The end of summer is festival season. Last weekend saw the Lehigh Avenue Arts Festival, and this coming Saturday, thousands of residents and visitors will flock to Girard Avenue for Girard Fest, a community celebration featuring food, music, vendors, children’s activities, and overall family fun.

“This is our second annual festival,” says Suzanne Mooney, president of the Girard Business & Arts Association (GBAA), which organizes the event. The GBAA is a not-for-profit organization that represents the interests of businesses, property owners and artisans along Girard Avenue, from Front to Franklin Street, and whose goal is to develop programs and services that will make the area a favorable economic and cultural destination to live, work, shop, dine, and play.

“Last year, [the GBAA] wanted to pump some life back into the area, and somebody floated the idea of having a street festival that would also be our annual, signature fundraising event,” she adds. “And the reaction was very good. We had 100 vendors and a crowd of more than 3,000 people. That’s a big crowd for the first time out of the gate.”

And this year’s event promises to be just as good, if not better.

A highlight of the event is the beer garden, sponsored by Heineken, which not only offers a great place to hang out and enjoy some local music but is also a fundraiser for the Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum and Library, a unique collection of Civil War and Grand Army of the Republic artifacts, books and memorabilia housed in the 1796 Ruan House, a National Historic Site on Griscom Street.

While enjoying a cold pint, festival-goers in the beer garden will be entertained by one of a dozen bands onstage at the corner of Girard and North Mascher. A second stage, facing east, will be at Girard and Palethorp, and performances will alternate between the two, with one stage being active while the other is being set up.

This year’s lineup includes such local and international artists as Find Vienna, The Violet Tone, Anita Maj, and Akura Naru and the Digflo Band, among others. There will also be a special performance by Peaches and Cream, a local dance team and mentoring program for at-risk girls ages 11 to 17, whose message is “stop the violence.”

Entertainment will also be available for the youngest family members at the children’s play area, located on Palethorp right behind the Hyperion Bank building. Staff from the Portside Arts Center will be on hand, providing face painting and sand art activities, while the GBAA will offer hula hoops, bubbles for the kids (as well as a bubble machine for the area), and sidewalk chalk.

But what would a street fair be without food or vendors? A half-dozen of Philadelphia’s finest mobile food vendors will be on hand throughout the day, offering everything from sandwiches to sweets. Pick up something tasty from Yumtown USA, Lil Dan’s Sandwiches, Chef Johnny Bravo’s Surf ‘n’ Turf, The Real Latin Flavor, Zykal Mobile Water Ice and Cold Treats, or Call Me Cupcake.

And while you’re noshing, you can explore the variety of products and services for sale. You’ll find everything from t-shirts and jewelry to handbags and sunglasses, cell phones and skin care products to children’s toys and quilted baby items. There will be palm and tarot card readings, genealogical research, and massage, as well as photography and Mexican handicrafts, even financial advisors. Philly Phaithful will be promoting their unique line of Philadelphia team apparel, and Fishtown artist Victor Perez of VGroove Studios will be showing off his SK8Lamps, lamps made from recycled—or “upcycled” as he calls it—skateboards. Whether you just like to browse or are looking for a perfect gift for that someone special, there will be plenty of one-of-a-kind items from which to choose.

“This is going to be a huge event for our neighborhood and will showcase the diverse shops, restaurants, and art galleries on and around this section of Girard Avenue,” said Mooney in a release announcing the festival. “We hope that this festival will continue to attract the public and give them the opportunity to see just how much we have to offer in this trend-setting city hot spot.”

Girard Fest takes place this Saturday, September 24, from noon to 7 p.m., rain or shine. For more information, visit www.girardfest.com. If you’re interested in being a vendor, space is still available, and applications will be accepted “up to the last minute,” says Mooney. You can reserve your space with a Paypal payment ($65 for nonfood vendors) online at the festival’s website.