By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
Longwood Gardens
This weekend is a weekend featuring special events which are annual events and special events which are monthly events.
The annual events are Mother’s Day events.
Mother’s Day weekend coincides with the return of daily fountain performances at Longwood Gardens (Route 1, Kennett Square, www.longwoodgardens.org) is inviting visitors to enjoy the beauty of late spring.
A Mother’s Day special attraction this year is a concert each day on May 7 and 8 featuring guitar duo Chris Braddock and Dan Graper in the Conservatory.
Beginning May 5, it’s time for the “Festival of Fountains” to begin. Longwood Gardens’ Open Air Theatre and Italian Water Garden fountains springs to life, as does the Square Fountain, Round Fountain (Flower Garden Walk), Sylvan Fountain (Peirce’s Park), and Children’s Corner fountains.
The season of renewal and growth has started. Millions of tiny geophytes begin the season, blanketing Longwood’s vistas with sweeps of spring-has-sprung color.
As the season unfolds, flowering trees delightfully punctuate the landscape, radiant tulips stretch toward the sun, and the delicious fragrance of wisteria floats along the breeze.
Visitors can also enjoy special exhibits at the Orchid House.
Admission to Longwood Gardens is $25 for adults, $22 for seniors and college students, $18 for active military and $13 for youth.
“Elmwood Park Zoo” (1661 Harding Boulevard, Norristown, www.elmwoodparkzoo.org) is hosting its annual “Mother’s Day Brunches” on May 7 and 8.
The ticket to the brunch includes admission to the Zoo, a tasty buffet brunch, and an animal meet and greet!
The Zoo is also presenting several of its ultra-popular “Dog Days” over the next week.
The Zoo’s “Dog Days” event will be held on May 6,8, 11 and 13 from noon-4 p.m. each day.
All guests visiting the zoo with a furry friend must complete an online waiver and submit required documents before visiting the zoo. You must upload a copy of your most recent veterinary visit, including proof of vaccine and heartworm test here. All items will be required for you to attend “Dog Days.”
Pricing is $10.95 per dog with each additional dog at $9.95. Regular zoo admission is required for all humans.
Sesame Place (100 Sesame Road, Langhorne, www.sesameplace.com) will be presenting “Elmo’s Springtacular” every weekend now through June 19.
“Elmo’s Springtacular” at Sesame Place is filled with furry fun and exciting events – including an exciting line up of meet & greets, music, magic, pirate adventures, and fireworks.
This weekend, it’s time for Sesame Place’s annual “Mother’s Day Celebration,”
Visitors to the park can celebrate Mom with a fun-filled visit to Sesame Place and a special Mother’s Day Dine with Elmo & Friends! Guests can enjoy a delicious and buffet meal with your favorite furry friends and all moms will receive a rose.
Guests can also take a spin on the rides, catch their favorite Sesame Street shows and be entertained by the Sesame Street Party Parade.
It’s Mother’s Day on May 8 and a number of the area’s tourist rail lines are celebrating the holiday with special excursion trains.
The West Chester Railroad (610-430-2233, www.westchesterrr.net) is running its “Mother’s Day Express” on May 8 at noon and 2 p.m.
Families can take mom on a 90-minute round trip train ride from West Chester to Glen Mills and return on her special day. During the brief layover in Glen Mills, riders will be able to explore the historic Glen Mills train station as well as the rail line’s picnic grove along the Chester Creek. All Moms ride for a special reduced fare!
You can also purchase lunch for you and mom to enjoy on your trip. Each lunch includes your choice of ham and cheese or a turkey and cheese hoagie, your choice of beverage, chips, applesauce cup, and cookies. All of this comes packed in a reusable insulated lunch bag with the West Chester Railroad logo. Buy your lunch and mom can get one for half price.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for children (ages 2-12) and $5 for moms.
