May 26-June 1, 2005

mixpicks

'House Party

by A.D. Amorosi

Festival

You can yank the bocce out of Bella Vista and do your damnedest to extract the fishiness from Fishtown, but South Street will not be ignored. Led by the offices of the famed block's Headhouse District, enterprising activists and sellers take to the streets this summer for daily and weekly sales fairs and events, wanting to snag the sort of attention lesser areas so often receive.

While the weekly Tuesday Market Day just started up, selling everything from Fabric Row's wares along Fourth Street to organic vegetables on Passayunk Avenue at South Street, the Historic Shambles gets its once-monthly workout on Second Street beginning May 28. The Creative Collective's Crafts & Fine Arts Fair hooks up the block with tchotchkes most expect from South Street artisans: handblown glass, handcrafted jewelry, prints and paintings. Then next week, on June 5, the Shambles will overflow onto South Street Plaza for the nearly 100-vehicle-strong Italian Car show, starring the 1971 Fiat 850 Racer, the 1984 Pininfarina Azzurra and the 1991 Alfa Romeo 164S. During the rest of the summer, the Shambles will feature everything from a Caribbean festival (with Sons of Ace) to Slow Food events with more microbrews than City Paper's own Brian Howard can drink. And that's a lot.

The Creative Collective's Crafts & Fine Arts Fair, Sat., May 28, noon-11 p.m.; Sun., May 29, noon-10 p.m.; Mon., May 30, noon-6 p.m; 215-790-0782; Italian Car Festival, Sun., June 5, noon-5 p.m., 610-324-7085; free, Historic Headhouse Shambles, Second between Lombard and Pine sts.

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