral here in Kensington,” said Sandy Salzman, Executive Director of the New Kensington CDC.  “Events like the Trenton Avenue Arts Fest, with the support of Phillyfunguide.com, the folks at the Cultural Alliance, and their funders like PECO, help bring the community together and strengthen everyone to keep working and keep building our neighborhood together.  This is a very exciting time for Kensington, and the Fest and Derby will be tremendous events for all involved.”

Information on the Arts Fest and the Derby is available on Phillyfunguide.com, the region’s go-to calendar for festivals and events this summer.

The Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby is a design competition and parade of human-powered vehicle floats, last year there were over 100 participants in the parade.  The Derby celebrates art and human-powered transit by pitting mobile sculptures against one another along a three-mile urban obstacle course of cobblestones and mud pits through the Kensington and Fishtown neighborhoods.  Sculptures aren’t the only things on parade, though.  This event also showcases the diversity of some of Kensington’s sustainable businesses.

The TAAF will be held on the 2000 to 2300 blocks of Trenton Avenue, a wide-open cobblestone street that has been part of Kensington’s rich creative history for over 100 years.  By hosting the Trenton Avenue Arts Festival, EKNA is continuing that tradition.

For more information, visit www.kinetickensington.org, or contact Kathryn Doherty-Chapman at 215-427-0350, extension 120, or kdoherty@nkcdc.org.

The Cultural Alliance is a leadership organization of over 375 nonprofit arts and cultural institutions located primarily in the five counties of southeastern Pennsylvania.  Its mission is making greater Philadelphia the foremost creative region in the world.

For more information on the Cultural Alliance, please visit www.philaculture.org.

Based in Philadelphia, PECO is an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation and one of the Greater Philadelphia region’s most active corporate citizens.  PECO provides leadership, volunteer and financial support to numerous arts and culture organizations, including the Philadelphia Zoo, the Franklin Institute, People’s Light and Theater Company, and the National Liberty Museum.  PECO also sponsors cultural events all over the region, including the Multicultural Series at Penn’s Landing, Family Saturdays at the Seaport, PECO Power Hour at the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Main Line Arts Center’s Children’s Art Festival. 

PECO is also a supporter of the Cultural Alliance’s Partners in the Arts Program Stream grant program, that distributes funding from Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and PECO funding to projects or programs involving artists in the 5 county Greater Philadelphia area. Additional information is available at www.peco.com.