PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia 250 is launching a new attraction for the semiquincentennial this summer, inviting visitors and residents alike to explore new neighborhoods.
It’s called Neighborhood Jawnts — which just underscores how deeply Philadelphia it is. Tourists naturally find the Historic District and Center City, but Philadelphia 250 Executive Director Kathryn Ott Lovell said the city wants to push this year’s celebration into every neighborhood.
“We don’t often have the opportunity to send folks out to the real Philly and the real neighborhoods that make our city so special,” she said.
Riders will board a special bus that takes them to an outlying neighborhood, where they’ll get guided tours with so much insider lore that Ott Lovell said they’ll feel like locals.
“We have worked with community leaders and community organizations to curate, to map and script tours about community history, community icons and landmarks,” she said.
There will be tours of 20 neighborhoods, from the Southwest to the Northeast — one featured each weekend from May 29 to Oct. 25. They include Africatown, Manayunk, Castor Gardens, the River Wards and Oak Lane.
“Some neighborhoods will be about arts and culture. Some will be about the food,” Ott Lovell said. “It’s really about the stories as well, and the people who make those neighborhoods truly special.”
The tours are free. You can reserve a spot at the Philadelphia Visitor Center website, but Ott Lovell said some seats will stay open for visitors to find the tours by serendipity.