The ever-popular Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival is set to fill Walnut Street with food, vendors, music and fun this Saturday, May 3.(Photos by E. Mencher for Visit Philadelphia)
The Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival, one of Philadelphia’s most-anticipated and best-attended festivals of the year, returns this Saturday, May 3 from noon to 6 p.m.
One of three blockbuster festivals taking place on what we’ve dubbed Super Spring Saturday — along with the Science Festival Carnival on the Parkway and the South Street Spring Festival — the Rittenhouse Row fest is the longest-running, returning for its 18th year in 2014.
More than 50,000 people are expected to attend the daylong fest, which takes over Walnut Street from Broad to 19th streets and showcases the neighborhood’s finest food, fashions and live entertainment.
Come hungry, as dining and drinking are the main attractions. More than 40 restaurants will set up shop along the sidewalks of Walnut Street to serve up samples of spring fare. Beyond the eats, there’s also lots of live music, free wine tastings and much more.
Read on for our complete guide to the annual Walnut Street extravaganza.
The Layout
Spanning six blocks of Walnut Street, the festival brings street closures from Broad to 19th streets, and to 18th street from Sansom to Locust streets.
Count on every foot of Walnut to be filled with festival fun, and look for restaurants on 18th street to overflow from sidewalks with additional outdoor tables and service on 18th south of Walnut from Devon, Rouge and Parc, plus seating on 18th north of Walnut from a. kitchen, a.bar and Smith & Wollensky.
Plus, anywhere adult beverages are served, look for tents and tables. For a complete block-by-block lineup of all the participating vendors, see below.
The Food and Drink
Graze along Walnut Street with options from more than 40 Rittenhouse-area restaurants and bars.
Those looking for a cocktail or beer should report to the restaurants equipped with alfresco bar service including The Palm, XIX, a.bar and a.kitchen, The Corner Foodery, Devon, Rouge and the Starr Restaurants tent.
Also look for fare from restaurants including: 500 Degrees, a. kichen and a. bar, Avance, The Corner Foodery, Happy Rooster, Hip City Veg, Honeygrow, Lacroix, Marathon Grill, Oyster House, The Prime Rib, Rotisseur, Rouge, Sbraga, Shake Shack, Smith and Wollensky, Square 1682, Tavern 17, Termini Brothers Bakery, Underdogs, Village Whiskey, XIX, and even the soon-to-open V Street.
Plus, this year a handful of food trucks will be dishing up eats, too, including The Tot Cart, Ben & Jerry’s and The Cow and The Curd.
For more cocktail, wine and beer, check out the Peroni beer sampling station, a Captain Morgan and Smirnoff tasting, and a wine tasting pavilion.
With eight Starr Restaurants in the neighborhood, it’s only fitting for the group to host its own festivities within the main event. Sample food, drink and desserts from Alma de Cuba, Barclay Prime, Butcher and Singer, Continental Mid-town, The Dandelion, El Rey, and Parc on the 1800 block of Walnut, with a sweets tent and — new this year! — The Dandelion’s pop-up beer garden capping off the entire festival.
Huge crowds flock to Walnut Street for the annual Rittenhouse block party. (Photo by E. Mencher for Visit Philadelphia)
More on the Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival, below.
The Shopping & Entertainment
In addition to its fine dining opportunities, Rittenhouse houses serious shopping spots. During the festival, seek out street-side outposts of Joan Shepp, South Moon Under, Knit Wit, TownHome, Nicole Miller, Born Yesterday, Duke and Winston, Elle Lauri, Crimson, The Bellevue Salon and Spa, 611 Lifestyle, Adolf Biecker Spa & Salon, Henry A. Davidsen, Tumi and more.
But don’t stop with eating, drinking and shopping. A terrific range of entertainment lasts all day for both wee ones and adults. Live music will rock all afternoon from the stage at Sydenham Street, and on the 1600 block, the Infiniti Lounge hosts Garces Group Corporate Executive Chef Michael Fiorello from 1 to 3 p.m.
On 16th Street, the Capital One 360 Café hosts family-friendly fun with free cotton candy, giveaways and interactive games. Over on 18th Street, Center City District offers a sneak peek of what’s to come at City Hall with a Dilworth Plaza showcase.
Also, Starr Restaurants gives back to Philabundance once more this year. Bring a non-perishable food items or a monetary donation (5 cans, $5, or both) for Philabundance and to enter a raffle to win dinner for an entire year at Starr Restaurants.
Getting There & Staying Over
With all of the Super Spring Saturday events taking place around town, you can bet that the city will be very busy on Saturday. Should you drive, there are parking lots at 1616 Sansom Street, 36 S. 19th Street and many others.
We recommend, though, that festivalgoers arrive on foot, by bike or by public transportation via SEPTA.
Or, you could just make a weekend out of the festival and stay overnight in Philadelphia. Check out Visitphilly.com for super deals on hotel stays and the Visit Philly Overnight Hotel Package.
Be sure to follow Uwishunu on Twitter and Instagram for throughout the day for more.
And for the complete block-by-block lineup, see below.
See you on Walnut Street!
Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival
When: Saturday, May 3, noon-6 p.m.
Where: Walnut Street between 19th and Broad Streets
Cost: Pay as you go
More info: www.rittenhouserow.org
Block-by-Block Lineup
1400 Block
500 Degrees
American Laser Skincare
Applebees
Be Well Philly Health & Pavillion presented by Penn Medicine
Bellevue Salon & Spa
Corner Bakery
New York Times
Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent and Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Best of the Bellevue
The Palm
Walnut Street Theatre
XIX
Zipcar
1500 Block
1500 Locust Apartments
611 Lifestyle
Avance
CITY Space-Michael Garden
Duke and Winston
Elle Lauri
enliven
Flywheel
Imperial Security
KYW Newsradio
Ocean Prime
Oyster House
Peroni
Philadelphia Film Society
Qdoba
Rothman Institute
Russet
Senator Larry Farnese
Sun Myst Tanning Spa
Sweat Fitness
1600 Block
Adolf Biecker
Body Klinic Rittenhouse & Dr. Robert Skalicky
Capital One 360 Café
Capital One 360 Café
Crimson Hair Studio
DermaCenter Medical Spa
Friends of Rittenhouse Square
Happy Rooster
Henry A. Davidsen Master Tailors and Image Consultants
Honeygrow
Hotel Palomar Living Room
Hotel Palomar Philadelphia, a Kimpton Hotel
INFINITI
Joan Shepp
Keller Williams
Luke’s Lobster
Philadelphia magazine
Premier Dentistry
Rittenhouse Women’s Wellness Center
Saxby’s
Sbraga
Shake Shack
Square 1682
Termini Brothers Bakery
Underdogs
Wine Tasting Pavilion
1700 Block
a. Bar + a.Kitchen
Ben and Jerry’s
Body Cycle Studio
Captain Morgan White Rum: White Rum Has A New Captain
Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse
European Wax Center
Helium Comedy Club
Hip City Veg
Knit Wit
Lacroix
Marathon Grill
Philly Eyeworks
Pure Barre
Radisson Blu Warwick Hotel
Rittenhouse Row
Rouge
Smith and Wollensky
South Moon Under
Suttons Parlor
The Childrens Boutique
The Corner Foodery
The Prime Rib
The Rittenhouse Spa & Club – Hair by Paul Labrecque
V Street
Village Whiskey
Whisper
1800 Block
Starr Restaurants
The Cow and the Curd
The Tot Cart
a. Kitchen
Center City District: Dilworth Plaza Showcase
Devon Seafood Grill
Rittenhouse Row VIP Lounge
Rouge