For Philadelphia, it's nothing less than the royal treatment this weekend.
Prince Charles of Wales and his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, are coming to the city to attend the Academy of Music's Gala Ball this Saturday, but will also be making stops around the city, including an afternoon trip to University City.
The couple will be joining students and scholars for a roundtable discussion at 2:30 p.m. at the International House, located at 37th and Chestnut streets.
The discussion will revolve around youth development, the environment, urban regeneration and sustainable community - topics that are of great interest to the Prince, according to House Program Director Renae Dinerman.
We "want to let him know of the world-class intellectual talent we have in this city," said Oliver St. Clair Franklin, president of the International House and Honorary British Consul in Philadelphia. "Students here are taking these issues seriously and are prepared to find solutions."
Four Penn students will be part of the forum, said College sophomore Eduardo Sanchez, who was selected to participate. Graduate and undergraduate students from Temple, Drexel and La Salle universities will also participate in the forum, Facilities official Andrew Zitcer said.
"I'm just very, very excited," Sanchez said of the chance to meet the next king of England.
Sanchez added that he screamed and yelled "kind of in a girlish way" when he found out he had been selected and has since been studying the material that will be discussed so that he's ready for Saturday's event.
Besides Charles's visit to the International House, the Prince will spend the rest of the weekend mingling with students at the Liberty Bell, local Welsh churchgoers at the Arch Street Presbyterian Church and disadvantaged youth at a mural-painting project at the Heavenly Hall Full Gospel Church on 40th and Poplar streets, among other activities.
The city's Mural Arts Program, a project in anti-graffiti urban regeneration, located at 40th and Pennsgrove streets, will also be a featured event of the royal visit, said program representatives.
Jane Golden, director of the program, said the Prince has a practical use for the painting project: Similar murals replacing neighborhood blight may be adapted to London streets in the near future.
Charles, a critic of modern architecture, is particularly interested in studying how the arts can unite and sustain communities first hand, Franklin said.
The Prince's Saturday night will end glamorously at the Academy ball, which will be hosted by former news anchor Tom Brokaw with music provided by Rod Stewart.
Downtown, Walnut through South streets, as well as the Comcast building - one of the tallest in the city - will also be shut down as the city pulls out all stops for the royal couple.
Director of Commerce Stephanie Naidoff said the city is honored to be visited by a Prince of Wales for the first time since 1860.
"We also look forward to showing them the important role that the universities play in our community and to discuss our successful student-retention effort through Campus Philly," Naidoff said. "Then, like other tourists, they will see some of our historic sites and our great architecture, all part of what makes Philadelphia 'America's Next Great City.'"
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