LOVE Park is back with a fresh fall pop-up market, complete with live music

Fall is popping and so is a new LOVE Park market featuring Black and Latino businesses there to fulfill your seasonal wish list with tea, local fashion, wellness products, and more.

For the next four weekends, an eclectic roster of local indie businesses including Sable Collective, Gynger Tea, Wildflower Herbs, justKEEBS, Nubian K. Essentials, She’s Phenomenal Fashions, and Marlie D’apparel, and dozens more will be set up at the park outside of City Hall.

The market will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, when there will also be free community yoga and meditation classes.

“The return of programming to LOVE Park is another sign that Philadelphia’s iconic Center City attractions are open and welcoming to visitors,” said Kathryn Ott Lovell, commissioner of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, during a news conference on Friday.

The Pop Up Marketplace is the result of a partnership between the city, the Magic Makers Marketing Collective, and Mural Arts Philadelphia, as well as the Great Philadelphia African American and Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. More than 50 vendors are participating in total.

Organizers say the market is designed to reflect the city’s diversity and provide residents with a safe space to enjoy the crisp fall days.

“This initiative provides our organization with another opportunity to highlight the significant contributions of the Latino/x businesses while also bolstering businesses for families and our community,” said Jennifer Rodriguez, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, in a statement. LOVE Park has recently hosted other events celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs through Oct. 15.

The market also coincides with a city-backed music series at the park highlighting local Black musicians. Dubbed Black Music City, that series is being put on by WRTI, WXPN, and REC Philly.

That series, like the market, reflects an effort to bring people and economic activity back to Center City after the worst of the pandemic.

“Small businesses play a vital role in the Greater Philadelphia economy and we know the benefits of shopping locally,” said Regina A. Hairston, president and CEO at the African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. “When we invest in our local businesses, we are each doing our part to contribute to economic recovery, promote local shopper engagement, and keep our neighbors employed in these tough times.”