The first thing you noticed once you stepped inside of the festival were the lines, which were more akin to Soviet bread lines than lines for pizza.
Pizza lovers from all over the region made their way to Citizens Bank Park Saturday afternoon for the ballpark’s inaugural Pizza Festival, which brought some of the region’s finest pizza shops to the South Philly locale. Among the pizza shops were South Philly local pizza places such as Uncle Oogie’s and Santucci’s, and others from beyond, such as American Pie, Grotto Pizza and Pronto Pizza. Each attendee was given five vouchers worth one slice of pizza each at the festival. The pizza vouchers also came with ticket vouchers for a future Phillies game. The event featured more than 60 vendors and foot trucks, featuring more than just pizza (although it was mostly pizza). Attendees also had the opportunity to purchase water ice, alcoholic beverages, wings and more at the festival.
The first thing you noticed once you stepped inside of the festival were the lines, which were more akin to Soviet bread lines than lines for pizza. However, according to people who stood in the lines, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked.
When asked how long she stood line for her slice of pizza, attendee Hannah Dentino approximated about 15 minutes.
“They go pretty quick because you’re not paying,” she said.
Kaycee Capewell, who attended the festival with her friend Greg Scull, estimated about the same amount of time for waiting in her line for a slice of American Pie’s cheese pizza. She said she’d come back next year if another similar event happens if there’s more vendors.
“The event’s all right,” Scull said. “Everybody’s just here for the pizza. It’s an opportunity to drink a couple beers and relax while the kids are out. The weather is perfect. We’re all out here in the sun.”
Rob Diesnt, who came to the event with Dentino, still didn’t think the lines moved fast enough.
“They need to have better flow of the pizza,” he said. “I want to be able to go up, take a slice, eat it, then go to another place. I’m waiting in line a lot.”
Dienst, Dentino and their other friend, Tim Granick, said they had spent approximately one half of the two and a half hours they had been at the festival standing in line. Despite that, they still thought the event was fun.
Many of the pizza spots didn’t have ovens, which meant most people weren’t exactly getting the freshest of pies. Still, there were plenty of opportunities to listen to live music performed at various spots around the ballpark, socialize and drink (lines for alcohol were considerably shorter than the lines for pizza) at the event.
