The third-edition of the “Budweiser Made in America” Festival happens this weekend as big stars and major road closures hit the city.
The lesson is if you aren't going to the festival try to avoid the area in front of the Art Museum and if you are gong take public transit or bike.
The two-day music festival features headliners including NBC The Voice coach Pharrell Williams, Kings of Leon, Kanye West and Steve Aoki on four different stages set up around the Benjamin Franklin Parkway near the Art Museum.
Street closures and parking restrictions around the Parkway area began Wednesday morning when two lanes of the Parkway at Eakins Oval were closed. That closures expanded to the entire Oval above 22nd Street on Thursday.
Closures ramped up Friday at 10 a.m. and continue through Tuesday with no parking allowed in the festival area, according to the city.
Organizers warn that the remainder of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, from 16th to 20th Streets, may be closed to vehicular traffic if deemed necessary by public safety. If this happens, cross traffic may be restricted on the numbered streets between 16th and 20th Streets.
Here’s a breakdown of planned street closures:
- The Benjamin Franklin Parkway, beginning at 20th Street extending through Eakins Oval and behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art
- 21st Street between Winter & Spring Garden Streets
- 22nd Street between Winter & Fairmount Streets
- 23rd Street between the Benjamin Franklin Parkway & Fairmount Avenue
- 24th Street between Fairmount & Pennsylvania Avenues
- 25th Street between Fairmount & Pennsylvania Avenues
- Spring Garden Street between 20th & 31st Streets, including the Spring Garden Street tunnel
- Kelly Drive between 23rd Street & Fairmount Avenue
- Martin Luther King Drive between the Falls Bridge & the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
- Pennsylvania Avenue between Hamilton & Fairmount Avenues
- 2000 block of Pennsylvania Avenue between the Whole Foods store & 21st Street (the eastern half of the block from the Whole Foods market to 20th Street will remain open to allow access to the store)
- Park Towne Place between 22nd & 24th Streets
- I-676 Westbound off-ramp at 22nd Street (the I-676 Eastbound off-ramp at 23rd Street will be open
There will also be parking restrictions in the area:
- Pennsylvania Avenue between 22nd Street & Fairmount Avenue (south side of street)
- Winter Street between 20th & 22nd Streets (both sides of street)
- 20th Street between Vine Street & Callowhill Street (east side of street)
- 21st Street between the Benjamin Franklin Parkway & Race Street (both sides of street)
- 22nd Street between Winter & Spring Garden Streets (both sides of street)
- Park Towne Place between 22nd & 24th Streets (both sides of street)
“For the third year in a row, Labor Day weekend in the City of Philadelphia will offer a winning combination of music, culture and community, with the iconic Benjamin Franklin Parkway as the backdrop for the Budweiser Made in America Festival,” said Mayor Michael Nutter.
Concert performances begin Saturday at 1:15 p.m. and end at midnight -- exact set times came out Wednesday. On Sunday the music goes from 1:15 to 11 p.m.
Festival ticket-holders and others planning to visit the parkway are urged to use public transportation to get in and out of Center City during the festival weekend, due to the road closures.
SEPTA will detour some bus routes around the festival site but will also offer extra late-night service on its Regional Rail Lines Saturday and Sunday night and 24/7 service on the Broad Street and Market-Frankford Lines all weekend. Click here for the latest schedules.
NJ Transit and PATCO are also options for festival-goers coming from New Jersey.
The Mayor's Office also says the city will provide a heavy police presence during the concert. Philadelphia Police beacons will be positioned outside the festival showing where officers are deployed to assist festival goers.
Access to the event is only available to festival ticket holders. If you want to see the music but don't plan on heading down to the festival, performances will be streamed at MadeInAmericaFest.com.
