The Wawa Welcome America festival was in full fun force on Friday, July 3! Here are links to the best of the day's events. Remember, if you're celebrating at home or in the backyard, we want to see your photos of what #July4thPhilly means to you -- just share them on Twitter or Instagram! And be sure to check out our cool Wawa Welcome America filter on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.
MUSEUMS OF THE DAY
African American Museum in Philadelphia
This year for Wawa Welcome America, The African American Museum in Philadelphia invites you to reflect on the meaning of independence. How do you define independence for yourself and how does it apply to your community and country? To commemorate Independence Day, The African American Museum in Philadelphia looks to the wise words of Frederick Douglass in his 1852 speech, “What to the Negro is the Fourth of July?” Listen in as reader Carlo Campbell recounts one of Douglass’ most powerful speeches. Further, check out their new Audacious Freedom Cryptograms and Word Searches to train your brain on Black History facts and figures.
Barnes Foundation
The Barnes Foundation’s new YouTube series, Barnes Takeout: Your Daily Serving of Art, features curators, scholars, and educators sharing off-the-cuff musings about their favorite works in the collection. On July 3 at noon, there was a special episode celebrating Independence Day featuring Philadelphia native William Glackens’s Seascape with Six Bathers, Bellport. Subscribe to the Barnes’s YouTube channel to get daily #BarnesTakeout alerts.
Virtual Barnes Collection Tour on YouTube
The Barnes Foundation’s docent, Penny Hansen, provides a taste of touring the world-renowned Barnes collection. We cannot wait for you to experience the collection in person!
Originally airing live, this interactive educational program—for grades 3 and up—encourages students and grownups to move, play, and create while learning about art from home! In each episode, guest artists lead projects inspired by works in the Barnes collection, from Picasso’s acrobats to Degas’s dancers.
National Liberty Museum
Broadcast Reading of Declaration of Independence
July 3 @ 11AM
The National Liberty Museum gave an Independence Day kick-off event with a broadcast of The Declaration of Independence. Fellow Philadelphian’s read our founding document. Explore our website and virtual programming to see how everyday people can be heroes.
A State of Independence
July 3 @ 3PM
The National Liberty Museum’s Costantino Spinosa offered a unique look into the origins of the state of Pennsylvania.
PECO GO 4TH & LEARN: HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA
Over at the Betsy Ross House, the first lady of the Stars and Stripes prepared for Independence Day and shared the history of her flag-making skills that inspired General Washington’s famous visit in 1777.
MUSIC PLAY PATROL
Music Play Patrol showed you how to have interactive musical fun using items from your home. Rock out to the sounds of pots and pans, buckets, drinking straws, and more. Tune up your vocal cords and get ready to sing-along to a modern-day spin on some of your favorite childhood tunes!
Bear Went Over the Mountain with Music Play Patrol
Things you’ll need:
Just yourself! 🙂
ESPORTS 3 ON 3
Sign up and score the winning goal during the final day of our esports tournament. Registration is free on Lobby.gg.
POPS ON INDEPENDENCE
For this uniquely American celebration, the POPS took a musical look at tradition and patriotism. In his debut performance as Music Director & Principal Conductor, David Charles Abell created an original show with Philadelphia native & Broadway star Allison Blackwell, renowned trumpeter and POPS Artistic Director for Jazz, Terell Stafford, and POPS fan favorite Michael Cavanaugh. This virtual concert stream included a newly commissioned piece, “Fanfare for the Essential Workers,” dedicated to healthcare workers who were first responders to the COVID-19 crisis.
