Broad Street swarmed for art fair finale

More than 100,000 people, twice the organizers’ original estimates, came this weekend to the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts’ street fair. For one day, Broad Street from Chestnut to Lombard streets was turned into the Champs Elysees.

The crowds were mesmerized by contortionists and the performance artists such as trampolinists from Flippin Out Productions as they soared to the sky. They enjoyed a wide range of music, ate macaroons from the patisserie Miels or lump crabmeat sandwiches from McCormick and Shmicks.

One area resident, Fran Humperdink, said, “I have lived in Philadelphia fifty years and have never seen anything like this.”

For the grand finale, trapeze artists from La Compagnie Transe Express from Lyon, France performed a musical and acrobatic spectacle in the sky above Broad Street.

The Philadelphia International Arts Festival was so successful that organizers are considering holding it every two years.