The New Hope Railroad (32 West Bridge Street, New Hope, 215-862-2332, www.newhoperailroad.com) is running its “Mother’s Day Weekend Breakfast Train” on May 7 and 8. The train ride departs from and returns to the New Hope Train Station.
Guests will dine in the railroads early 1900’s first class parlor car and be served a buffet style gourmet brunch including assorted fresh breads, fruits, French toast, an assortment of breakfast meats, scrambled eggs and potatoes, and fresh fruit. Coffee, tea and water is also included. Guests will be able to purchase alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages from our onboard full-service bar.
All mothers receive a complimentary flower and mimosa.
Mother’s Day Breakfast fares are: Adult (Age 12+): $78.99; Child (Age 3-11): $71.99; and Infant (Age 0-2): $9.99.
Wilmington and Western Railroad (Greenbank Station, 2201 Newport-Gap Pike, Wilmington, Delaware, www.wwrr.com) is running its “Mother’s Day Special” on May 8 at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.
Families can celebrate Mother’s Day by treating mom to a leisurely 1½-hour round-trip train ride to the rail line’s Mt. Cuba Picnic Grove. They can add to the celebration by packing a picnic lunch to enjoy with mom during the ½-hour layover at the picnic grove.
This event is powered by one of the railroad’s historic first-generation diesel locomotives.
Tickets are $18 for adults, $17 for seniors, and $16 for children (ages 2-12). All mothers ride for half-price.
The Northern Central Railway (2 West Main Street, New Freedom, www.northerncentralrailway.com) is running its “Mother’s Day Special Glen Rock Express” on May 8 at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The “Glen Rock Express” will travel to Glen Rock and back with the historic PRR GP9 Diesel Locomotive built-in 1959. The ride will be on a former Pennsylvania Railroad mainline that has been in operation since 1838.
Tickets are $19 Adult and $9 Child (age 2-12).
The Colebrookdale Railroad (South Washington Street, Boyertown, www.colebrookdalerailroad.com) is running its “Mother’s Day Excursion” on May 7 and 8.
The Colebrookdale ride, which is billed as “your ticket to a verdant land lost in time,” will provide a fun experience for mothers and their families.
Passengers board one of the railroad’s meticulously restored century-old rail cars for a two-hour expedition into one of the most scenic and historic regions in the northeast.
Excursions are scheduled for 10 a.m., 2 and 5 p.m. on May 7 and 11 a.m., and 3 p.m. on May 8.
The Strasburg Rail Road (Route 741, Strasburg, 717-687-7522, www.strasburgrailroad.com) is running a special train on May 6 and 7 – the “Wine & Cheese Train.”
Passengers can enjoy the luxurious, climate-controlled first-class accommodations and a tasting of select wine, cheese, and crackers as they travel in style down the tracks from Strasburg to Paradise and back. The train departs at 6 p.m. and the total trip time is 45 minutes.
“Wine & Cheese Train” boarding is 30 minutes before the scheduled departure. Riders must be 21 or older and have their photo ID ready when they board.
Featured wines are carefully selected from Waltz Vineyards, and cheeses are paired accordingly. Beer and select non-alcoholic beverages are also available for purchase upon request. Riders can purchase a souvenir wine glass on board the train if desired. Glasses are $7 each.
In accordance with Pennsylvania law, alcohol is only served during the train ride. The rail line is not permitted to serve alcoholic beverages while the train is berthed in the station.
This popular train is available on select Friday and Saturday evenings throughout the season. Tickets are $50.
There will be a bustle of activity this weekend on Kennett Pike just a few miles south of Kennett Square at Winterthur (Route 52, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-888-4600,www.winterthur.org) with the staging of the annual Winterthur Point-to-Point Races — an event that has become one of premier attractions in the Brandywine Valley each year.
This year’s 44th annual staging of the event is scheduled for May 8 from 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Alison Hershbell Pony Races is scheduled for noon and the Parade of River Hills Foxhounds at 12:30 p.m. followed by the George A. “Frolic” Weymouth Parade of Antique Carriages at 1p.m. and the Stick Horse Races (ages 4 and under) at 1:30 p.m.
