2024 Training Program and Job Fair
Recordings of the events that were offered on Zoom: “How to Design an Engaging Tour” with Jerry Silverman; “Transformational Storytelling in the Emotional Economy” with Mitch Bach; “Philadelphia’s Plans for the Semiquincentennial” with Danielle DiLeo Kim, Kathryn Ott Lovell, and Steven Sims; and “The 1838 Black Metropolis” with Michiko Quinones are available for sale in the APT Store, $5 each. If you purchase any, please email treasurer@phillyguides.org to let Antoinette know which recordings you would like. Thank you.
“A Guide’s View of Philadelphia,” the APT annual lecture series, is the city’s only officially recognized training program for “professional and informed” guides (per City Council 2013 Proclamation). The series includes informational lectures on Philadelphia’s history, culture, and architecture from colonial times to present day as well as sessions on tour guiding techniques.
In 2024 the Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides (APT) is departing slightly from its traditional lecture series format to offer a mixture of lectures and tours for new and experienced guides from Thursday-Sunday February 22-25. APT’s first ever Job Fair will be held on Saturday afternoon February 24 (special thanks to the event’s gold sponsor, Visit Philly!) The certification exam will be offered March 16 and peer review site presentations for new guides will be held on March 23.
Press release
To prepare, sharpen that resume with APT’s next ‘how-to’ workshop on resume writing, Thurs. Jan. 25, 5:30 pm on Zoom. The resume writing workshop has passed but the recording can be purchased for $5 (members and non-members) in the APT Store.
SCHEDULE OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM
Deadline to register online is Tuesday February 20. After that, you will still be able to pay (cash, check, or venmo to Antoinette) at the door for the workshop, presentation, and panel discussion in-person events, but the TOURS WILL BE CLOSED.
The response to the training program has exceeded our expectations – a great problem to have! We have added options to each tour time slot to accommodate everyone. All attendees who purchase a complete training package will be emailed a survey to see which tour they prefer – please look for it and fill it out as soon as possible!
Thursday, Feb. 22
NEW! Two options for the 10 am – 12 pm tour. Attendees purchasing a complete package will be sent a survey form and are asked to choose one, Northern Liberties neighborhood tour or Bella Vista neighborhood tour.
— 10 am – 12 pm: “Welcome to Northern Liberties!” tour
On this tour participants will visit a selection of sites chosen for their architectural and historic significance in the over 330 year history of the neighborhood. The sites and stories, while sometimes quirky, are always interesting, and will hopefully inspire participants to appreciate and seek out the architecture and history of other ever-evolving Philadelphia neighborhoods.
By: Antoinette Langeveld, APT Treasurer and tour guide with City Hall and Preservation Alliance.
Start: Bourbon and Branch, 705 N. 2nd St.
End: Piazza, 1001 N. 2nd St.
Public Transportation: to Spring Garden El stop
Driving: a parking lot is available at the corner of Spring Garden and Front Street. Street parking is hit or miss!
Lunch options: All of 2nd street has places to eat including the vegan Joy Cafe (formerly known as Soy Cafe and a sponsor in APT’s 2022 Philly Forward Symposium).
OR
— 10 am – 12 pm: “Bella Vista – A Beautiful View!” tour
Bella Vista (“beautiful view”) is a vibrant, historic residential neighborhood. It was once part of Philadelphia’s 7th Ward, home to many 19th century African American activists. Today it includes the famous 9th Street (aka Italian) Market, the nation’s oldest continuously operating open-air market. The tour will highlight the neighborhood’s diverse ethnic mix, immigration patterns, and social changes.
By: Ralph Marano, APT certified tour guide with City Hall and Preservation Alliance.
Start: Engine Company 11 firehouse, 1016-18 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
End: 9th and Catherine Streets, site of the former Palumbo’s restaurant
Public Transportation: 45 bus stops at 11th or 12th and South St.
