{"id":298137,"date":"2026-10-02T05:06:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T05:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/298137\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T05:06:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T05:06:24","slug":"elfreths-alley-museum-celebrates-hitchbot-again-with-dream-of-a-future-big-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/298137\/","title":{"rendered":"Elfreth\u2019s Alley Museum celebrates hitchBOT again, with dream of a future big festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends. Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last year, Elfreth\u2019s Alley Museum commemorated the 10-year anniversary of one of the most infamous events of its 323-year existence: hitchBOT\u2019s demise in Philly. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The gathering drew around 550 people<\/a>, which was a record First Friday turnout for the museum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So the museum is running it again this Friday<\/a>, with the hopes of eventually growing it into an annual festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want the hitchBOT Festival to become an annual Philadelphia tradition \u2014 something uniquely Old Cilly that gets a little bigger and stranger every year,\u201d said Jeff Winner, one of the event organizers and the owner of the popular Old Cilly social media accounts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The event runs from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The museum<\/a> will also be open free of charge during that time.<\/p>\n

Much of the activities will be similar to last year\u2019s celebration. Guests can create their own hitchBOT and collect other robot-related gear.<\/p>\n

For a suggested donation, beer will be provided \u2014 fittingly \u2014 by Human Robot Brewery, along with other refreshments.<\/p>\n

There will even be a message from the bot\u2019s creators, Canadian professors David Harris Smith and Frauke Zeller.<\/p>\n

Harris Smith and Zeller created hitchBOT in 2013 as a social experiment in trust and technology, with its long distance travels relying solely on the kindness of strangers and documented social media. After successful trips across Canada, Germany and the Netherlands, it embarked on a 2015 journey from Boston to San Francisco.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"In this July 17, 2015, file photo, a car drives by HitchBOT, a hitchhiking robot in Marblehead, Mass. The Canadian researchers who created hitchBOT as a social experiment say someone in Philadelphia damaged the robot beyond repair on Saturday, Aug. 1, ending its brief American tour. The robot was trying to travel cross-country after successfully hitchhiking across Canada last year and parts of Europe. (AP Photo\/Stephan Savoia, File)<\/p>\n

On Aug. 1, 2015, just two weeks into its trip, it was found decapitated at the top of the alley<\/a>. No charges were filed, no culprits were found, but the incident went into the \u201cBad things happen in Philly\u201d file<\/a>, and was perhaps a harbinger for the fraught relationships people have with modern technology today<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The idea for the commemoration began with an April Fool\u2019s post<\/a> by Winner on Old Cilly, advertising a fake inaugural \u201cRust in Peace\u201d festival remembering hitchBOT\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone thought it was real,\u201d said Susan Poulton, the event\u2019s co-organizer and vice president of the board of directors of the Elfreth\u2019s Alley Association, and a resident on the alley. \u201cAnd so, I thought, why not make that a great First Friday topic?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Winner said that the group wants to see if last year\u2019s turnout was a fluke. He previously said he dreamed that hitchBOT could gain enough traction to be on the same level as Groundhog Day\u2019s Punxsutawney Phil<\/a>, with an annual \u201cRust in Peace\u201d festival drawing folks from near and far.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually, we hope to outgrow the alley itself and get a permit to move into 2nd Street,\u201d he said. \u201cMake it a true block party, with food trucks and live music performances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s the level of celebration Philly owes hitchBOT, for its trouble.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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