PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) \u2014 Philadelphia 250 is launching a new attraction for the semiquincentennial this summer, inviting visitors and residents alike to explore new neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
It\u2019s called Neighborhood Jawnts \u2014 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\u2019s celebration into every neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t often have the opportunity to send folks out to the real Philly and the real neighborhoods that make our city so special,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Riders will board a special bus that takes them to an outlying neighborhood, where they\u2019ll get guided tours with so much insider lore that Ott Lovell said they\u2019ll feel like locals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have worked with community leaders and community organizations to curate, to map and script tours about community history, community icons and landmarks,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
There will be tours of 20 neighborhoods, from the Southwest to the Northeast \u2014 one featured each weekend from May 29 to Oct. 25. They include Africatown, Manayunk, Castor Gardens, the River Wards and Oak Lane.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome neighborhoods will be about arts and culture. Some will be about the food,\u201d Ott Lovell said. \u201cIt\u2019s really about the stories as well, and the people who make those neighborhoods truly special.\u201d<\/p>\n