Annual Fairs and Events
Philadelphia holds many annual festivals and events. One of the most famous is the Mummers Parade. The first modern version of the parade was held in 1901 and is held every year on New Year's Day. There is also the Puerto Rican Day Parade and the Saint Patrick's Day Parade which is the second oldest parade in the United States. Since 1993 every summer around the July 4th holiday, the multi-day Welcome America event celebrates Philadelphia as the birthplace of the United States. Three major annual shows in Philadelphia are the Philadelphia Flower Show in March, the Philadelphia International Auto Show in February and the Philadelphia Antiques Show in April. Major events include the Greek Picnic, a reunion and celebration of African American college fraternities and sororities. Another event, the Wing Bowl is an eating contest started in 1993. Festivals include the Philadelphia Folk Festival and Unity Day an event celebrating unity between people and families. PrideFest events promote gay and lesbian rights. In September, the 16-day Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe highlights experimental art, performances and exhibits throughout the city.
Read more about this topic: Culture Of Philadelphia
Famous quotes containing the words annual and/or events:
“No annual training or muster of soldiery, no celebration with its scarfs and banners, could import into the town a hundredth part of the annual splendor of our October. We have only to set the trees, or let them stand, and Nature will find the colored drapery,—flags of all her nations, some of whose private signals hardly the botanist can read,—while we walk under the triumphal arches of the elms.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“There is much to be said in favour of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community. By carefully chronicling the current events of contemporary life, it shows us of what very little importance such events really are. By invariably discussing the unnecessary, it makes us understand what things are requisite for culture, and what are not.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)