Festival Bar is going to be fuuuun. Tonight it opens at the southwest corner of 5th and Fairmount in Northern Liberties From the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe site, here’s an idea of what you’ll see:

VJ Yakov projects his special blend of found footage, Super 8, and 80s commercials all over the Festival Bar walls and a special network of screens.

Philadelphia Open Stuido Tours outfits the Bar with art installations straight from the studios of Philly artists. Laureen Griffin creates a painted expanse of wallpaper in support of her Gender Portraiture Project while Marisha Simons prints imagery onto large fabric panels that are hung about the space to create new environments. Darla Jackson‘s striking sculptures of animals, torsos, and heads invade the bar and gdloft brings a neo-POP poster and T-shirt installation based on de-contextualized Madonna lyrics.

Also, skulls by Jenn Procacci, a Red Bull party bus, and tonight, music from Lee Jones of Sundae.

After the jump, pics of us getting our bar act together, and some sneak peeks at the place you’re going to close out your night tonight and every night through the 19th.

Let us go then, you and I
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherised upon a table

Didn’t Jewel have a song called “Pieces of You”? I can’t believe that I know that, but I think this probably isn’t what she meant.

Pia promises that this will be ready for you by 10:00 tonight:

We all feel this way as the Festival approaches. Now we’ve ran out of time, and there’s nothing left to do but meet you for cocktails.

Sorry, friend, it’s 21 and over.

Whoa, Pia wasn’t lying after all! Stuff is ready! Wallpaper and images by Laureen Griffin.

This is Lady.

And this is Floppy, who, from the front of the DJ booth, will lord it over the dance floor.

Makeout room! Created by Marisha Simons’s hangings.

Hit on Darla Jackon’s creation. I dare you.

Wow—when Pia cleans, she gets all Ghostface circa 1993. New goal: get Pia to do the Wu wings to end the next photo essay.

So, tonight, the Festival Bar, 10 pm on, right? Word. Later!

–Nicholas Gilewicz, with poetic assistance and license taken from T.S. Eliot. Tommy Stearns, we’ll always love you!

Photos by Nicholas Gilewicz