A great West Philly tradition is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The 25th Annual Peoplehood Parade & Pageant, Spiral Q’s hand-made people-powered celebration of solidarity, creativity, and courage, is on Saturday, Nov. 8. It’s a day of participatory theater, live music, giant puppets, and a celebration that reminds us of our collective power and the importance of joining together.

Peoplehood starts with a parade that marches from the Paul Robeson House to Clark Park where the day culminates in a Pageant performance that celebrates the city’s vibrant communities, and collective vision for a more just and joyful Philadelphia. Peoplehood isn’t just a single Parade day, but a month-long art-making and community building process that takes hundreds of artists, organizers, families and students to create.

Peoplehood started in 2000 in partnership with the Paul Robeson House and West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and has marched annually through the streets of West Philadelphia since then. Over the past 25 years hundreds of community groups have participated in the art-making, parading and performing together. Past partners have included ACT Up, the Bearded Ladies, Iglesias Gardens, Jubilee School, Shut Down Berks Coalition, Philly CAM, Neighborhood Bike Works, Positive Movement Entertainment, the West Powelton Drum & Step Team; alongside Spiral Q’s annual partnerships with the Paul Robeson House and Friends of Clark Park.

This year, the line-up begins at 12 p.m. at the home of artist and activist Paul Robeson where parade art is laid out along 50th Street between Walnut and Chestnut and includes pre-parade performances and drumming on the Robeson House Porch. The Parade kicks off at 1 p.m. and travels 1.5 miles culminating in the bowl of Clark Park. This year’s Parade route has changed due to the new one-way on 47th Street. See the new parade route here. Street closures will begin at 10 a.m. with 50th street closed between Walnut and Chestnut.

At 12 p.m., Spiral Q’s Pageant Band will be setting up and rehearsing in Clark Park. Participants can join the parade at the start or along the route, or hang out in Clark Park to await the Parade’s arrival and for the Pageant to begin at 2:30 p.m. The pageant performance comes to life in the bowl of Clark Park with the help of park goers, families and children, as well as artists and volunteers.

For more details, visit spiralq.org and follow them on Instagram (@spiralq).