AP Features, July 2nd, 2007
Salsa steps, taps and beats will accompany the activities at Fourth of July festivities this week across the City of Brotherly Love.
Thousands of residents and tourists are expected to participate in the Fiesta Goya on the Parkway, where they hope to get into the Guinness Book of World Records for the most number of simultaneous salsa dancers. Eight dance studios across the city have offered free salsa lessons to help Philadelphia reach its 4,000 dancer goal on Tuesday and beat the world record of more than 3,000 dancers set by Spain in 2000.
The event is part of Philadelphia's weeklong 2007 Sunoco Welcome America! Festival, which will also feature carnivals, re-enactments, tours, concerts, movie screenings, parades and fireworks.
Rosa Castro, an instructor with the Victoria BlackHart Dance Company, said she has people of all races, ranging in age from 8 to 72, attending her free salsa classes.
"You name it, we've got it. I've only got a handful of Latin people who take it," Castro said. "I have all kinds of faith that this is going to work."
Philadelphia natives Hall & Oates are headlining the culminating Fourth of July concert Wednesday night at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Patti LaBelle is slated to sing a tribute to Mayor John Street as he celebrates his last Independence Day as mayor. Other festival performers include EvrymanJack, the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chaka Khan.
Last year, the celebration attracted more than a million people _ half of them tourists, said Clifton Davis, president of the festival. The Fourth of July events also brought in more than $100 million in revenue for the city. Davis expects this year's festivities to draw about 3 million people over the course of the week.
A committee started planning this year's festival in August 2006, only a month after last year's events. Street and Davis have said it's the biggest Independence Day celebration in the country. The Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia in 1776.
"The fact that this is America's birthday in America's birthplace is very important to us," Davis said.
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If You Go...
Sunoco Welcome America! Festival: http://www.americasbirthday.com
Highlights of Philadelphia's Independence Day festivities from July 2-4:
Monday, July 2:
_Welcome America! Dreamland Carnival, Memorial Hall, 4231 N. Concourse Drive, 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
_Go 4th and Learn!, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Broad and Spruce Streets, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
_Summer in Love Concert featuring EvrymanJack, Love Park, 15th Street and JFK Boulevard, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
_Arts on the Avenue featuring An Evening with Branford Marsalis, South Broad Street, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
_Philly at the Movies Featuring "Apollo 13," 9800 Ashton Road and Grant Avenue, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
_An Evening with George Washington, Free Quaker Meeting House, Fifth and Arch Streets, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. ($10 for adults, $7 for children 12 and under)
Tuesday, July 3:
_Welcome America! Dreamland Carnival, Memorial Hall, 4231 N. Concourse Drive, 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
_Go 4th and Learn!, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Broad and Spruce Streets, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
_Summer in Love Concert featuring Agent Moosehead, Love Park, 15th Street and JFK Boulevard, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
_Fiesta Goya on the Parkway salsa performances, 20th Street and Ben Franklin Parkway, 2 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
_Pops on Independence, Independence Mall, Fifth and Chestnut Streets, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
_Philly at the Movies featuring "Selena," 21st Street and Ben Franklin Parkway, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
_Philly at the Movies featuring "Transformers," The Pearl at Avenue North, 1600 N. Broad St., 7:30 p.m. (tickets required and not for purchase)
_An Evening with Thomas Jefferson, Free Quaker Meeting House, Fifth and Arch Streets, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. ($10 for adults, $7 for children 12 and under)
_Free Library of Philadelphia's Freedom Celebration, 19th and Vine Streets, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
_Signers' Day, Christ Church Burial Ground, Fifth and Arch Streets, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., $2 for adults, $1 for students)
Wednesday, July 4:
_Welcome America! Dreamland Carnival, Memorial Hall, 4231 N. Concourse Drive, 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
_Independence Day Ceremony, Independence Hall, Sixth and Chestnut Streets, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
_Betsy's Independence Day Bash, The Betsy Ross House, 239 Arch Street, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
_Happy Birthday America, National Constitution Center, Fifth and Arch Streets, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
_Party on the Parkway, 20th Street and Ben Franklin Parkway, 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
_Southwest Airlines July Fourth parade, Ben Franklin Parkway, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
_Sweet Sounds of Liberty Concert and Fireworks featuring Hall and Oates, Steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
