About

The Kensington Derby & Arts Festival celebrates human-powered transit, neighborhood artists, and local businesses in Kensington.

Originally established as a way to associate the name "Kensington" with the positive artist and maker community, the event has grown into a Philadelphia-wide attraction. Neighbors and new friends alike come out to experience the parade of sculptures and shop with artists and food vendors along Frankford Avenue in the heart of East Kensington.

Funds raised from the Kensington Derby & Arts Festival support neighborhood projects and revitalization through the community development work of the East Kensington Neighborhood Association (EKNA) and the Fishtown District.

New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) started the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby in 2007 as an economic development initiative to promote local artists, neighborhood businesses, and the area’s commercial corridors. The Derby was held in conjunction with the Trenton Avenue Arts Festival, started by East Kensington Neighbors Association (EKNA) the year before. The two groups joined forces for a combined festival beginning in 2015.

In 2022, former organizers turned over the reins to Fishtown District to bring the event back after a two-year break. While the organizing organization has evolved, this event has grown into and will still continue to be an annual fundraising effort for East Kensington Neighbors Association and supports their ongoing mini-grant program, which gives back to local nonprofits and businesses in the East Kensington neighborhood.

Arts Festival

The Arts Festival celebrates the incredible mix of local artists, musicians, and eateries in the neighborhood. Held on Trenton Avenue, a wide cobblestone street that has been part of the community's rich creative history for over a hundred years, the festival features over 100 local arts and food vendors and features performances by local musicians throughout the day.

Kinetic Sculpture Derby

Derby teams construct a human-powered vehicle—no stored energy, motors, or electricity—and travel a 3-mile urban course through Fishtown and East Kensington, complete with obstacles. The Derby parade ends with a final mud pit obstacle in front of the viewing stands and the panel of judges. Each year, spectators and Derby Judges award the most inventive entries with prizes in a variety of categories.