In the Spring of 2011 the city of Philadelphia experienced a moment. An unprecedented moment of creativity, collaboration and innovation: The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA). Presented by the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, PIFA inspired our city to join together for 30 days of artistic presentations featuring more than 150 arts partners across the city. Would you believe that PIFA 2011 brought with it millions of dollars in economic activity? Amazing, right? We need more of that!

In total, more than 400,000 people – including 170,000 from outside the Greater Philadelphia region – attended the festival in venues and with partners from across the city. But beyond the numbers, PIFA put Philly’s diverse and extensive artistic contributions on the world’s center stage. This year’s PIFA will allow the community to embark on a new journey by asking “If you had a time machine…”  The answers are limitless and could include such concepts as exploring events that have or could change our world. Or, that let us see moments where new ideas were born. Or, perhaps encourage us to look back to places where history was forever altered.  Trust us, from everything we’ve heard about this incredible festival, through the expression of art we will all be transported to another time and place.  We were honored in 2011 to participate in the festival and can’t wait to design another incredible gala environment for this year’s celebration!

During the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, stop by the Kimmel Center’s Commonwealth Plaza and discover what “time travel” can mean to you on a personal level. See live performances, hear great music, grab a snack, bring the kids, and join audiences of all ages as they navigate an interactive Time Machine. As you can see from these photos, we all got to witness the construction of the time machine during yesterday’s press conference. As the always gracious Anne Ewers, President and CEO of the Kimmel Center said, “Your own heartbeat will be part of the driving force of our time machine.”

We were also treated to a preview performance of Tribe of Fools: Shut Your Wormhole. Using song, dance, and slapstick, Tribe of Fools create a fast-paced, five-part serial that comically explores the paradoxes that we often overlook when we think about time travel and the ethics that inevitably come along with the technology to change history.

Just one of many fabulous performances that will take place at this year’s Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts! So mark your calendars for a month of spectacular art ~ March 28, 2013 through April 27, 2013. Get your tickets and check the whole performance schedule HERE.

{Photos courtesy of PIFA}