By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
The Willowdale Steeplechase
Undeniably, Brandywine Valley is known for being horse country. It has established its reputation as an area known for staging top-flight equestrian events.
The 2024 equestrian season had its unofficial start last weekend with a big annual point-to-point event in Delaware.
This weekend, the spotlight will be on the Annual Willowdale Steeplechase (Steeplechase grounds, routes 82 and 926, Unionville, willowdalesteeplechase.org).
This year’s 31st annual staging of the event will be held on May 11 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
The initial competition will be the “Jack Russell Terrier Races” at 10:30 a.m. followed by the “Pony Races” at 11 a.m.
The Willowdale Steeplechase is a first-class steeplechase course that features an uphill approach to the fences. This encourages less speed and more jumping and, as a result, causes less wear and tear on the horses.
The first of seven steeplechase races will begin at 1 p.m. and the racing is scheduled to end between 4:30 and 5 p.m. Gates will close at 6 p.m.
This year’s Willowdale Steeplechase has several beneficiaries — The Stroud Water Research Center and The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine at New Bolton Center.
Tickets are $50 at the gate.
The Yellow Springs Art Show (Art School Road, Chester Springs, www.yellowsprings.org), which is one of the longest-running art shows in the state, is celebrating its 51st anniversary in 2024.
The Yellow Springs Art Show got its start back in 1973 as a free event featuring a variety of artists displaying their work on clotheslines.
It has changed immeasurably since then and has become one of the largest and most prestigious annual art shows in the Delaware Valley.
The show is still free and open to the public. The popular annual event now features close to 200 participating artists — including many artists who are new to the show this year.
The show is running April 27 through May 12 in Historic Yellow Springs Lincoln Building. Show hours are from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily.
The 2024 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.
Tulip season has arrived, and you can see the colorful flowers in home gardens all around the area.
Festival of Fountains
Longwood Gardens (Route 1, Kennett Square, www.longwoodgardens.org) is inviting visitors to enjoy the beauty of late spring.
The “Festival of Fountains” opened for the season last week and will run until October 27.
Longwood Gardens’ Open Air Theatre and Italian Water Garden fountains sprang to life, as did 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.
Dancing fountains, performances under the stars, and beautiful gardens make the Festival of Fountains at Longwood Gardens magical. The spectacular celebration of music, light, water, and nature includes distinctive garden experiences indoors and out.
Before the fountain performances, guests can sit under the stars and enjoy live music and refreshing brews and pub fare in Longwood’s Beer Garden. Guests can enjoy a variety of selections from Victory Brewing Company, including the Longwood Seasons series brewed with ingredients grown at Longwood.
Select Fridays throughout Festival of Fountains bring extra family fun during Longwood’s “Festive Friday” theme nights. During these special evenings, enjoy themed fountain performances, concessions, entertainment, and more. Plus, every festive Friday brings the rare opportunity to climb to the top of the Chimes Tower for a stunning view of Longwood’s 62-bell carillon and the surrounding landscape.
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 $32 for adults, $28 for seniors and college students, $23 for active military and $17 for youth.`
The newest exhibition at the Brandywine Museum of Art (1 Hoffman Mill Road, Chadds Ford, brandywine.org), “Jamie Wyeth: Unsettled,” opened last month and will run through June 9.
“Jamie Wyeth: Unsettled” will trace a persistent vein of intriguing, often disconcerting imagery over the career of renowned artist Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946).
This major exhibition — organized by the Brandywine and five years in the making — features more than 50 works drawn from museum and private collections across the country that focus on the artist’s arresting, visceral imagery, revealing fascinating insight into Wyeth and the art of visual storytelling. Following its debut at the Brandywine, the exhibition will travel to four additional art museums around the United States.
As the title suggests, “Jamie Wyeth: Unsettled” focuses on a single through line in Wyeth’s work — one in which ominous stillness, postapocalyptic skies, frightening shifts in scale, and strange vantage points seem to highlight the vulnerability of the human condition. With his startling compositions and a masterful use of media, color and texture, Wyeth creates an immersive, synesthetic experience that both engages and upsets visual and emotional equilibrium.
While frequently countered and even hidden by the artist’s fuller body of work — particularly his well-known coastal views, farmscapes, and portraits — a consistent thread of darker, more troubling imagery has been a constant in the artist’s work over the past 60 years. His work has evolved from the ultra-realistic visions and virtuoso brushwork of his youth into a mature expressionism in which intense color and dramatic use of paint electrify his canvases.
As this exhibition demonstrates, Wyeth is at home with uneasy subjects and a master of the unsettled mood in each of these stages of his career.
