Jason Derulo and Ava Max will headline Wawa Welcome America’s return to the Parkway
The two weeks of festivities will begin with a Juneteenth block party on June 19 and will end on July 4 with a party on the Parkway and fireworks over the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
After two years of scaled-back operations due to the pandemic, Philadelphia’s Wawa Welcome America Fourth of July bash will return in full force to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway this year — culminating in a fireworks display and live concert featuring Jason Derulo and pop star Ava Max.
“The 2022 Wawa Welcome America festival is back,” Michael DelBene, Wawa Welcome America president and CEO, said Tuesday. “We are delighted to once again have the opportunity to call our city together.”
In 2020, the festival — which typically draws thousands to the bustling Parkway — was mostly virtual, and featured Derulo and Cynthia Erivo singing to an empty Met Philadelphia. Last year, a smaller concert, headlined by Flo Rida, took place at the Mann Center.
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The full-fledged return of the 30-year-old celebration to the city’s core, said Mayor Jim Kenney, “is very exciting, and demonstrates the strength and resilience of our residents who faced so many challenges over the last two-plus years.”
The two weeks of Welcome America festivities will begin with a Juneteenth block party June 19 and will end July 4 with a party on the Parkway and fireworks over the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The 16-day free festival will include “honest, inclusive and diverse programming” that “recognizes and reflects the lives, the voices, and the experiences of all Americans,” DelBene said.
The expansive 2022 lineup will feature free museum admissions, several block parties and neighborhood events, a spotlight on Latin and Hispanic cultures, the return of the July Fourth parade, fireworks over Cherry Street Pier, and the annual giveaway of 30,000 Wawa hoagies.
Concerts will also return to Independence Mall, including performances by the Philly POPS, the U.S. Army Field Band, and gospel legend Yolanda Yvette Adams.
More information and a complete program of events can be found at welcomeamerica.com.