The PFCU Kensington Derby & Arts Festival is Back With Their Signature Muddy Derby and 200+ Vendors
What’s creative and delicious and covered in mud? The 2022 Philadelphia Federal Credit Union Kensington Derby & Arts Festival. Since 2007, the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union Kensington Derby & Arts Festival has drawn families, foodies, artists and inventors to Philadelphia for one of the city’s wackiest celebrations of local flavor. The event is part arts festival—with more than 100 vendors selling everything from food to handmade goods—and part parade of human-powered vehicles that wind along a three-mile urban obstacle course. After a three year hiatus due to COVID-19, the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union Kensington Derby & Arts Festival is excited to bring back all the art, food, and mud you love on Saturday, May 14th 2022 from 12-6 pm (Trenton Ave, Frankford Ave to Norris St).
Originally established as a way to associate the name “Kensington” with the positive artist and maker community, the event has grown into a Philadelphia-wide attraction. Neighbors and new friends alike come out to experience the parade of sculptures and shop with artists and food vendors along Trenton Avenue, a wide cobblestone street that has been part of Kensington’s rich creative history for over a hundred years.
Funds raised from the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union Kensington Derby & Arts Festival support neighborhood projects and revitalization through the community development work of the East Kensington Neighborhood Association (EKNA) and the New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC).
The Arts Festival celebrates the incredible mix of local artists, musicians, and eateries in the neighborhood. Held on Trenton Avenue, a wide cobblestone street that has been part of the community’s rich creative history for over a hundred years, the festival features over 200 local arts and food vendors.
As for the derby, teams construct a human-powered vehicle—no stored energy, motors, or electricity—and travel a 3-mile urban course through Fishtown and East Kensington, complete with obstacles. The Derby parade ends with a final mud pit obstacle in front of the viewing stands and the panel of judges. Each year, spectators and Derby Judges award the most inventive entries with prizes in a variety of categories.
