It was so great to close out 2024 with our Walk Around Philadelphia year-end celebration and first Circumnavigator Awards, where we recognized some of the intrepid folk who have completed the entire 100+ mile trek around the entire city of Philadelphia. You can hear from them below!
We started 2024 off with a great New Year’s Day walk in Cobbs Creek Park with our pals from WeWalkPHL…
… and then had a whole pile of sold out / at-capacity groups for our winter walk programs…
… where we encountered much magic…
… and triumphed over many obstacles…
… while making new friends…
… as we set out to expore the city’s edge.
During the spring & summer, we set out to reach out and invite neighbors along the city’s edge…
… with info stations in Cobbs Creek Park & Eastwick…
… and printmaking workshops at Cherry Street Pier…
… and a few bonus pop-up walks in all sorts of weather!
We also made time to brave the sweltering summer heat to repair our wayfinding installation at Lardner’s Point Park that someone apparently tried to steal!
(Big thanks to our pals at Riverfront North for their support with this.)
In September, we set out to do the whole thing again…
… finding our way to landscapes that, even on my 14th complete pass around the entire city’s edge, I’d never seen before.
We navigated more obstacles…
… made more friends…
… and even started recruiting a next generation of walkers!
(This little one *really* wanted to come with us… )
We encountered angels along the way with the fall walks being the first season where each walk segment featured Trail Angels who greeted our weary walkers with surprise snacks!
(NOTE: If you’re planning on joining the walk, please don’t *expect* Trail Angels. We definitely can’t guarantee that they’ll be out there!)
If you have a penchant for hospitality and would like to support our groups of walkers, you can definitely sign up to volunteer!)
We also had some great support from Lily, Walk Around Philadelphia‘s new Project Coordinator. Thank you Lily!
We also overcame a lot of barriers this year, not just in the form of fallen trees but also in the form of financial barriers (this year the Walk provided 22 stipend-supported registrations, helping defray costs by participants facing financial hardship.)
… and so after many more great adventures…
… all the way around the entire city border…
… we got our little closet space at Cherry Street Pier organized…
(Thank you Rachel!)
… got some new wayfinding signs up at Race Street Pier & Spruce Street Harbor Park…
(Thank you to Diana, and the DRWC, and again to Rachel!)
… we closed the year out with reflection, celebration and community at our year-end event…
… where we premiered some new swag including the Circunavigator pins that we’re giving to folks who’ve completed the entire walk, and the Perimeter Love pins which we’re giving to our Trail Angels and other folks who’ve been big supporters of the project.
(Not pictured: we also have cool new patches!)
And so enough from me… I invite you to instead hear about Walk Around Philadelphia from some of the folks who’ve done it. This video’s a bit longer, but well worth a listen.
We had 11 Circumnavigators at our year-end event, but when you start counting folks like Andee & her pals who did it on their own, there are at least 30 folks out there that we know of that have done the whole thing!
Here’s where we need your help:
Making these kinds of experiences happen takes a ton amount of work, both out in the field and behind the scenes.
Right now Walk Around Philadelphia has been getting by on a shoestring budget with a ton of volunteer labor and less than ten hours a week of paid administrative support, and that’s not sustainable.
In 2025, I’m going to be focusing on grantwriting and fundraising to build the resources needed to continue to develop this project. And we need your help!
Please make a financial contribution to support the walk if you’re able to. You can also help by connecting the project to foundations or individuals with access to more resources or even just recommending us to the REI Cooperative Action Fund.
