WHYY Listening Post: “The Gang Goes to Burholme”

What happens when people have access to a microphone and a platform, with an invitation to tell the invisible listener about their neighborhoods?

PlanPhilly decided to find out.

Last Thursday, we took the WHYY Listening Post out for a spin to Burholme, where the Food Trust closed off some of the major streets in Northeast Philly and opened it up to pedestrians, food vendors, and live music at the Night Market.

The Listening Post is low-tech: It is essentially a wooden podium with a recording device attached. People controlled when to start and stop recording, just as they would with a home video camera. And, like the private experiences that home movies reveal, the recordings left with WHYY were personal recommendations and nuggets of insight, from one Philadelphian to another.

An early participant in Philadelphia’s roaming food festival scene, the Night Market has drawn crowds from across the city to a neighborhood some consider off the beaten path. It surprised and delighted neighbors that the Night Market came to Burholme in 2017, and even more that it was so popular the festival returned in 2018.

Seasoned pop-up followers and food-truck aficionados expect the Night Market to attract thousands. Why was it such a big deal to Burholme?

Read the rest of the story here…

Dominique “Peak” Johnson is a North Philadelphia journalist. He is one of the founding editors of the North Philly Metropolis. Currently he freelances for WHYY, Billy Penn and Citywide Stories. Click here to learn more about Peak.