About the 2008 Festival:
Festival History

It all started twenty years ago when Friends of OARC, a group of passionate and dedicated volunteers, organized the first Super Saturday Street Fair to encourage shoppers to return to the 7100 block of Ogontz Avenue and to foster community pride. The festival, held every June, featured rides and games for children, live music, vendors, and arts & crafts. It was a good start.

In 2003, Jack Kitchen, President and CEO of OARC, recognized both the need and opportunity to introduce a broader audience to the resources available in West Oak Lane and along the Ogontz Avenue commercial corridor. Mr. Kitchen realized that OARC could accomplish both goals by building on the success of Super Saturday, and transformed what had been a community street festival into a major regional event called the West Oak Lane Jazz & Arts Festival.  “What began five years ago as a means of marketing and showcasing the West Oak Lane community to the region, the Festival has since grown into an international event, attracting visitors and performers from around the globe”, commented Mr. Kitchen.

Now things really started cooking.

OARC brought in LifeLine Music Coalition, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving jazz music and the arts in Philadelphia. Working with OARC staff, volunteers, and other festival planners, in 2004 LifeLine produced the first three-day festival which featured over 170 Philadelphia area jazz musicians/artists. They added poetry/spoken word performances, dancers and artists. They lined up a variety of vendors at 12 venues throughout the community. It was a huge hit!

But there was still room for more. So in 2005, OARC contracted with October Gallery, host of the renowned African-American Art Expo, to add an art pavilion, which featured over 50 artists/exhibitors.

Thanks to these artists, featured music groups, hundreds of Philadelphia area musicians, poets/spoken word performers, dancers, and a variety of arts/crafts vendors, the Festival has grown into a can´t-miss event, attracting more than 100,000 people in 2005 and 2006.

Last year, our 2007 Festival recorded the highest attendance ever, with more than 300,000 visitors from up and down the East Coast. But we aren´t resting on our laurels. We have lots more surprises in store. Check this site frequently to see how we're going to outdo ourselves this year. Save the date for 2008!