| Wawa Welcome America | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Holiday, Parade |
| Format | Holiday-themed series of events, parade and fireworks |
| Presented by | Rick Williams Cecily Tynan |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 2 (As of 4 July 2011[update]) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | 6abc |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV} (HDTV) |
| Original run | July 4, 2010 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | 6abc IKEA Thanksgiving Day Parade |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Wawa Welcome America is an annual series of celebrations leading up to Independence Day, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, currently sponsored by Wawa and aired on WPVI-TV, and starts 10 days prior to Independence Day. It was formerly known as the Sunoco Welcome America event. The parade is announced by Mayor Michael Nutter and it is hosted by Rick Williams and Cecily Tynan.
Contents |
Taste of Philadelphia starts out the festivities as various Philadelphia-favorite foods are sampled throughout the week leading up to Independence Day. Go 4th And Learn is a storytelling venue where historical stories of Independence Day are told. Philly @ The Movies shows favorite films. Concerts are held in the last week as well. Wawa Hoagie Day was held on June 29 during the 2011 celebration, where a large hoagie is built and served. In 2011, a Chinatown block party was held on July 2, and fireworks were also displayed later that night. The "Super Scooper Ice Cream Festival" was held on July 2 - 4 as well, and the Philly Pops gave a concert on July 3.
On July 4 itself, the Independence Hall celebration was first held, then the Independence Day parade, then the "Party on the Parkway" is held that lasts until a large, free concert that features headline acts gets underway in the early evening. That concert lasts until about 10-11 PM EDT, and then the grand finale of fireworks are held near the Philadelphia Museum of Art to cap off the Welcome America celebration.
Wawa Welcome America features thousands of festivities[6abc 1] like Wawa Hoagie Day, which thousands of people from around the world enjoy a footlong Wawa hoagie made by real Wawa workers. The parade also has music from many performers such as The Roots, who reside in Philadelphia. along with Earth, Wind and Fire, Michael McDonald, Estelle, Sara Bareilles, and Philly's own D.J. Jazzy Jeff.