'3rd Thurs.' highlights area's best

Hundreds attended the food and cultural events centered near Sansom Common. The way to a person's heart may indeed be through their stomach -- at least, if yesterday's "Go West! Go International! 3rd Thursdays" festival was any indication. Drawn by the promise of international cuisine ranging from Ethiopian to Indian -- not to mention performances by pop singer Michelle Lewis, two local bands and several dance groups -- several hundred people ate their way through a festival dedicated to the food and music of West Philadelphia yesterday in the first of a series of "3rd Thursday" events. The monthly festivals will run through next May. The community residents, students, faculty and staff members who attended the event on the 3600 blocks of Walnut, Chestnut and Sansom streets, as well as the 3400 block of Sansom Street, were also entertained by caricaturists, face painters and balloon-animal makers. Other attractions were held at the University Museum, the White Dog Cafe and the Institute of Contemporary Art. Mount Airy-resident Lauren Nassau, who heard about the event over University-owned radio station WXPN-FM (88.5), said she enjoyed the event and hopes to return to the area. "I got myself a beer and came and danced. It's nice down here, lots of people of different ages," she said. "I should come down to the city more often." Attracting people like Nassau to the event was a top priority for the festival's organizers, who hope events like yesterday's will succeed in making city and suburban residents aware of University City's diversity and vitality. The events -- including yesterday's "Go West! Go International" inaugural festival -- are sponsored by the University City District, a two-year-old organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in the area while promoting it to other city and suburban residents. Penn was one of the UCD's founding members, and continues to be its largest supporter. UCD Executive Director Paul Steinke hailed yesterday's event for attracting a "nice mix" of people. "We're all very impressed with both the number and the diversity of the people," he said. "It looks like a nice mix of students, staff [and] neighborhood folk." During the festival, 18 local restaurants set up booths offering samples of their fare for prices ranging from $1 to $6. Richard DeMatt, co-owner of The Marigold Dining Room at 501 S. 45th Street, said the festival was "most definitely" going to bring his restaurant new customers. But there was more to the event than just food -- organizers hoped festival-goers would strike off on their own and explore other neighborhood attractions like ICA, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary with an exhibit entitled, "From Warhol to Mapplethorpe: Three Decades of Art at ICA." Second year History graduate student Kyle Farley said he enjoyed the ICA exhibition, referring to the museum as a "hidden gem of the campus." Other activities included a "Happy Hour for Social Activists" at the White Dog Cafe and a "Zesty Fiesta" at the University Museum with food and music to complement its collection of Meso-American artifacts. A free shuttle bus ran in a continuous loop around University City to help festival-goers get around the area, while Penn and the city offered free and discounted parking.