The Point-to-Point features a variety of cross-country equestrian events. The main events are the steeplechase races. The races, which are on a course just over three miles long, include eight fences that are jumped 17 times.
Post time for the first steeplechase event is the Isabella du Pont Sharp Memorial Maiden Timber Race at 2 p.m. — after the National Anthem at 1:50 p.m. The Point-to-Point’s other featured races will be the Winterthur Bowl at 2:30 p.m., the Vicmead Plate at 3 p.m. and the Middletown Cup at 3:30 p.m.
The full-day event will also include all of its other traditional annual features such as the pony rides, food tents, the traditional opening ceremony with the bagpipers of the Delaware State Police Pipe Band and the legendary “Tailgate Picnic Competition.”
Video link for Point-to-Point — https://youtu.be/dLPom4ZRk6I.
Tickets are $60 for adults and $25 for youth (ages 12-20).
May 6 is the day for First Friday happenings around the area.
Phoenixville First Fridays (http://www.phoenixvillefirst.org) are returning this month from 5:50-8:30 p.m.
This year, First Fridays will operate within the weekly Bridge Street open-air closure to create an ambiance of a night market all along Bridge Street.
During the months of May, October, and November, Main Street will be closed in addition to the open-air closures taking place on Bridge Street.
There will be small live musicians placed throughout the downtown on Bridge and Main Streets, and handmade craft/artist vendors in the Main and Bridge Street parking lot.
Lancaster’s popular First Friday (http://www.visitlancastercity.com/first-friday/) is an arts extravaganza that runs from 5-9 p.m. onMay 6. Visitors to downtown Lancaster will have the opportunity to discover innovative exhibitions, performances and perhaps a few surprises as they walk the streets lined with trees and distinctive architecture.
Unique boutiques and excellent restaurants complement the art galleries, artisan studios, museums, performing groups, professional theater, symphony orchestra and art college that from Lancaster’s arts community.
In addition to the many galleries, shops, and pop-up musicians that regularly participate in First Friday, the following venues are hosting special events and showcases — The Shop Presents: Essentials, First Friday at Lancaster Cupcake!, Post-industrial Fetish: new works by Jeremy Waak at curio, First Friday at Freiman Stoltzfus Gallery, First Friday at Altana, Pennsylvania College of Art & Design Senior Show, Mother’s Day Give Back, A Mélange Collection of Photography, Red Raven’s First Friday Featuring Eric Fowler and Michelle Spiziri, Art Alley (Inside!), Art Made From Money (Made From Art), Between Two Worlds, First Friday at Gallery Grow, Robert Bitts: First Friday Reception and PA Guild of Craftsmen’s Guild Store First Fridays
Another First Friday event this weekend will take place in Old City Philadelphia (230 Vine Street and locations throughout Old City Philadelphia, 215- 625-9200,www.oldcitydistrict.org).
On the first Friday of each month — year-round — Old City’s galleries, studios, shops and restaurants open their doors for First Friday, in an epic exhibition of the neighborhood’s vibrant arts scene.
Old City Arts Association launched First Friday in 1991 to introduce Philadelphia to the improving neighborhood and the artists and designers who were bringing it back to life.
Two decades later, Old City is a nationally recognized arts destination, named in 2013 as one of the country’s top ArtPlaces by the ArtPlace Foundation.
On the first Friday evening of every month, the streets of Old City fill with art lovers of all kinds who wander among the neighborhood’s 40-plus galleries, most of which are open from 5-9 p.m.
A special event in downtown West Chester this weekend will be the West Chester Spring Gallery Walk (Spring Gallery Walk! – Downtown West Chester PA). The popular annual event will be held on May 6 from 4-8 p.m.
There will be a festival atmosphere along the streets of West Chester when area businesses feature pop-up gallery shows for local artists and six West Chester galleries will host their own art reception events.
