What to eat, shop, and see at the Roots Picnic this weekend

This weekend’s Roots Picnic, featuring two days of performances from JAŸ-Z, Erykah Badu, Brandy, T.I., Seal, and others on the historic Belmont Plateau, promises to be epic.

But the festival is more than tight rhymes and nostalgic lyrics. The grounds will be bubbling with culture from local vendors, East Coast gems, and West Coast treasures.

Here are a few to check out on or near the fairgrounds.

Mark S. Clarke, who makes art under the moniker Milly Vanderwood, will bring his pop-up Mini Hip-Hop Museum to the Roots Picnic from Baltimore.

Clarke, 39, has collected hip-hop paraphernalia since 2017 when he opened his In My Lifetime Mini Hip-Hop Museum on the third floor of his Jonestown neighborhood art haven, The Gallery About Nothing.

Clarke has amassed hundreds of albums, cassettes, CDs, posters, magazines, and concert tickets spanning 50 years from rap’s golden age to present.

He’s bringing a decidedly Philly collection of mementos including CDs and vinyl from DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Schoolly D, Cassidy, and Beanie Sigel. The Roots will, of course, be represented and JAŸ-Z fans might find a vintage copy of Reasonable Doubt.

“If I have multiple copies of something, for sure it’s for sale,” Clarke said.

The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation and the Free Library of Philadelphia will present Sound It Out, a weekend-long literacy and community event designed to celebrate reading.

Sound It Out will offer picnic-goers free books and the opportunity to register for a Roots Picnic commemorative library card.

New York-based nonprofit Barbershop Books will be on hand to give young readers free haircuts and braid styles. Former Detroit Lions tight end Deon Butler will chat wit the audience and sign copies of his 2025 book, The Gift & Curse, One Man’s Journey Through Dyslexia.

WURD Radio show host James Peterson will lead a discussion on literacy in the Black community.

The initiative is rooted in a simple but urgent belief: Literacy belongs everywhere culture lives.

“Embedding reading into the spaces and experiences that already inspire and connect people, makes reading and literacy feel joyful, relevant, and cool,” said Monique Moore Pryor, president of the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation.

When Chill Moody told Roots Picnic organizers about his latest nicethings libation, Tequila Transfusion, they ordered close to 150 cases.

“This is our biggest single order ever,” Moody told me as he prepared to make his Thursday morning delivery. “This is special. I’m going to be there the whole time in person.”

Tequila Transfusion is the West Philly rapper’s ninth specialty beverage.

“We are coming in with a campaign called ‘No Can Left Behind’ and we are planning to sell every can we bring.”

The lightly carbonated beverage features tequila blended with fresh ginger, black currant liqueur, bergamot, grape juice, and lime. Each can is fewer than 100 calories.

» READ MORE: Chill Moody’s newest venture is a book about a little girl with magical golf clubs

A portion of the weekend’s proceeds will go toward Moody’s golf nonprofit We Golf Now, dedicated to helping Philadelphia’s Black and brown youth network through golf.

Tequila Transfusion is also available at nicethingsbeverages.com

Southwest Philly-bred artist and former member of the 1990s hip-hop duo Philly’s Most Wanted Al-baseer Holly will host his highly curated expo, "The Gathering: A Multi-Artist Exhibition."

This year’s Roots Picnic “The Gathering” is Holly’s fifth.

For this year’s exhibit, Holly assembled 11 visual artists to speak to today’s political climate and affirm the experiences of America’s people of color. All of the art in the exhibition is for sale.

“Each of the artists are strong storytellers,” Holly said in a news release. The show’s array of oil paintings, collage, strong, and muted images represent “unique approaches to representing Black and brown experiences.”

Entrepreneur Corey Carter spends many months of the year in Kenya, but he’s always back in Philly for the Roots Picnic to sell handmade jewelry fashioned in Nairobi.

CConnect360 is a vibrant collection of statement earrings, stacked bracelets, and cowrie shell necklaces — some wrap around the neck like an elaborate bib, others are delicate single strands.

Each piece, Carter says, is unique.

“This is my fourth year,” Carter said of his Roots Picnic experience. “It’s the best festival of the year, hands down.”

Friends Dom Capers and Thomas Davis opened Dom & Tom’s Unique Treasures in West Philly in 2023 where they sold vintage, well, everything.

“We had vintage clothes, shoes, toys, furniture, albums, cassettes. I mean everything,” Capers said. “Anything old school you could think of that’s your childhood memories, we carry.”

They closed the store the next year because of slow foot traffic, taking their business to social media and local arts marketplaces.

Dom & Tom’s vintage palooza Roots Picnic display will feature all things sports and vinyl.

“At the Roots Picnic, we get to meet new people from so many different cities,” Capers said. “It’s great showing them what we have to offer.”

Shanti Mayers is excited to reveal Sable Collective’s funky jewelry and accessory offerings this weekend, bubbling with Roots Picnic summer exclusives.

“We have some bags we are debuting and some really awesome sandals we sourced from Morocco that are gorgeous,” said Mayers, whose Sable Collective has helped Philly-area women evolve into their personal style for 10 years.

“There are some pretty anklets, too. I just cannot wait.”

The Sable Collective has a studio in the Crane Arts Building at 1400 N. American St.

Muhammad Abdul-Hadi has spent this week prepping for his Roots Picnic food booth featuring grub from his eateries, Down North Pizza and Out West Philly.

The Down North Pizza side will feature two specialty pizzas: an all-cheese “No Better Love,” named after the 2004 track by Philly rappers Young Gunz, and a “Rock the Mic” beef pepperoni.

The Out West Philly portion will be all about pastries “We are going to bake sweet potato cinnamon rolls, a sweet potato biscuit, and a salty chocolate chip cookie right on the scene,” Abdul-Hadi said.

“It’s a lot of work, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity and having some fun,” Abdul-Hadi said.

Down North Pizza is at 2805 W. Lehigh Ave. Out West Philly is at 5127 Walnut St.