Driving parking is available at the SP+ Garage at 11th and South Streets (1001 South St. Philadelphia, PA 19147)
— 2-4 pm: “How to Design an Engaging Tour” workshop
New guide? Veteran guide? This workshop is designed for both. Pointers on how to create a new tour and strengthen an existing tour will be presented. Communication, energy, dynamism, memory, humor, professionalism…are just a few of the topics that will be discussed in this workshop to improve anyone’s skills, especially those of an excellent tour guide. Participants might even learn some corny guide jokes as well! This will be a hands-on, participatory exchange of ideas among guides of all experience levels.
By: Jerry Silverman, APT member and tour guide with Mural Arts and Preservation Alliance
At: Philly’s Gourmet Steaks, 114 Market St.
Also offered on Zoom.
Friday, February 23
NEW! Two options for the 10 am – 12 pm tour. Attendees purchasing a complete package will be sent a survey form and are asked to choose one, “Avenue of the Founders” tour or a tour of “Ben Franklin’s Philadelphia – with the Legend Himself”
— 10 am – 12 pm: “Avenue of the Founders” tour
This tour will cover the only street in the United States that five Founding Fathers of the U.S. lived on. It’s Market Street (formerly High Street), which we now also call the Avenue of the Founders – thanks to an APT Founder, the now-deceased Ed Mauger, who spearheaded APT’s 2019 street renaming initiative. We will visit the sites of: Ben Franklin’s first print shop, home, and first volunteer fire company; London Coffee House with its slave auctions; the first printing of the Declaration of Independence; Mrs. House’s Boarding House; the President’s House; and Declaration House. We’ll discuss printer/publisher Matthew Carey; Washington’s enslaved workers Oney Judge and Hercules; and the Avenue of Freedom. Along the way, we’ll illustrate why Philly – with its Percent for Art and Mural Arts programs – is still revolutionary.
By: Jim Murphy, APT Director-at-Large, tour guide, and author, and Charlie Krueger, APT member and volunteer ranger at INHP
Start: 2nd and Market Street, on northwest side of the street.
End: 8th and Market, at the Strawbridge & Clothier Jefferson display
OR
— 10 am – 12 pm: “Ben Franklin’s Philadelphia – with the Legend Himself” tour
Ben Franklin (yes, him!) looks forward to our personal private walking tour of Old City Philadelphia. See the town as it was when Ben lived here. Listen to the stories of our history, learn how a runaway teenager became a legend! You should have no problem recognizing your guide in his stockings, frock coat, and signature bifocals. Our tour will and ought to be flexible and spontaneous. We will exceed expectations, but expect the unexpected… if that is possible.
By: Mitchell Kramer, APT guide and actor/historian of Benjamin Franklin Interpreted
Start: 6th and Market Street entrance to the Independence Visitor Center
End: Ben Franklin’s burial site, corner of 5th and Arch Streets
— 2-4 pm: “Transformational Storytelling in the Emotion Economy” workshop
Today’s travelers know too much, or they think they do. They spend countless hours planning their trips using TripAdvisor, Google, Instagram and Wikipedia. So what is a tour guide to do? It fundamentally changes not what we tell our guests, but how we tell them. This interactive workshop will be focused on how emotion-based storytelling can foster deeper, transformative connections with the audience, leading to better reviews, tips, and—most of all—a better understanding of the incredible power we have as guides to influence and inspire travelers.
By: Mitch Bach, co-founder of the Trip School courses for tour guides and tour operators and co-manager of the Tourpreneur community of tour and activity operators
At: Philly’s Gourmet Steaks, 114 Market St.
Also offered on Zoom.
Saturday, February 24
— 9:30 am – 12 pm: “Philadelphia’s Semiquincentennial Plans” panel discussion
Doors open at 9 am. Coffee, tea, and breakfast snacks from sponsor Miles Table will be provided.
By: Danielle DiLeo Kim, President & CEO, Philly250; Steven Sims, Superintendent, Independence National Historical Park; and Kathryn Ott Lovell, President & CEO, Philadelphia Visitor Center Corporation
At: Old First Reformed United Church of Christ, 151 N. 4th St.
Also offered on Zoom.
