Magic Gardens Art/Gage Festival expands for 2013 with more music, more food trucks, more installations

Tomorrow night, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens will be hosting the Art / Gage Festival, an annual arts-music-food street fair event. Now in it’s sixth year, the festival has expanded to cover eight blocks of South Street, from Front to 9th. Magic Gardens events manager Allison Boyle says the festival aims to “bring in local artists, local music, and celebrate the creativity that we have here in Philly.”

For the first time this year, Art / Gage is partnering and collaborating with Night Market Philadelphia to expand the festival, both in size and in offerings; Night Market and The Food Trust will bring over 80 food trucks and local vendors to South Street – it’s supposed to be the largest Night Market Philly has yet seen.

There will be two stages – one on 9th Street and one on Second Street, playing live music all evening. “People love the bands – I think they’ll come out especially to see them,” Boyle says. Many awesome local musicians are set to perform, including Night Panther (who just released their debut LP), Norwegian Arms, Strand of Oaks, and The Late Ancients.

Beyond the music, there are many other artistic outlets to explore. Art/Gage, also curating this aspect of the event, will feature local and interactive art throughout the street. Around the 800-block, for example, Sarah Whitt will be creating and showcasing her sugar-glass insect sculptures. Have no clue what that might look like? Me neither, but it seems quite intriguing. Pottery battles, performance art, installations – all taking over South Street Thursday night.

Six years ago, Art/Gage (a play on “engage”) began as a summer solstice-type festival, Coyle explains. The festival was much smaller, but has now extended much outside of the bounds of the Magic Garden. “We’re really excited to be able to reach out…and make the festival so much bigger this year,” says Boyle.

Art/Gage is mainly a free event – admission and all performances are free of charge. Inside the Magic Gardens, however, people can pay ten dollars for admission, a beer (courtesy of kegs from Fergie’s Pub), a mini tour of the gardens, and a tile decorating session. Plus, the tour includes a stop in the basement, which normally isn’t open to the public. Instead of an afternoon event, the festival now runs from 6 – 10 p.m. Check out the full lineup of musicians below, and find more information on the Magic Gardens website or the Food Trust website.

LINEUP