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‘The Oval’ for 2018 opens Friday, and one key Parkway road closes for a month

Highlights include an 800-square-foot sandbox, a misting station, Friday nigh movies, and of course the beer garden.

Artist Elise Stewart paints the sun on a ground mural painted for this year's pop-up urban beach, near Eakins Oval in Philadelphia, Pa. Monday, July 16, 2018. JOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer
Artist Elise Stewart paints the sun on a ground mural painted for this year's pop-up urban beach, near Eakins Oval in Philadelphia, Pa. Monday, July 16, 2018. JOSE F. MORENO / Staff PhotographerRead moreJose F. Moreno
    by Zoe Bean
    Published 

The pop-up summer park the Oval reopens Friday, expanding beyond Eakins Oval this year and more Instagram-worthy than ever, with extra public furniture and whimsical structures, more public art, and a sizable public road closure, too.

The outdoor attraction, formally known as Oval+, will close the outbound outer lanes of Ben Franklin Parkway to traffic from 20th Street to Eakins Oval through Aug. 26, decorating the closed lane and some intersections with big, bright street murals by Mural Arts Philadelphia. The bike lane will remain open.

Staffed park hours are 11 a.m. through 11 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, July 20 to Aug. 19. Beer Garden hours are 5-11 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, and 2-11 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Friday's grand-opening activities will begin at 5 p.m. when a phalanx of food trucks arrives, and conclude with a 9 p.m. outdoor screening of The Greatest Showman — the first of four Food and Flicks Fridays this season.

This year's highlights include an 800-square-foot sandbox, a misting station, climbing wall, beer garden, and a weekly rotation of activities Wednesday through Sunday:

  1. Wellness Wednesdays (5-9 p.m.) bring in free yoga, dance, kickboxing, and boot camp-style exercise classes led by local studios.

  2. Arts and Culture Thursdays (7-11 p.m.) feature DJ dance parties and hip-hop classes.

  3. Upcoming Food and Flicks Fridays (5-11 p.m) will show Karate Kid (Aug. 3), Wayne's World (Aug. 10), and Creed (Aug. 17). There is no movie on July 27.

  4. Game Day Saturdays feature Quizzo in the beer garden 4-6 p.m.

  5. Sunday Family Fundays (2-7 p.m.) include dance parties, face painting, and games.

"People of all ages wanted opportunities to play," said Jamie Gauthier, executive director of the Fairmount Park Conservancy, which partners with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation to create the Oval every year.

She hopes the splashy Mural Arts street art, designed by illustrators at the local company The Heads of State, will entice pedestrians and cyclists to enter and explore this summer's pop-up park.