From May 19 to 25, the City of Brotherly Love will be celebrating World Heritage Week with a series of free and ticketed events all aimed towards highlighting the rich, cultural diversities of Philadelphia.
Earlier this month, the Global Philadelphia Association announced the line-up for 2024’s celebration, with spots around the city participating in the celebration through a partnership with the Office of the City Representative.
World Heritage Day was established by the city government to fall on the third Thursday of May each year, and World Heritage Week essentially extends this celebration with a series of events highlighting the city’s global connections.
On May 19, Philadelphians can head to the Woodmere Museum of Art (9201 Germantown Ave.) for a free exhibit event from 2 to 4 p.m.
As a release notes, this event started with an initiative that offered art education to district schools without the funds for art programs. Through this program, 7 schools (Esperanza, Mcclure, Solis Cohen, Kennedy Crossan, Spring Garden, Shawmont, and J.S. Jenks) were given art instruction through the 3rd quarter to participate in this art gallery opening during World Heritage Week. Woodmere was also given a grant and copies of the GPA’s heritage coloring book for use through the program.
The next day, on Monday, May 20, the Philadelphia Visitor Center’s Philly Opener will be in full swing from 5 to 8 p.m. This specific event is meant to act as an inaugural celebration to kick off the tourism season in the city at the Independence Visitor’s Center (599 Market St.)
“We are so excited to unlock Philadelphia’s tourism season with the inaugural Philly Opener,” stated Kathryn Ott Lovell, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Visitor Center Corporation in a statement for the event. “The event wouldn’t be possible without the help of our team, sponsors, partners, and honoree. This is only the start of what is promising to be a remarkable tourist season, and I look forward to a night celebrating all that the city has to offer.”
The Philly Opener is set to feel like a pep rally—but stocked with some of the city’s top chefs serving up fare, live entertainment from the local band SNACKTIME, and the event will also present the first-ever Most Valuable Philadelphian (MVP) Award to Brandon Graham, defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles. Tickets ($125) can be purchased online.
Another free event is happening on Thursday, May 23, from 4 to 6 p.m., aka the Zero Hunger Mural Art Unveiling at the Budd Innovation Center (2450 West Hunting Park Ave.) Through this event, the GPA, GIANT and Philabundance are working together to debut the artwork of Branche Coverdale, which highlights SDG 2: Zero Hunger.
The global issue of hunger and food insecurity has shown an alarming increase since 2015, a trend exacerbated by a combination of factors including the pandemic, conflict, climate change, and deepening inequalities. Each mural project contains a grant awarded to a deserving organization doing related work, while Sustainable Development Goal #2 is about creating a world free of hunger by 2030, a release notes.
World Heritage Week will also feature tours of City Hall geared towards young professionals (May 20), a Caribbean Transnational Identity and Art Literacy Lecture (May 21), a conversation about the Declaration of Independence (May 22), a soccer clinic with Philly Parks & Recreation (May 24), a tango dance workshop for beginners (May 25) and much more.
Philadelphians interested in learning more about the occasion can find a full schedule of events, activations and other info online. More information can also be found on the Global Philadelphia Association at globalphiladelphia.org
