Subscriber Services |

Happy Kind Of Jam On Market St.

by Marianne Costantinou, Daily News Staff Writer

Posted: July 02, 1993

Market Street was all swiveling hips and snapping fingers last night during a rockin', rollin' block party.

The four-block jam was the highlight of Day 7 of the Welcome America! celebration, an 11-day orgy of parties and special events to commemorate the opening of the Pennsylvania Convention Center and the Fourth of July.

It was curb-to-curb people as thousands turned out for the festivities along Market Street, between 9th and 13th streets.

Jugglers and an Uncle Sam on stilts moved through the crowds. At a booth, children got free facepainting, while clowns gave out fanciful balloon sculptures.

To help buoy the spirits there was a wide array of food - from soul food to Chinese food to health food - courtesy of vendors from the Reading Terminal Market and the Gallery.

Crowds jammed around stages to watch students perform ballet, to clap to the beat of Ukrainian folk dancers, and to cheer on Rollerblade racers.

One of the most popular attractions was The Hubcabs, an oldies group. Little kids and old ladies, black folks and white danced with strangers as the group did an uncanny imitation of Chubby Checker's "The Twist."

"I feel the groove comin' on," said the singer, as the crowd shouted for an encore.

And folks kept on groovin' all night.