On November 11th, a cold, sunny Saturday afternoon, 150 members of the Chinatown community walked across Vine Street, carrying large puppets, banners and signage calling for safe routes to schools and parks.
The Philadelphia Suns’ youth lion dancers brought special color and joy to the festivities, weaving through different sections of the parade, and interacting with onlookers.
Local organizations marched proudly with their banners.
Representatives from the local schools and daycares, including teachers and children, walked in the parade.
The parade started at 10th and Wood Street and ended at 7th and Race Street, representing the route that local children take from their homes and schools to Franklin Square Park, the closest green space. At 7th and Race, we celebrated with an open sidewalk festival. Numerous kids participated in our festival activities, some created their own screen prints, and others had fun blowing giant bubbles.
We thank all the participating individuals and groups, including:
Also, special thanks to our performers:
Thank you again for taking part in this community event!
The “Chinatown Connections: Bridging Our Community” event was organized to increase public awareness about connectivity and safe routes to schools and parks in Chinatown. The recently released Chinatown Neighborhood Plan identifies some key roads that are in need of traffic calming and improvements, including Race Street and Vine Street Expressway. With a community-wide collaborative effort, PCDC will continue working on plan implementation and bring to life the vision for pedestrian-friendly streets in Chinatown.