— 1:30-4:30 pm: APT’s First Ever Job Fair
Twenty-four tables confirmed.
At: Old First Reformed United Church of Christ, 151 N. 4th St.
Job Fair Vendor List
Sunday, February 25
— 10 am – 12 pm: “The 1838 Black Metropolis” presentation
This talk will review the population of 20,000 Free Black people that lived in Philadelphia in 1838. The speakers will discuss where free Black people lived in the city and the important Black-built infrastructure that is still standing. They will discuss the 1838 fight to save the right to vote and how that civil rights movement happened in places throughout the Society Hill and Washington Square West neighborhoods. Click on the highlighted text to view their primary source, map, and historical timelines.
By: Morgan Lloyd (President) & Michiko Quinones (Director of Public History) and co-founders of The 1838 Black Metropolis
At: Philly’s Gourmet Steaks, 114 Market St.
Also offered on Zoom.
New! As this Civil War tour was created specifically for this training program, we would like to make it available to everyone. It will have to max out this day at 20 participants though. The alternate date is Sunday, March 3, 2-4 pm. Attendees purchasing a complete package will be sent a survey form and are asked to choose one of the two dates.
— 2-4 pm: “Yes, Virginia, There Was a 19th Century! Philadelphia & the Civil War” tour
Because of its geographical location, Philadelphia was both the southernmost Northern city and the northernmost Southern city. Its citizens were Unionists and Secessionists. It was the home of one of the largest slaveowners in America, as well as some of its most ardent abolitionists. It was the center of medical education in the 19th century, training both Union and Confederate surgeons and doctors. It was a city horribly divided by the Civil War.
By: Jim Mundy, APT member and recently retired Historian of The Union League of Philadelphia
Start: Christ Church, 20 N. American St.
End: Logan Square, 18th and Ben Franklin Parkway
Shadowing Opportunities
Before heading out, read APT’s handout Shadowing Etiquette
WeVenture
Additionally, APT corporate member WeVenture has agreed to allow participants to shadow experienced guides on history and public art tours before the training program, Feb. 19-21, and after it, Feb. 26 – March 3 (exception: no tours available Feb. 28). The registration fee will include a minimum $10 tip to the guide. A maximum of 3 people will be allowed to shadow on one tour, and participants should keep in mind that if no one from the public signs up for the tour that day, the tour will be cancelled and the participants notified. Register for either the history or public art tour on the dates listed above using the code APT2024.
Free Tours by Foot
APT corporate member Free Tours by Foot (FTBF) has also agreed to allow participants to shadow experienced guides on its Independence Mall, Italian Market Food, Chinatown Food, Real Philly, and Secrets and Scandals (Logan Circle) tours from Feb. 7-21. FTBF uses a ‘pay as you wish’ model. All participants wishing to shadow a tour are asked to register online, adding “-APT” after their first names to identify them. The online booking fee is $3 and then participants are asked to tip a minimum of $10 to the guide at the end of the tour. Any food purchases are at the participants’ discretion and cost. If no one from the public signs up for the tour that day, the tour will be cancelled and the participants notified.
Pricing
Payment is through the APT Store.
— Complete package of all 8 events: $50 member/ $75 non-member/ $80 corporate member (2 employees). Corporate representatives should email the names of employees or volunteers attending to Antoinette Langeveld at treasurer@phillyguides.org. If an odd number of tickets is needed, staff and volunteers of corporate members can purchase tickets at the member price, even if they themselves are not members.
— Individual lecture or tour: $10 member/ $15 non-member/ $6 Zoom (for anyone). Attendees should email treasurer@phillyguides.org to indicate which events they will be attending. Zoom recordings will be shared with all attendees after the event. Zoom only offered on the indoor presentations and workshops as listed above.
— Job Fair is free for all APT members. It is $5 for any non-member but included in the non-member complete package. If you missed it and are still looking for guide, docent, or volunteer opportunities, check out the Job Fair Vendor List!
— Shadowing Opportunities: register and pay directly with the companies as per the instructions above. The complete package does not include the shadowing opportunities.