Philadelphia Lifts Ban On Some Large Outdoor Events, Applications Now Accepted
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Major outdoor events like concerts, festivals and parades are coming back to Philadelphia. The city announced Tuesday that the Office of Special Events and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation will begin accepting special event permit applications starting March 16.
The Streets Department will begin accepting permit applications for block parties and street festivals on April 15.
They will work to review and approve applications on a rolling basis as soon as possible.
Events that are permitted by the city are subject to following the Department of Public Health's guidance that is in effect on the date of the event, including crowd size limits.
Organizers will now be required to either certify they will follow all local COVID-19 public health guidance or submit a COVID-19 safety plan for approval depending on the size and type of event.
The city says the events that are approved will be determined based on a number of factors including compliance with COVID-19 public health guidance, availability of the requested space on the proposed date, the number of other special events scheduled for the proposed date and the type and amount of city services required.
Organizers of the Dad Vail Regatta say the event, which is the largest collegiate rowing event in the world, is scheduled for May 7 and 8. Stotesbury Cup organizers say the largest high school rowing event in the world is set to sail down the Schuylkill the following weekend.
Those regattas had to be canceled last year due to the pandemic.
The Manayunk Art Festival is slated to take place in late June. Organizers say its draws in over 200,000 people and that it's the Tri-State's largest outdoor juried arts festival.
The announcement comes after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday rolled back some restrictions on restaurants and businesses.
CBS3's Howard Monroe contributed to this report.