This event celebrates the thriving community of artists and galleries that make greater West Chester their home. Multiple galleries combine with additional “one-night-only” show hosts throughout the downtown business area to showcase some great local Chester County artists.
Presented by Sunset Hill Jewelers and Fine Arts Gallery and hosted by The West Chester Business Improvement District, this evening is open to the public with free, on-street metered parking starting at 4 p.m.
The Yellow Springs Art Show, which is still free and open to the public, is celebrating its 49th anniversary this year. The popular annual event now features more than 185 participating artists — including more than 20 artists who are new to the show this year.
The show is running now through May 15 in Historic Yellow Springs Lincoln Building (Art School Road, Chester Springs, 610-827-7414 or www.yellowsprings.org). Show hours are from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily.
The 2022 Yellow Springs Art Show will have on display more than 3,000 pieces of fine art in a wide range of media and styles – oils, watercolors, bronze sculptures, pastels, landscapes, still life, three-dimensional works, seascapes and abstract.
All proceeds benefit arts education, environmental protection and historic preservation of the 300-year-old village of Historic Yellow Springs.
Wilmington Garden Day (wilmingtongardenday.org), a springtime tradition in the Brandywine Valley, will host its 75th annual tour on Saturday, May 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Featuring both houses and gardens, this is a rain-or-shine event.
This year’s Wilmington Garden Day tour will offer participants the opportunity to visit 14 colorful — and very different — gardens. Of those, seven will include the home’s interior and/or greenhouses.
Wilmington Garden Day has been using its proceeds to benefit underserved children in Delaware for 49 years. Tickets for this year’s tour are $35.
Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum (2451 Kissel Hill Road, Lancaster, 717.569.0401, www.landisvalleymuseum.org) is holding its annual Herb & Garden Faire on May 6 and 7.
Landis Valley is transformed into a gardener’s paradise at this annual sale.
With more than 80 vendors of heirlooms, natives, and other hard-to-find varieties as well as herbal skin care products, garden art, and jewelry spread out over the historic village area of the site, it’s a delightful shopping experience that’s quickly becoming a Mother’s Day weekend tradition.
Visitors can also grab a bite from the Faire’s food vendors, listen to beautiful music, or tour gardens run by the museum’s Heirloom Seed Project.
The Herb & Garden Faire will run from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. No pets are allowed.
Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $8 for youth (ages 6-11) and free for ages 5 and under. Tickets will be available at the door.
Usually, the Wilmington Flower Market, which is held in early May every year, is an event that almost always seems to bring wet weather. So, it comes as no surprise that rain showers have already hit on May 5, the event’s opening day.
This year, the 100th Annual Wilmington Flower Market returns to Rockford Park (Park Drive, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-995-5699, www.wilmingtonflowermarket.org) for a three-day run from May 5-7.
The Flower Market, which always runs in conjunction with Mother’s Day, benefits over 50 children’s charities in Delaware.
The 2022 Wilmington Flower Market, which is free and open to the public, will be held Friday from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. each day.
As is the tradition, the event features crafts, booths, rides, food, fun, live entertainment and plenty of flowers.
The music line-up also features Andrew Moorer, Royals, John K, Lily Rose, Daisey the Great and American Authors.
On May 7 and 8, Tyler Arboretum (515 Painter Road, Media, 610-566-9134, www.tylerarboretum.org) will present its annual “Garden Plant Sale.”
The event will run from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. both days. As an added attraction, “Plant Experts” will be available throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday to offer advice.
Offering luscious plants to suit all gardens, soil types, growing conditions, gardening abilities, and pockets, Tyler’s Annual Plant Sale provides inspiration for the garden, with showy annuals for containers, herbs, edibles, flowering shrubs, trees, unusual vines, and rare and difficult to find plants.
On May 7, one of Montgomery County’s most popular historic sites will celebrate the arrival of May.
