2nd Street Festival returns to Northern Liberties this weekend

The annual 2nd Street Festival makes its long-awaited return to Northern Liberties this Sunday following multiple pandemic-induced delays.

It’s been three years since Second Street was lined with vendors, artists, and cocktails galore in the summer. This Sunday, visitors can expect the stretch between Girard Avenue to Spring Garden to be packed with attendees excited to return.

More than 50 businesses will be offering food and beverages, and 15 beer and cocktail gardens will line the street. The festival’s executive producer, Ann Lastuvka, says one drink to look out for comes from El Camino Real.

“What they do is they gut fresh pineapples every year and then they put pineapple margaritas in there,” Lastuvka said “And everybody is just walking throughout the footprint with these really big, larger-than-life cocktails.”

Dozens of vendors will be selling various wares, making up the largest physical footprint in the festival’s history. Lastuvka says neighborhood businesses are eager for an economic boost this weekend.

“Anecdotally, I’ve heard from businesses that they make twice or three times as much as a normal sales day on a Sunday,” Lastuvka said. “That’s just amazing.”

More than a dozen musical acts are also slated to perform during the festival.

The festival, which is free to the public, will take place from noon to 9 p.m.

The entirety of 2nd Street from Girard Avenue to Spring Garden Street will be closed to traffic. All inlet side streets will be closed to incoming and outgoing traffic, and cars in the immediate vicinity of the 2nd Street intersections will be towed.