WHYY, in partnership with the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC), is once again celebrating Philadelphia’s arts and culture with a free festival at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing.

The WHYY Connections Festival is expanded from two to four days this year, with Thursday through Sunday, September 6-9, packed with free concerts, film screenings, visual art presentations and more.

This exciting festival attracted more than 12,000 attendees last year, and is a great way to kick off the fall festival season. Every event that’s part of the Connections Festival is totally free and open to the public.

Check out our all-in-one guide right here:

Festival Kick-off Event: Thursday, September 6, 7-9 p.m., WHYY, 150 N. Sixth Street. Join WHYY for the official kick-off, featuring performances, art displays and food and drink samples inspired by NewsWorks.org’s Creative Connectors, a group of 76 Greater Philadelphia arts leaders selected in recognition of their ability to build community vitality while creating art, culture or design.

Two Live Concerts

Saturday, September 8: The first Connections Festival concert will feature performances by Yo La Tengo, Frank Turner, Maps & Atlases, Fabian Akilles, The Lawsuits and more on the RiverStage at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing.

Sunday, September 9: The second concert, officially the Philadelphia Doo-Wop Festival, will feature performances by Fred Parris & The Five Satins, Charlie Gracie, The Del-Satins and more on the RiverStage.

Film Screenings

Friday, September 7, 6-9 p.m.: On Friday night, WHYY will preview the September episode of its Emmy Award-winning program “Friday Arts” at the Race Street Pier before inviting guests to a screening of WHYY-TV’s latest nationally broadcast film, The Barnes Collection, at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing. Following the screening, WHYY will host a Q&A session with the film’s producers.

First Person Arts

Saturday’s concert includes storytelling from four-time First Person Arts StorySlam champion Martha Cooney, as First Person Arts is a partner on the festival.

For regular updates on the WHYY Connections Festival, visit WHYY.org/ConnectionsFestival or follow the festival on Facebook and Twitter.

2012 WHYY Connections Festival

When: September 6-9

Where: Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing

Cost: Free

More info: www.whyy.org