Bok’s Celebrates 10th Annual B[L]OK PARTY on June 13
Free neighborhood street fair returns to South Philly with food, music, makers, and community
Saturday, June 13 from 12pm to 4pm
(PHILADELPHIA) — JUNE 4, 2026 — The Bok Building's celebrated B[L]OK Party turns ten this year, and the celebration is bigger than ever. On Saturday, June 13, from noon to 4pm, Bok will take over Mifflin Street between 8th and 9th Streets for a free, all-ages block party that puts South Philadelphia's creative community front and center.
Free and open to the public, neighbors and friends are invited to celebrate all things Bok and South Philly with activities for kids and adults of all ages, including a bouncy castle, food trucks, arts and crafts, live music, face painting, and much more – reflecting the diversity of creativity in the Bok building, and the vibrancy of the local community.
Now in its tenth year, B[L]OK Party has become a signature ritual for the neighborhood — a chance to step outside, meet your neighbors, discover the artists and makers who call Bok home, and celebrate the kind of place this building has become. What started as a converted 1936 vocational high school has grown into one of the city's most distinctive creative ecosystems.
The B[L]OK Party showcases the mix of this vibrant community, including:
- A mix of Made at Bok vendors representing the building’s creative community, alongside interactive booths hosted by local artists, makers, and community partners.
- Hands-on art activities, live demonstrations, and face painting with participants including Alloy Atelier, Hilo Fiber Bar, Stover Ceramics, Rider Ceramics, SpArc Studios, ArtByAlicia, Wear Philthy, Remark Glass, Bok Tech Alumni, the Office of State Representative Elizabeth Fiedler, and South Philadelphia Community Fridge.
- Local food favorites including Pink’s Cold Treats, Korea Taqueria, Kouklet, The Underbite Bites, Taqueria Morales, Los Cuatro Soles, and Babalouie BBQ.
- A festive sidewalk pop-up from Bok Bar, serving up drinks.
- Live performances by CAGE, PME, Nuuxakun and DJ Global Master Groove, keeping the energy high all afternoon long.
Inside the building at Bok’s first floor WKSHP retail corridor, there will be food, coffee, and shopping at Alloy Atelier, Greenly Plant Co., Pet Riso, YUNS Hardware, Two Persons Coffee, Global Craft Market, Machine Shop Bakery, Miles Table, and Transport Cycles.
And last but not least, there will be a stand with Bok merch — available only at the B[L]OK Party!
This event is free to attend and all are welcome. In case of rain, the party will move indoors across the first floor of Bok. Learn more about the event and see who’s participating here: www.buildingbok.com/blok-party.
ABOUT BOK
The Bok Building in South Philadelphia stands as a powerful model of adaptive reuse and mission-driven development. The project transformed a 1936 historic vocational high school into a thriving, nine-story hub for creativity, entrepreneurship, and community life. Led by Scout, the project reimagines the school’s original infrastructure— terrazzo floors, lockers, and shop equipment—were preserved through a light-touch renovation that prioritizes accessibility, affordability, and cultural continuity.
Today, Bok is home to over 200 tenants, including artists, nonprofits, creative small businesses, and manufacturers. Former classrooms now house everything from clarinet repairers to tattoo studios, while the ground-floor WKSHP marketplace—formerly the auto shop—buzzes with activity from a bakery, ceramics studios, a coffee shop, artisan boutiques, and more.
Scout’s flexible leasing model has enabled remarkable tenant growth: between 2015 and 2018, 49 tenants expanded their space, with an average increase of 125.7%—proof of the model’s capacity to nurture small-scale enterprise in place. Even after reaching 100% occupancy by 2019, tenants continued to scale through internal moves, space-sharing, and collaborations, reinforcing the ecosystem’s adaptability and durability. Today, over 60% of Bok’s tenants are women- or minority-owned, far surpassing industry norms and affirming Scout’s commitment to equity as both a social and economic imperative.
The building’s rooftop venues—Bok Bar and Irwin’s, an award-winning Sicilian restaurant—along with community events, biannual Open Studios, and civic programming, have turned Bok into a destination as much as a workspace. This balance of public and private, of heritage and innovation, is central to Scout’s philosophy: by centering affordability, creative opportunity, and cultural value, Bok is more than a building—it’s a living, evolving community resource. www.buildingbok.com // www.scout-ltd.com // @buildingbok
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