East Passyunk's Flavors on the Avenue is a 5-block festival of delicious family fun

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia's East Passyunk neighborhood is getting ready for the return of its 'Flavors on the Avenue' Festival on April 28th, bringing some of the city's top restaurants, bars and cafes out to the avenue for a day of family fun.

"The vibe is just good energy," said Marlo Dilks, the owner of P'unk Burger and board member for the East Passyunk Avenue Business Improvement District. "It's such a great crowd. We have live music going on throughout the avenue. We have things for kids, we have Union soccer coming to do things for kids, and we have a bounce house. There are all different street vendors."

From family fun to culinary delights and cocktails, come hungry, and thirsty, to this year's festival.

Townsend is one of the spots offering drinks to go.

"We're also going to be doing small bites to go, something really simple," said Alex Nissley, the Chef de Cuisine at Townsend EPX. "This way, you try some of our food, but also be able to go and walk around and try everybody else's too."

The festival started back in 2007 in a parking lot and it's now a five-block-long celebration of all that East Passyunk Avenue has to offer.

"It goes from Broad Street to Dickinson," Dilks said. "We are talking up to 20,000 people."

All of those people are there to celebrate the neighborhood.

"It's incredible to be able to see the storefronts, and to see the retail shops, and to be able to stroll the Avenue and have it shut down," Dilks said. "People experience the music and the vibe. It's just at a whole different level now."

Over the years, East Passyunk has exploded with eateries, bars, cafés and shops. Most them of them are locally-owned, small businesses and Dilks would know. She opened P'unk Burger on the Avenue in 2015.

"Basically 98% of the businesses on the Avenue are local," Dilks said. "This supports that whole 'shop local' idea. There is something for everyone. It is an 'Ave for All.' That's our slogan."

East Passyunk's Flavors on the Avenue is Sunday, April 28 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. along the avenue from Broad Street to Dickinson Street. It's free and open to the public and you pay as you go.

For more information, visit VisitEastPassyunk.com.