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From deep South Philly to the tip of the Far Northeast, free “Neighborhood Jawnts” tours of 20 different areas of the city will roll out over the next few months as part of this year’s Philadelphia 250 celebrations.
The first set at the end of May will visit South Philadelphia’s East Passyunk neighborhood, with stops at the Singing Fountain, Pat’s and Geno’s, the Bok building and the site of the former Moyamensing Prison (now an Acme market). It will be led by local residents.
The tours will continue every weekend through the end of October, visiting signature neighborhood destinations like Manayunk’s Tow Canal, the Frankford Arsenal, ethnic markets in the Northeast’s Lower Bustleton and Castor Gardens neighborhoods, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Southwest Philly’s Africatown.
Kathryn Ott Lovell, CEO of the Philadelphia Visitor Center, said her organization and others continually send visitors out on historic walking tours and bus tours of the city, but Neighborhood Jawnts is the first program dedicated to taking anyone on tours of the “real Philadelphia.”
“We know that Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods,” she said Wednesday, “and this tour series is going to help people get to know Philadelphia through its neighborhoods.”
Celebrating diverse communities
Lovell heads Philadelphia 250, a program of the visitor center that has organized the tours and other events for this year’s Semiquincentennial — the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Its other projects include the Block Party Bonanza, a program of 250 block parties across the city this summer, and Bells Across PA, which created 23 replica Liberty Bells with designs celebrating the different neighborhoods where they have been installed.
Councilmember Mark Squilla, who will help lead some South Philadelphia tours, said Neighborhood Jawnts is part of a broader effort to connect this year’s patriotic commemorations and the city’s historic sites to residents, and to show off every part of the city to the many tourists expected this summer.
“As we look at our forefathers who created this great opportunity for us, it’s the people that are here today that come out and do the things that make our communities great,” he said, during an announcement event outside the visitor center Wednesday morning. “It’s important to let them know that we as a city care for them, and we want other people to see what we have here in Philadelphia.”
State Rep. Jared Solomon, who represents parts of Northeast Philadelphia, recalled visiting then-Gov. Tom Wolf in 2019 after the governor created the state’s America250PA commission. Solomon brought along a Syrian couple who had just come to the U.S. and ran a bakery in the Northeast.
“This is exactly what 2026 is about, the new Northeast — a community of immigrants. Their story, their journey, their moment in northeast Philly was being embraced by the whole Commonwealth,” he said. Now Philadelphia has “taken that mission and that charge to a new level. Because it’s not just about Center City, it is about every neighborhood throughout our city, and every individual forms part of this fabric that is going to tell a story.”
“Cultural tours mean telling the truth”
Solomon and others spoke against the backdrop of a Philly PHLASH shuttle bus covered in an orange wrap featuring the names of neighborhoods that will have tours, along with “Neighborhood Jawnts” in large letters and the logo of the program’s sponsor, Fulton Bank.
The visitor center also laid out a spread of treats from businesses that will be part of the tours: mango sticky rice from Melissa’s Khmer BBQ in FDR Park’s Southeast Asian Market, hoagies from Fink’s in Tacony, and cream-filled “frannoli” from Frangelli’s Bakery in South Philly
Jacqueline Wiggins, who runs the North Philly: A Black Freedom Jawn project, said her team has adapted its existing tours for five of the Jawnts events “to uplift and celebrate the rich history of North Philadelphia.”
“Historical and cultural tours mean telling the truth about the city’s history to inform residents and guests about racial, economic, political and social changes in neighborhoods of North Philly while experiencing gentrification and other issues,” she said. “Join us on our North Philly Jawn tours — you’ll be amazed by the sights, the murals, the markers, the history, the people, everything.”
Each of the three-hour tours will run five times over one weekend: Friday at 2 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. A bus will pick up participants at the Visitor Center at 6th and Market streets and return them there afterward. Some tours will be bus-only, while others will involve walking as well.
The tours are free but advanced reservations are required via the visitor center’s Neighborhood Jawnts page. Tickets are now available for the first few tours, and signups for future tours will go online three weeks in advance of each.
A tour every weekend
Here’s the full list of Neighborhood Jawnts:
May 29–31: Pas-sy-yunk or Pas-shunk, EE-ther, Eye-ther way, Everybody Eats (East Passyunk)
June 5–7: Main Street’s New Warp (Manayunk)
June 12–14: Tacony Drums, Tight and Strong (Frankford / Tacony)
June 19–21: Sacred Spaces, Shared Stories and Cake (Lower Bustleton / Castor Gardens)
June 26–28: Africatown Rising: Heritage, Art & Nature (Africatown / Southwest Philadelphia)
July 10–12: Exploring Chinatown: A Deep Dive into History and Heritage (Chinatown)
July 17–19: If These Walls Could Talk: Central Germantown Architectural Landmarks
July 24–26: Where Philly Breathes, Architectural Diversity and Gilded Remnants (Chestnut Hill / Mt. Airy)
July 31–August 2: Our Market: Our Stories (South 9th Street Market)
August 7–9: Fields, Flags and Family (Deep South / FDR Park / Marconi Plaza)
August 14–16: Jazz in North Philly Tour: People, Places, and Events (North Philly Jazz Music Tour)
August 21–23: The Lo Mo Beat (South Broad Street)
August 28–30: Poquessing Trail of History: Discovering Byberry’s Hidden Heritage (Poquessing Trail)
September 11–13: West is Best (West Philadelphia)
September 18–20: Civil Rights, History, and Freedom Fighters Tour (North Philadelphia)
September 25–27: Tracks That Shaped a Community (Oak Lanes / Overbrook)
October 2–4: North Philly Proud: Historical Neighborhood Tour
October 9–11: Youth Voices & Creative Spaces (North Philadelphia)
October 16–18: Black Artists Culture & Resistance (North Philadelphia)
October 23–25: Truth & Transformation (River Wards)
