Philadelphia says festival worth the investment

Mayor Nutter says most of the “Welcome America” festival gets corporate sponsors anyway

Other municipalities in the region either cut back or eliminated their holiday festivities altogether because of financial problems. Even though Philadelphia is facing a major budget crunch, Mayor Michael Nutter says Welcome America is very important.

“Philadelphia’s the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Constitution was signed here we’re the center of Liberty, Freedom and Democracy. It’s a national celebration it’s very important that it happen here in Philadelphia. This event supports that and brings tons of people from around the world I met many people Americans from other places and people internationally coming here for this particular event, it’s a winner for us.”

The mayor also says the majority of the cost of the event is picked up by corporate sponsorships.