Pottsgrove Manor (100 West King Street, Pottstown, 610- 326-4014, www.historicsites.montcopa.org) is hosting a Colonial May Fair on May 4 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
The event will feature 18th-century entertainment, including May Pole Dancing Milkmaids’ Garland Dances. The list of hands-on activities includes trap-ball (a predecessor of baseball), colonial toys and games, fortune-telling, a kid-sized Maypole, beanbag toss games, churning butter and free spring-themed make-and-take crafts.
Visitors will also be able to tour the manor house which features the early Georgian architecture that was popular with wealthy English gentry during the mid-18th century. It was built in 1752 for John Potts (ironmaster and founder of Pottstown) on a 1,000-acre plantation.
Admission to the event is free but there is a $2 suggested donation.
The annual South Street Spring Festival (http://southstreet.com) will close down South Street from Front Street to Eighth Street on May 7 from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. The free festival will feature food, music and a variety of family activities.
Live entertainment will be provided all day with a line-up of approximately 20 music acts.
Affiliated events in the area on Saturday include the Philly Taco Eating Contest, the Third Annual Atomi-Con and Maifest at Brauhaus Schmidtz.
Penns Wood Winery (124 Beaver Valley Road, Chadds Ford, http://www.pennswoodsevents.com) will present “Live Music on the Lawn” every weekend in April and May.
The schedule for this weekend features Pete Marziano on May 7 and Jeff Kessler on May 8.
Peddler’s Village (Routes 202 and 263, Lahaska, peddlersvillage.com) is hosting its “Cupcake Decorating Competition” now through May 15.
On display for the first two weeks of May, this icing-laced display will include professional and amateur culinary creations in four categories: Traditional, Baker’s Choice, Student, and Kids.
Admission is free to the display which is housed in the Visitor & Event Center (Red Barn, located off Street Road and Peddler’s Lane).
Hope Lodge (553 South Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington, 215-343-0965, http://www.ushistory.org/hope/) will be presenting a “Guided Mansion Tour” on May 8.
Hope Lodge was built between 1743 and 1748 by Samuel Morris, a prosperous Quaker entrepreneur. Morris acted as a farmer, shipowner, miller, iron master, shop owner, and owner of the mill now known as Mather Mill. Hope Lodge is an excellent example of early Georgian architecture, and it is possible that Edmund Woolley, architect of Independence Hall, offered advice in building. Samuel Morris owned the estate until his death in 1770.
Visitors can participate by watching a short film and then taking a tour. Guided tours of the mansion will depart at 1 and 2:30 p.m. all three days.
Tour admission is $8 for adults, $5 for seniors (age 65+) and for youth ages 6-17, and fee for children under 5. Hope Lodge is a Blue Star Museum which means that active-duty military personnel, including National Guard and Reserve and their families, are admitted free for regular tours from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Grim Philly’s “Dark Philly History Tour” (www.grimphilly.com) will be held every evening throughout the summer.
Participants can walk with tour guides from the grounds of America’s first White House, Congress, and Liberty Bell to homes and sites of Hamilton, Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and more than 10 other Founding-Fathers. The surprising dirt of espionage, murder, sexual license and blackmail highlight the secrets of 1776 with a ghost story or two along the way. This tour is highly researched. And your guide is a historian.
Grim Philly will also be presenting “Serial Killers & Cemetery Tour” every Saturday at 2 p.m.
Participants will have the opportunity to experience unconventional sightseeing off the beaten path. They can enjoy Betsy Ross House, Christ Church, Elfreth’s Alley, and Benjamin Franklin’s Grave, together with tales of serial slayings and psychopathic killers like the Corpse Collector, Frankfort Slasher, and H.H. Holmes.
Ghost Tour of Philadelphia (215-413-1997, www.ghosttour.com), Ghost Tour of Lancaster (717-687-6687, www.ghosttour.com) and Ghost Tour of Strasburg (717-687-6687, www.ghosttour.com) operate throughout the winter and offer an eerily entertaining evening of true ghost stories and real haunted houses.