The exhibition immerses viewers into natural and supernatural worlds, from works inspired by the artist’s time spent in Maine—which frequently acknowledge the power of the sea and its fearsome ability to render humans helpless—to forest-based works from Pennsylvania that delve into the supernatural side of nature.
“Jamie Wyeth: Unsettled” is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue co-published by Rizzoli Electa and Brandywine.
Following its presentation at the Brandywine, the exhibition will travel to the Farnsworth Art Museum (Rockland, ME), Greenville County Museum of Art (Greenville, SC), Dayton Art Institute (Dayton, OH), and the Frye Art Museum (Seattle, WA).
Museum admission is $20 adults, $18 seniors (65+), $8 children (ages 6-18) and students with ID and free for children (ages five and under).
On May 11, Laurel Hill Cemetery (3822 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-228-8200, www.thelaurelhillcemetery.org) will present “Accessible Hot Spots and Storied Plots” walking tour at 10 a.m.
“Accessible Hot Spots & Storied Plots” walking tours are shorter than a typical Hot Spots & Storied Plots tour and will stay on paved paths.
In life and in death, we all have stories to tell, and what better place to hear tales of wonder than Philadelphia’s most famous home of the dead?
This tour provides an informative overview of Laurel Hill’s long history, which includes many of the marble masterpieces, stunning views, and legendary stories about Laurel Hill.
“Hot Spots and Storied Plots” is the perfect introduction for anyone who enjoys beautiful art, scenic nature, and fascinating history. An experienced graveyard guide will offer a unique perspective. No two “Hot Spots and Storied Plots” are alike.
The Tour Guide will be Joe Lex.
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 12.
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.
Tour admission is $8 for adults, $5 for seniors (age 65+) and for youth ages 6-17, and free 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.
Fort Mifflin (Fort Mifflin and Hog Island roads, Philadelphia, 215-685-4167, www.fortmifflin.us) offers a variety of special events throughout the year. On May 11, the special event will be “Airplane Day.”
Visitors to the Fort will be able to watch planes from nearby Philadelphia International Airport as they ascend on take-offs and descend on landings — and find out why they built Fort Mifflin so close to a major airport.
Participants in the day’s activities will be able to learn the basics of flight, build their own gliders and explore the use of aircraft in warfare and anti-aircraft defenses. Fort Mifflin actually held anti-aircraft guns during World War II.
Visitors will be able to capture amazing photos of arriving aircraft on the “Sweet Spot” photo tours, complete the Spotters Guide to learn to recognize the unique paint and design on a variety of planes and listen to the pilots communicate with the control tower.
“Airplane Day” will run from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors (age 65 and older) and $10 for veterans (with ID) and students (age 12 and under).
ThrillPark Carnival, which features Tons of Fun Shows, is running now through May 21 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center (Station Avenue, Oaks,www.phillyexpocenter.com).
Tons of Fun Shows have a wide variety of children and adult rides, a good selection of games, and fine foods to excite your taste buds.
The popular event at the Greater Philadelphia Fairgrounds features more than 30 amusement rides and attractions for children and adults.
The ThrillPark Carnival opens at 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Admission is $5 with children (36″ & under) and Seniors (65 and older) admitted free.
Another event at the Expo Center this weekend will be the Philly Coin Expo.
The event on May 10 and 11 will feature 100 Tables with more than 50 dealers buying and selling coins, paper money, silver and gold bullion along with all types of precious metals and collectables.
Onsite grading will be available. Visitors can have their collections appraised by one of the Expo’s many trusted partners.
Admission for the Expo, which runs from noon-5 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, is $5 at the door.
“Under the Canopy: Animals of the Rainforest,” which will run now through September 2 at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, ansp.org), is an immersive exhibition introducing visitors to the fascinating world of rainforests and the animals that inhabit them.
You can learn about unique plants and rainforest ecology as you encounter a live sloth, boa constrictor and other animals that call these habitats home. You will see the importance of rainforests to the planet as you explore interactive discovery stations, dynamic displays and engaging programming.
Presented in English and Spanish, “Under the Canopy” will engage students of all ages, with accompanying curriculums on rainforests, water cycles, the science of diversity, deforestation and soil, how kids can save the planet and so much more. Hands-on interactives are complemented by life-size, climbable animal sculptures, including a gorilla, tortoise, crocodile, red-eye tree frog and Banyan tree.
All exhibits are included with the purchase of a general admission ticket.
Admission prices are — Adults (Age 13 and above), $22; Children (Age 2-12), $18.
Linvilla Orchards (137 West Knowlton Road, Media, 610-876-7116, www.linvilla.com) is presenting its traditional spring activities this weekend.
There will be fishing, pony rides, playland playground, spring hayrides and barnyard animals.
