{"id":226791,"date":"2025-09-14T18:43:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T18:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/226791\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T18:43:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T18:43:18","slug":"philly-aids-thrifts-20th-anniversary-block-party-draws-a-big-crowd-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/226791\/","title":{"rendered":"Philly AIDS Thrift’s 20th anniversary block party draws a big crowd (Photos)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Philly AIDS Thrift celebrated its 20 years of turning secondhand treasures into life-saving support on Saturday.<\/p>\n

What began in 2005 as a tiny storefront, originally on Bainbridge Street \u2014 founded by longtime AIDS activists and \u201clovers of junk\u201d Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou and Tom Brennan \u2014 has grown into a local landmark, complete with a second home at Giovanni\u2019s Room, the nation\u2019s oldest LGBTQ and feminist bookstore.<\/p>\n

And this weekend\u2019s event drew a throng. \u201cThe crowd is almost twice the size of any other year, and we couldn\u2019t be more pleased,\u201d Kallas-Saritsoglou said.<\/p>\n

Philly AIDS Thrift has always been more than a store; it has also served as a lifeline for local HIV\/AIDS organizations, and as a beacon of creativity and self-reliance within the queer community. With 30 staff and 70 volunteers, it\u2019s now a sizable small business, too.<\/p>\n

The shop\u2019s quirky d\u00e9cor, racks of clothing and shelves of books share space with free, in-store rapid HIV testing offered in a non-clinical and stigma-free environment that reflects the organization\u2019s care-first principle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the past two decades, Philly AIDS Thrift has donated more than $5.1 million, according to Kallas-Saritsoglou<\/a>, to more than 50 HIV\/AIDS service organizations across the Philadelphia region, thus funding prevention, outreach, testing, education and care. Every vintage T-shirt, dog-eared book, mismatched bowl, or funky knickknack donated and sold has fueled this mission.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s 20th anniversary Block Party was both a joyful birthday bash and a heartfelt thank-you to the community that has sustained this storefront\u2019s mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Attendees shop and mingle at the Philly AIDS Thrift celebration. (Hanbit Kwon)<\/p>\n

From noon to 6 p.m. on the 700 block of South 5th Street, Philly AIDS Thrift took over the neighborhood for its 11th annual fundraiser-turned-milestone celebration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The day transformed the street into a lively festival filled with food trucks, craft beer and more than 30 artisan and vintage vendors, including South Street Art Mart, Crash Bang Boom and South Fellini. Families, friends and longtime supporters packed the block to celebrate with laughter, connection and plenty of Philly flair.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Positive Movement Entertainment (PME) Drumline is always a fan favorite. (Hanbit Kwon)<\/p>\n

The entertainment lineup featured performers as eclectic as the store itself. The Positive Movement Entertainment Drumline brought smiles and cheers to the crowd. Live music was headlined by Philadelphia-born vocalist Marcus G and Queens, N.Y.-based glam rock band Tony & The Kiki. DJ Robert Drake, of WXPN, kept the beats flowing and encouraged dancing in the streets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Tony & The Kiki took the stage at the 11th annual Philly AIDS Thrift Block Party. (Hanbit Kwon)<\/p>\n

Twelve festivalgoers joined in a fast-paced and frantic pie-eating contest in partnership with MANNA, and many more lined up, for $2 per toss, to try to submerge the brave participants sitting in the celebrity dunk tank, where local icons took an icy plunge on this steamy September day.<\/p>\n

\"\"Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou, co-founder and executive director of Philly AIDS Thrift. (Hanbit Kwon)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year is the first year I didn\u2019t have to obsessively worry about hurricanes and rain. We couldn\u2019t have asked for better weather,\u201d Kallas-Saritsoglou said. Indeed, the streets and the interior of Philly AIDS Thrift were both packed throughout the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Familiar faces at the dunk tank included Philly Pride 365 founder Tyrell Brown; bike messenger Joe Cox, founder of the Positive Mental Attitude Bike Ride; Stefanie Jolles, co-owner of Crash Bang Boom; and Tony Trov, co-founder of South Fellini. Employees and volunteers from Philly AIDS Thrift also braved the tank, adding to the day\u2019s sense of shared mission and camaraderie.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ready and willing, bicycle safety advocate Joe Cox took to the dunk tank. (Hanbit Kwon)<\/p>\n

\"\"$2 tickets earned you a chance to dunk a celeb, pop a balloon, or strike a hammer to win a prize. (Hanbit Kwon)<\/p>\n

Proceeds from the festivities supported local organizations such as the Attic Youth Center, Mazzoni Center, MANNA, William Way LGBT Community Center, Planned Parenthood and Bebashi \u2013 Transition to Hope, ensuring that the day\u2019s joy translated into an ongoing impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Philly AIDS Thrift celebrated its 20 years of turning secondhand treasures into life-saving support on Saturday. What began…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":226792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,648,1322,1448,2830,1311,116798,122602,9207,11590,101681,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-226791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-featured","11":"tag-pa","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-philadelphia","14":"tag-philly-aids-thrift","15":"tag-pme-drumline","16":"tag-small-business","17":"tag-south-philadelphia","18":"tag-south-philly","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-united-states-of-america","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115204129918602427","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}