The Ghost Tour of Philadelphia, which is based on the book, “Ghost Stories of Philadelphia, PA.,” is a candlelight walking tour along the back streets and secret gardens of Independence Park, Society Hill, and Old City, where ghostly spirits, haunted houses, and eerie graveyards abound.
Participants can discover the ghost lore of America’s most historic and most haunted city with stories from the founding of William Penn’s colony to present-day hauntings.
The activity is open year-round – weekends, December-February; every night, March-November. Tickets are $24.
The Ghost Tour of Lancaster and the Ghost Tour of Strasburg are based on the book, “Ghost Stories of Lancaster, PA.”
Participants in the Ghost Tour of Lancaster explore the long-forgotten mysteries of one of America’s oldest cities, with haunting tales of otherworldly vigils, fatal curses, and star-crossed lovers. The tour provides the opportunity to experience 300 years of haunted history from the Red Rose City’s thorny past. Tickets are $18.
The Ghost Tour of Strasburg is a candlelight walking tour of the quaint and historic town of Strasburg in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Visitors will experience an entertaining evening with a costumed tour guide spinning tales of haunted mansions, eerie graveyards, and spirits that roam the night … in a town lost in time. Tickets are $18.
If you’re looking to do some walking indoors, consider Wonderspaces.
Wonderspaces at the Fashion District (27 North 11th Street, Philadelphia, philadelphia.wonderspaces.com) is an experiential, interactive arts venue.
Building on the success of annual pop-up shows in San Diego, and its first permanent location in Scottsdale, Arizona, Wonderspaces opened a 24,000 square foot gallery space in Philly a year ago.
Wonderspaces features 14 art installations that all play with the idea of perspective. The artwork ranges from award-winning virtual reality short film about a dinner party-turned-alien abduction, to a room where visitors digitally paint the walls with the movement of their bodies.
New artworks rotate in every few months, creating an ever-evolving, year-round show.
Tickets are for entry at a specific date and time. Visitors are welcome to stay as long as they please during operating hours. The average time spent experiencing the show is 90 minutes.
A few installations contain flashing lights, images, and patterns that may trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. All visitors must sign a waiver prior to being admitted into the space. Adult supervision is required for visitors under 16.
The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen offers a number of craft fairs throughout the state each year. One of the most popular fairs is scheduled for this weekend. Now through May 8, the Guild will present the Fine Craft Fair (Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, 717-431-8706, www.pacrafts.org).
Through a partnership with the Friends of Rittenhouse Square and in conjunction with the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen will bring its signature premier Fine Craft Fair to the scenic park in Center City Philadelphia.
Founded in 1944 at the recommendation of Eleanor Roosevelt, the Pennsylvania Guild is one of the nation’s largest and most recognized craft guilds, specializing in the advocacy and support of more than 1,400 members whose handwork is known for its unparalleled skill and artistry.
Fine craft is often defined as the hand and mind transformation of raw materials into inspired works of art. The finished products may be either traditional or contemporary in style and design. This weekend’s event will feature more than 145 of the Guild’s finest craft artists.
The Fine Craft Fair, which is free and open to the public, will focus on hand-crafted jewelry, contemporary furniture, functional and decorative pottery, designer clothing, fine porcelain, blown glass, limited edition photography, sculpture, paintings, watercolors, oils, graphite and pastels.
There will be 150 white tent canopies lining the sidewalks of Rittenhouse Square’s park when the Guild returns to Philadelphia with its sixth juried Fine Craft Market. This year will also include an “Emerging Artist” section and a hands-on activity free for all ages, sponsored by the Guild workshop program.
Fair hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. Street and garage parking are readily available.
Gilbert & Sullivan and the Ardensingers go together like peanut butter and jelly — and they have the history to prove it.
