PTW19 Kickoff Festival in Old City

This year’s kickoff aims to blend the best of Philly Tech Week 2019 with a 27-year-old tradition of arts and culture in Philadelphia known as First Friday where galleries traditionally open their doors and the sidewalks fill with people looking to see the newest collections.

Meet technologists, artists and entrepreneurs alike through this neighborhood-wide, one-night activation.

Official Kickoff HQ Sponsored & Hosted By:

We'll be activating in Linode's lobby space at 249 Arch St. and across the street in their parking lot for lots of fun activations, games and networking.

What to expect at the Linode HQ:

• Baltimore based Kombucha company, Wild Kombucha, will be pouring samples for you to enjoy. They make organic, non-gmo, vegan, gluten free and probiotic Kombucha.
• Sample some whiskey from Powers Irish Whiskey. Powers is made through a unique triple-distilled pot still process. Powers Gold Label was the first Irish Whiskey to be bottled in Dublin.
• Drinks provided by Quaker City Shrubs, Red Bull, and Tito's Handmade Vodka
• Snack on Loaded French Toast Bites made with love by Lokal Artisan Foods!
• Play Startup Wars - a game that allows players to learn entrepreneurship while battling for top-dawg in their virtual city. Powered by OpenForge.
• Make your mark on Grue and Bleen's "Why I Love Philly" website

Looking for art to hang in your office or home, and support the local creative community at the same time? Join our “Buy Local Art” challenge and help us reach the goal of $10,000 of local art purchased by the tech community during Philly Tech Week 2019 presented by Comcast.

PTW19 Scavenger Hunt:

Get excited to get your phone out, because there are 40 locations participating in the inaugural PTW19 scavenger hunt created by Scavify, an Old City-based app designer and official partner in kickoff fun and games!

It’s easy to play to win prizes like tickets to PTW19 community calendar events, gadgets, experiences, gift bags and more. All you need to do is download the Scavify app by Friday, May 3, and complete the tasks while walking the footprint of the official festival.

How you’ll play to win:

Start your PTW19 experience at Linode our official headquarters for the PTW19 Kickoff Festival. You’ll want to stop in to take a tour of this four-story, 15,000-square-foot neoclassical beauty with Roman columns, more than a century of history in its walls and a secret vault in the basement. The team also plans to deck out the employee parking lot to create a family-friendly tech playground located directly across from building, right on N3RD Street — not to mention the crew behind Philly Tech Week will be stationed there with PTW19 t-shirts and all types of PTW-related swag and enthusiasm!

Players that get closest to 215 points will be entered to win the top prizes while all players will be eligible to win a variety of smaller prizes and gifts. Winners will all be determined by raffle, and you have from Friday, May 3, through Friday, May 10, to complete this hunt. You’ll get the notification about the prizes via Scavify the morning of May 11.

These Old City spots are participating in the scavenger hunt:

• Independence Visitor Center Corporation
• 36 Craven
• ArcWeb
• BIELLO MARTIN STUDIO
• Bluestone Fine Art Gallery
• Brave New World Comics
• Cherry Street Pier
• Chez Ben
• Chloe
• Continental Old City
• Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar
• Elfreth’s Alley Museum
• Fireman’s Hall Museum
• Fringe Arts
• Gallery51
• Garfield Group
• Independence Orthodontics
• Indy Hall
• Linode
• Linode Parking Lot
• M.Brown’s
• MILLESIME
• Minima
• Momo’s Tree House
• Old City Coffee, Inc
• Old City Jewish Arts Center
• Opportunity Barks Behavior & Training
• Pentimenti Gallery
• Petit Jardin en Ville
• Pinot Boutique Wine Bar
• Positano Coast by Aldo Lamberti
• Science History Institute (featuring activations by The Philadelphia Science Festival)
• Secret Location #1
• Secret Location #2
• Secret Location #3
• The Center for Art in Wood
• The Clay Studio
• The National
• United By Blue
• Wexler Gallery

Check out these fun activations along the way:

• Challenge friends to a few rounds of Shapes the Game at Elfreth’s Alley Museum.
• See the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion mural comes to life with Yetzer Studio’s Philly Insects AR app at Elfreth’s Alley Museum.
• Drive robots with Central High School's Robolancers and student reps. from local robotics teams at MILLESIME.

Special thanks to The Old City District and The Philadelphia Design District for their support of #PTW19!

Discounted Parking:

The AutoPark at Independence Mall is a 24-hour, fully enclosed and secure self-park garage operated by the Philadelphia Parking Authority located underneath the Independence Visitor Center.

• Evening Weekend Rate: $7
• Available Friday and Saturday
• Enter after 5 p.m., Exit by 3 a.m.