Pride, Roots Picnic make for busy weekend in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It'll be a busy weekend in Philadelphia. Two events are expected to draw in thousands: the Philly Pride March & Festival, and the Roots Picnic at Fairmount Park.
In the city's Gayborhood, business owners we spoke to say they've been busy the last several days preparing for what they expect to be the largest Pride weekend since the start of the pandemic.
Part of pride weekend is making people feel welcomed, and Wishbone's Alan Segel is welcoming people to his Gayborhood restaurant by stockpiling more than 1,500 pounds of chicken.
"An insane amount of food we're bringing in," Segel said. "Our kitchen, our walk-in is just full right now. We have just tons of food, tons of chicken, beer, cocktails. We're ready to roll for this weekend"
Segel says Pride weekend typically brings in long lines and a hearty amount of money to his restaurant.
"It's our biggest weekend of the year," he said. "We love serving this crowd, this community. It is just so much celebration."
Next door at cockatoo, Ram Krishnan says they have their plan in place and are ready to go.
"It all seems to be coming together. It's a lot of excitement in the air."
The excitement in Philadelphia isn't just for Pride weekend, as the annual Roots Picnic is also being held this weekend at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts.
Shawn Gee, president of Live Nation Urban, says the Roots Picnic generates a different kind of economic impact for the local arts scene, as local up-and-coming musicians will be featured prominently in the festival.
"Hopefully after you leave the festival, you discover some people as well. Discovery is a really big tenet of the Roots Picnic," he said.
Business owners like Krishnan and Segel also hope people will discover their bars and restaurants this weekend.
"It's great. I mean, post-pandemic certainly certain things have come back, others haven't, so it's a great great kind of boost for us."