The Ardensingers have been presenting the works of Gilbert & Sullivan continuously since 1948 at their historic Gild Hall (2126 The Highway, Arden, Delaware, 484-319-2350,www.ardensingers.com).
On May 7, Ardensingers are performing W.S. Gilbert’s “Eyes & No Eyes.”
“Eyes & No Eyes” is W.S. Gilbert’s version of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” involving a cloak being first described as visible only to true lovers then, in accordance with a plot twist, being visible only to “flirts”.
The play pre-dates Gilbert’s collaboration with Sullivan, with music by Florian Pascal. Also in the program will be the first act finales from The Pirates of Penzance and H.M.S. Pinafore (audience members are welcome to sing along!).
Admission fees start with a $10 donation.
This Saturday, the Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard (1124 East Seventh Street, Wilmington, Delaware, www.kalmarnyckel.org) will emerge from its winter break and begin its 2022 season of tours and sails.
A prime attraction is cruises along the historic Christine River around Wilmington.
Passengers can spend 1.5 hours cruising the Christina River on Wilmington’s historic riverfront – watching the hoisting of the sails, enjoying the view, and learning about the history of the Kalmar Nyckel.
Crew members will share the ship’s story and answer questions while the ship is out on the water. Cruises depart from the Copeland Maritime Center
The ship is a beautiful recreation of the original Kalmar Nyckel, which was built in Holland in the 1620s. Her mainmast is taller than a 10-story building, and she carries 7,600 square feet of sail area and six miles of rigging.
The original Kalmar Nyckel was a Swedish-owned, three-masted armed pinnace that sailed from Goteborg, Sweden in November of 1637 and brought the first permanent European settlers to the Delaware Valley.
In 1986 a group of citizens established the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation to design, build and launch a replica of the Kalmar Nyckel at a shipyard adjacent to the original landing site.
The new Kalmar Nyckel was constructed there and was launched on September 28, 1997. She was commissioned on May 9, 1998, and now serves as Delaware’s sea-going Ambassador of Good Will. She is a fully functional sail training vessel and has represented Delaware all over the country.
“Louis Comfort Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection” will be on exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum (2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware, delart.org) now through June 5.
A celebration of beauty, “Louis Comfort Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection” features more than 60 objects, spanning over 30 years of Tiffany’s prolific career. The exhibition showcases Tiffany’s innovative work in leaded and blown glass, including stellar examples of his famous windows, lamps, and vases.
His work was enthusiastically collected by art museums and private collectors throughout his lifetime and continues to be highly sought after today. This exhibition revels in the artistry and craftsmanship of the Tiffany artworks from Chicago’s distinguished Richard H. Driehaus Collection, highlighting masterworks in a comprehensive exhibition.
One of America’s most renowned artists, Louis Comfort Tiffany worked in nearly all of the media available to artists and designers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries — glass, ceramic, metalwork, jewelry, and painting. His love of the natural world inspired floral-themed vases and lamps, delicate vegetal candlesticks, and dramatic landscape windows.
Tiffany earned international acclaim, receiving prestigious awards in exhibitions across Europe and the United States, and his busy studios produced a range of objects, from common household items to one-of-a-kind masterpieces. His work was enthusiastically collected by art museums and private collectors throughout his lifetime and continues to be highly sought after today.
Guests are invited to visit Rockdale Art Center (2551 Mount Road, Aston, http://www.rockdaleartcenter.com/) on May from 1:30-4:30 for a unique class in the cyanotype process.
Cyanotype is both a printmaking process and the oldest photographic process. It was developed in the 1800’s as a way to create multiple copies in an easy and cost-efficient way. This is actually how the blueprint got its name.
Using UV light, participants will create magical blue pieces of art. In this workshop, they will take the traditional cyanotype process a step further and create “wet cyanotypes” using bubbles, water, spices, salt, and more to experiment with getting different colors, textures, and shapes with this alternative photography process.
$65 registration fee includes all supplies and materials.
