2026
May 2-3
Philadelphia’s Cherry St. Pier
121 N. Columbus Blvd.
YOU WERE
BORN TO
PLAY
A FREE
circus and play festival for young people and families.
ABOUT
Wild Horizon is a glimpse of what can happen when we play and perform in public space.
Celebrated local companies, far-flung dreamers, and international touring artists fill the pier with breathtaking performances from morning to dusk.
Join the takeover of Philadelphia’s Cherry Street Pier, an urban ruin reimagined as a place for creativity, for a weekend of wonderful journeys and fun ideas fit for young ones, families, and adventurers of all ages.
Building on the legacy of Philadelphia's recent spring circus festivals, including FringeArts' and Circadium's Hand to Hand and 2025's Philadelphia Contemporary Circus Festival, Wild Horizon takes circus and play into public space, focusing on a vital and underserved audience: children and families. Using international collaborations to spur the development of US-based circus artists, Wild Horizon presents thoughtful, complete works for young people, while simultaneously building a playground for bold new ideas and artistic experiments.
KNOCK OUT
Full Scale Performances
The Boy and the Ball
Stephen Noonan / The Paper Boats
AustraliaLet's Jam Baby
Ninth Planet
PhillyCRASSH_Babies 2.0
WETTUMTUM
PortugalRecycled for the River
Esther Baker Tarpaga
PhillyHazard House
Stephen Carl Doutt
PhillyISLAND
Tammy Carrasco
PhillyRebel Rebellion Cabaret
Rebel Arts Movement
PhillyWell Balanced Dads
Whisper Theatre
ChicagoFREESTYLE
Off The Wall Interactions
Rebel Arts Carnival
Rebel Arts Movement
PhillyMountain Goat Mountain
Threshold
AustraliaKnotbox
Jeff Evans
PhillyEyes Open, Eyes Closed
Performa Choreographic
PhillyPOP UP
Short Form Adventures
DAM
David Chervony
ChicagoSinky The Pirate
Brooke Shilling
PhillyMinistry of Loneliness
Irina Varina
PhillyVenn Diagram
Hooligans & Co.
ChicagoWILD SEEDS
Residency + Fellowship
Markas + Marija Liberman
LithuaniaChloe Reynolds + Four Dillon
LA+PhillyLucky & Star
Julia Baccellieri + Lex Ashton
Denver+NYSpoolhouse Rock
Full Out Formula
ChicagoEmmanuel Becerra
Mexico
WILD SEEDS
Wild Seeds is the residency at the heart of Wild Horizon, where international circus, dance, and performance artists spend a week creating new site-specific work on the pier. During the festival, audiences encounter these brand-new performance experiments as pop-up shows, roaming performances, interactive encounters, and unexpected moments of spectacle throughout the waterfront.
The Boy and the Ball
Stephen Noonan / The Paper Boats
Sat, May 2 11:30am Sun, May 3 1:00pm
Let's Jam Baby
Ninth Planet
Sat, May 2 10:00am, 2:00pm Sun, May 3 10:00am
Rebel Arts Carnival
Rebel Arts Movement
Sat, May 2 12 - 5PM
ACCESSIBILITY + INFO
- Cherry Street Pier: ADA Accessible, restrooms on site, meals for purchase, rain or shine.
- Race Street Pier: ADA Accessible
- Paid Parking: 325 N Columbus Blvd. & Waterfront Parking (located near Penn's Landing)
- Complete info at: www.cherrystreetpier.com
BECOME A SPONSOR
$100 - Comunity Sponsor
- Name included on shared thank-you signage
- Recognition on the website
- Mention in festival e-blasts
$500 - Show Sponsor
- Small-scale event signage
- Verbal thank-you before a sponsored show
- Acknowledgment on the website
$2,500 - Founding Sponsor
- Prominent signage at the event
- Personal thank-you announced across the pier both days
- Permanent recognition on the website as a Founding Sponsor
- 1 dedicated e-blast ad to 10,000+ subscribers
