If there’s one reason to stay in Philadelphia over the Fourth of July, it’s the Wawa Welcome America Party on the Parkway. The annual hoopla shuts down five blocks of the stately thoroughfare, making room for several entertainment stages, family-friendly activity zones, food trucks and outdoor drinking areas.
That night, things get decidedly more grown-up, when international music stars hit the main stage for a free concert before a fireworks show over the Philadelphia Museum of Art. So is this year’s lineup worth sticking around town for? You decide.
Concert organizers announced this weekend that Grammy-winning Miami rapper Pitbull will headline the show, on the heels of his latest album, Climate Change. He’ll be joined by neo-soul songstress Heather Headley, who also made a name for herself as the original Nala from The Lion King on Broadway. The Philly Pops Big Band will also be in the house to kick off the show with an upbeat setlist of patriotic tunes.
The Wawa Welcome America Concert on the Parkway happens July 4, beginning at 7pm. The night closes with what organizers are calling the largest Wawa Welcome America fireworks show in more than a decade, so if they musical acts aren’t your cup of tea, maybe that will be.
Wawa Welcome America is more than just a one-day festival and concert. Events kick off on June 28 (with Wawa Hoagie Day) and extend through the fourth with happenings taking place every day across the city. The full lineup of events hasn’t been released yet, but you can keep track of them as they develop here.