PHILADELPHIA, May 17, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Penn's Landing Corporation is proud to produce another season of free programming this year on the Great Plaza, the heart of Penn's Landing, Philadelphia's premier riverfront entertainment destination. The 2007 Program Season, presented by Independence Blue Cross, features a diverse schedule of events including the eleven different multicultural festivals that make up the PECO Multicultural series. The annual series will begin with the Portuguese Heritage Festival on June 3, 2007 from 12 noon until 8:00 p.m.

This year the PECO Multicultural Series has expanded and diversified. The Portuguese Heritage Festival has returned for 2007. When the members of the community expressed an interest in producing a multicultural festival, Penn's Landing Corporation embraced the opportunity to expand this series, which celebrates the different cultures which make Philadelphia unique.

The festivities begin on Sunday, June 3 with a flag ceremony and playing of the national anthem of Portugal. There will then be a blessing of the Tall Ship Gazela. This historical ship, berthed at Penn's Landing was once a Portuguese vessel.

A full day of stage entertainment will begin promptly at 12 noon under the guidance of the masters of ceremony, Mr. Carlos Teixeria and Ms. Edite Furtado. The stage entertainment will feature folk dancing groups Tama Alto from Philadelphia, Casa do Ribatejo from Newark, New Jersey, and Culturas de Portugal from Waterberry, Connecticut.

The entertainment continues with live music from the Portuguese Band, Diversao and Marcio Mendes and his Brazilian band, Ironbound. Following a Karate demonstration from a Portuguese instructor, the Youth Commission members will then present an educational segment entitled, "Who Am I?" featuring historical and popular figures of Portugal.

Portuguese artists Americo Monteiro, Fernando Silva and Pedro Silva will be featured in the Arts and Crafts Expo area. There will be canvas paintings, sculptures, and traditional Portuguese mosaics and china. Children will be able to participate in a "hands-on" painting session on a provided canvas and under the direction of the featured artist, Americo Monteiro and the Youth Commission.

All attendees to the festival will have the opportunity to enjoy Portuguese cuisine. Participating restaurants include Taste of Portugal and Tio Pepe. Refreshments for adults will include Sangria and Sagres (imported beer). Delaware Valley Concrete will have a large cement truck filled with candy for children of all ages.

Supporting the region's diversity has been a longstanding goal for PECO, who has sponsored the multicultural festivals at Penn's Landing for the past twelve years. "All of us at PECO are thrilled to return again to the waterfront to support the multicultural festivals," said PECO president Denis O'Brien. "Penn's Landing is a Philadelphia summertime tradition and the PECO Multicultural Series is a fun way for us to celebrate the wide range of diversity represented in our service territory."

Admission is FREE for all PECO Multicultural Series events. The schedule of the 2007 PECO Multicultural Series festivals is:

 JUNE
 June 3         Portuguese Heritage     Noon to 7:00 p.m.  Great Plaza
                 Festival
 June 9         Islamic Heritage        Noon to 8:00 p.m.  Great Plaza
                 Festival
 June 16        Asian Festival          Noon to 6:00 p.m.  Great Plaza
 June 23, 24    Irish American          Noon to 8:00 p.m.  Great Plaza
                 Festival

 JULY
 July 7, 8      Hispanic Fiesta         Noon to 8:00 p.m.  Great Plaza
 July 14        Southeastern Cherokee   Noon to 6:00 p.m.  Great Plaza
                Celebration

 AUGUST
 August 18      Festival of India       Noon to 8:00 p.m.  Great Plaza
 August 19      Caribbean Festival      Noon to 8:00 p.m.  Great Plaza
 August 25, 26  Philadelphia            Noon to 8:00 p.m.  Great Plaza
                 Multicultural Arts
                 and Music Extravaganza

 SEPTEMBER
 September 9    Russian Mosaic Festival Noon to 8:00 p.m.  Great Plaza
 September 16   Mexican Independence    Noon to 8:00 p.m.  Great Plaza
                 Day Festival

PECO is proud to be Philadelphia's hometown energy company and one of the region's most prominent civic supporters. PECO is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and celebrating diversity inside and outside the Company.

Based in Philadelphia, PECO is an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC). PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 480,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 2006, the company delivered 38.2 million megawatt-hours (Mwh) of electricity and 76.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas to residential, business and institutional customers. PECO's energy delivery services generated $5.17 billion in revenue for Exelon.

Founded in 1881, PECO is one of the Greater Philadelphia Region's most active corporate citizens, providing leadership, volunteer and financial support to numerous arts and culture, education, environmental, economic development and community programs and organizations.

Penn's Landing Corporation is the non-profit organization responsible for funding and producing public programming on the Great Plaza, Philadelphia's Delaware Waterfront Park. Independence Blue Cross is the presenting sponsor of the 2007 Summer Season at Penn's Landing. All events produced by Penn's Landing Corporation are FREE to the public and on the Great Plaza, the heart of Penn's Landing, Philadelphia's premier riverfront entertainment destination.

Public Programming at Penn's Landing would not be possible without our presenting sponsor Independence Blue Cross and the continued support of PECO, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Pennsylvania Lottery, Live Nation and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, all of whom are committed to serving the Greater Philadelphia community.

For more information on event locations and event details, please call (215) 922-2FUN or visit www.pennslandingcorp.com. The Penn's Landing Corporation website is a virtual resource for the waterfront which can help visitors plan to easily park, play and stay all day at Penn's Landing.

The Penn's Landing Corporation logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=349