November 2025: Recap Blog
Philly Festivals Network Kick-Off Event: Recap & Reflections
On Friday, October 24th, we held the first official gathering of the Philly Festivals Network. This Network, meant to fill a gap we’ve noticed in Philadelphia’s festival landscape, brought together a group of festival, event, and cultural producers from across the city. The day was filled with large and small group discussions, as well as a creative art therapy session. The connections, ideas, and camaraderie that came from this gathering was the perfect platform to launch the Philly Festivals Network into the world.
General Session
After a round of introductions, we opened with a Lightning Talk from Tieshka K. Smith, photographer and author of Compositions of Black Joy. Tieshka’s talk, Investing in Legacy, highlighted the importance of collaboration between festivals and photographers and videographers. In order to ensure that joy, history, and liberation continue to endure and grow, Tieksha called on the festival community to consider how a relationship between festivals and photographers are mutually beneficial: “Investing in professional documentation helps preserve the legacy of festivals, stories, people, and community.”
Following the Lightning Talk was our keynote speaker: J.J. El-Far. J.J., the Founder and Principal of FRANK Creative Solutions, assists DiasporaDNA with all things sponsorship, partnership, and development–and her keynote addressed just this. In The Art of Partnership: Building a Future for Festivals, J.J. acknowledged the struggle that many festivals and nonprofit organizations are facing: limited amounts of resources available for the number of organizations that exist. While many face this truth, creating lasting partnerships that are built on trust and maintaining those relationships are the way through. Like J.J. said, we need to focus on bringing the URL to the IRL to create lasting connections.
The remainder of our day was filled with smaller group discussions and a creative art therapy session. One thing we as the DiasporaDNA team learned at this event is the value of bringing people together and to make sure there is ample time for networking and small group discussion at our upcoming events. The attendees were so deep in conversation that it took some nudging for them to start the creative art therapy workshop! Even so, Priscilla Koilor of Mobile Holistic Healing Services led our festival and cultural producers through a workshop where they were encouraged to create freely and also discuss the stressors they experience.
This convening of the Philly Festivals Network has already inspired events, gatherings, and support to come. We were delighted by the names, numbers, and emails that were swapped among our attendees and the energy they brought to the day. They were engaged from beginning to end and exclusively shared their stories with us.
Interviews
“Philly is a city of neighborhoods.” This sentiment is one most native Philadelphians are very familiar with, and one echoed by many of our interviewees at the Planning Session. A city of neighborhoods it is indeed, a structure that lends itself to creating a wide range of festivals for us to partake in. What shockingly had never struck me until I sat down across these interviewees was just how much the contours of our neighborhoods have shaped Philly’s festival landscape.
Everyone born and raised here is well-acquainted with the unique joy that is attending a Philly block party, and while they serve an important role in strengthening our hyper-local bonds, these more encompassing festivals are a fundamental part of forming and expressing each neighborhood’s distinct identity. One example that perfectly encapsulates this experience is Olney Culture Lab’s Youth Arts Festival. Olney exists as a microcosm for the city at large, with about 40 different languages being spoken and a culture informed by the diversity of its residents. Through the festival, Onley’s youth are able to come together to showcase their creativity in dance and movement expression–a celebration that unites them under the banner of their neighborhood, and one to be shared with attendees from Philadelphia and beyond.
The Youth Arts Festival is rooted in its geographical hub, and it finds its counterparts in our festivals that are instead shaped by heritage and cultural identity. These festivals allow the diversity and richness of our communities to shine, uplifting the distinct cultural identities that contribute to the very fabric of our city. Taller Puertorriqueño’s Feria del Barrio, now in its 41st year, brings together Latino-led organizations to host a celebration of their culture, music, dance, and food. With musicians ranging from local artists to groups from Puerto Rico itself, the festival’s performances remind us of the global network our city is part of and the beauty that exists in our diaspora.
The sense of pride and sincerity that was present in all our interviews is truly reflective of the nature of festivals in Philadelphia. Having seen and experienced the vibrancy of our communities firsthand, these cultural producers cultivate spaces for celebration and expression. It is in these spaces that we can see reflections of our friends, family, and ourselves, with festivals existing as a mirror into this special city of neighborhoods.
We are grateful for the turnout, the participation, and the dedication of our team and attendees for the Philly Festivals Network: Planning Session. As 2025 comes to a close and we wind down our programming season at DiasporaDNA, we continue to plan programs and events for the Network. Keep an eye out for more Philly Festival Network initiatives coming in 2026!