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City parks to host 14 traveling beer gardens this summer

The pop-ups will sell beer, wine, soft drinks, and food. Amenities will help people better enjoy the parks.

We're a mobile society. Now even our pop-up beer gardens can move, too.

Fourteen parks will be visited in the pilot year. Most sessions will be Friday to Sunday, though some will be open from Wednesday through Sunday.

The first stop will be Schuylkill Banks at the Walnut Street Bridge, giving great views of the July 4 fireworks. Also, trucks will be outside of Aviator Park, by the Franklin Institute, at the start of the Democratic National Convention.

Parks on Tap will have two trucks – one with regional craft beers, wine, and nonalcoholic beverages, and another selling sandwiches, salads, grab-and-go items, and pie-in-a-jar.

At each stop, Parks on Tap will provide seating, restrooms, and additional amenities, including live music, games, and pre-packaged picnics on site in addition to each park's activities and events.

The city is not spending anything to mount the program, representatives said. Hornik - who created Morgan's Pier, Winterfest at Penn's Landing, and the Pennsylvania Horticutural Society's first pop-up beer garden in 2013 - is laying out the investment. A portion of the proceeds from Parks on Tap will benefit city parks.

The schedule (those denoted by an asterisk are extended):

6/29 – 7/4* Schuylkill Banks at Walnut Street Bridge

7/8 – 7/10 Shofuso Japanese House and Garden

7/15 – 7/17 Belmont Plateau

7/20 – 7/25* Aviator Park in front of the Franklin Institute

7/27 – 7/31* Clark Park

8/3 – 8/7* Jefferson Square Park

8/12 – 8/14 Playing Angels at Kelly Drive and Fountain Green Drive

8/19 – 8/21 Penn Treaty Park

8/26 – 8/28 Paine's Park

9/2 – 9/4 FDR Park

9/7 – 9/11* Fairmount Water Works Side Lawn

9/16 – 9/18 Mt. Pleasant Mansion

9/21 – 9/25* Powers Park

9/30 – 10/2 Lemon Hill