Outdoor Art Show Along Schuylkill Ends Saturday

Philadelphia's newest arts festival is fast becoming a hit with artists and visitors.  The "Art in the Open" festival, along the Schuylkill River, wraps up Saturday. Christopher Pierro from New York (right) does what he calls "street art" -- or what some less charitable might call graffiti.  He says he's been enjoying his time in Philadelphia, working in the open and talking to interested passersby: "People always assume that this kind of art is done by hoodlums or done by kids.  And here I am, a 40-year-old dad of three, who still does this and does it creatively.  So to be able to explain that to people, that part of it to me is important." New York artist Joe Mangrum (in top photo) created a fantastical sea creature out of sand at the Waterworks: "I enjoy the process and the people that I meet in the process, and it's bringing something beautiful to people." Ed Bronstein is part of the creative team that founded Art in the Open: "We told them in them in advance that if they didn't like people they shouldn't apply to this.  But these are all really eager to engage, and it's been fascinating." Art in the Open wraps up Saturday along the Schuylkill, between the Waterworks and Bartram's Garden.