Other attractions are the rose garden class, the Farm Market and Garden Center, Linvilla Grill and Ship Bottom Beer Garden.
Tyler Arboretum (515 Painter Road, Media, 610-566-9134, www.tylerarboretum.org) is getting into spring big time.
The arboretum’s schedule for this weekend features the “Saturday Wildflower Walk,” on May 11 at 1 p.m.
At the “Saturday Wildflower Walk,” wildflower expert Dick Cloud will lead an informative two-hour hike that will take visitors through meadows, woods, and occasionally streamside.
These walks are for those who have a love of plants, their role in ecology, or for those who want to learn more.
Admission to Tyler Arboretum is $18 for adults (ages 18-64), $15 for Seniors (65+) and $10 for children (ages 3-17) and Military with valid ID.
The 2024 season is in full swing at Chanticleer (786 Church Street, Wayne, www.chanticleergarden.org).
The Chanticleer estate dates from the early 20th-century, when land along the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was developed for summer homes to escape the heat of Philadelphia. Adolph Rosengarten, Sr., and his wife Christine chose the Wayne-St. Davids area to build their country retreat. The family’s pharmaceutical firm would become part of Merck & Company in the 1920s.
The Rosengartens hired architect and former classmate Charles L. Borie to design the house, which was completed in 1913. Landscape architect Thomas Sears designed the terraces as extensions of the house. A 1924 addition converted the summer home into a year-round residence and the family moved here permanently.
Rosengarten’s humor is evident in naming his home after the estate “Chanticlere” in Thackeray’s 1855 novel “The Newcomes.”
As the home of the Rosengartens, Chanticleer was beautiful and green with impressive trees and lawns. Most of the floral and garden development you see today has occurred since 1990 — designed by Chanticleer staff and consultants.
There are seven horticulturists, each responsible for the design, planting, and maintenance of an area. The areas are continually evolving, each with its own feel, yet joined together as one complete unit. The Teacup Garden and Chanticleer Terraces feature seasonal plants and bold-textured tropical and subtropical plants. These areas change greatly from year to year. Non-hardy plants overwinter in greenhouses and basements.
The Tennis Court, Ruin, Gravel Garden, and Pond Garden focus on hardy perennials, both woody and herbaceous. The Tennis Court builds on the idea of foliar display introduced in the Teacup. The Ruin is a folly, built on the foundation of Adolph Rosengarten, Jr.’s home. It is meant to look as if the house fell into disrepair. The Gravel Garden is hot and dry, a touch of the Mediterranean in Pennsylvania. The Pond area is exuberantly floriferous.
Asian Woods and Bell’s Woodland are shady areas. The former features natives of China, Korea, and Japan; the latter, plants of eastern North America. The Serpentine celebrates the beauty of agricultural crops. The cut flower and vegetable gardens produce flowers for arrangements and food for the table.
Admission to Chanticleer is $12 for adults and free for pre-teen children (12 years and under).
Andalusia Historic House, Gardens and Arboretum (1237 State Road, Andalusia, www.andalusiapa.org) had its “Season Opening” on April 1.
Located on a wooded promontory overlooking the Delaware River, Andalusia has been a stately presence on this stretch of water, just north of Philadelphia, for more than 200 years. The ancestral home of the Biddle family, Andalusia is also a natural paradise of native woodlands and spectacular gardens that have evolved over time.
Placed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks in 1966, the Big House — one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the United States — provides an unparalleled look into our nation’s past, while also offering a glimpse into the life of a family that helped to shape its future.
Its surrounding gardens delight the senses all through the year, from the tumbling, brightly colored leaves of fall to the floral extravaganza of spring and the abundance and scent of summer.
Self-Guided Garden Tours will be available Mondays through Wednesdays through November 4 (excluding holidays) at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m.
Visitors can stroll the spectacular formal gardens and native woodlands during a self-guided garden tour at their leisure and enjoy sweeping views from the banks of the Delaware River. Picnics are allowed on the grounds (with a “carry-in, carry-out” policy).
Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum (2451 Kissel Hill Road, Lancaster, 717.569.0401, www.landisvalleymuseum.org) is holding its 35th annual Herb & Garden Faire on May 10 and 11.
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. both days. 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.
The 11th Annual Philadelphia Fleadh (www.PhillyFleadh.com) will be held on May 11 at Nick’s Roast Beef Parking Lot at 4501 Woodhaven Road in Northeast Philadelphia.
Voted one of five most authentic Irish destinations in America by Good Morning America, The Philadelphia Fleadh is a Celtic music and dance festival with 13 bands, traditional music sessions, Celtic Flame’s Feis at the Fleadh, dance performances, and a Ceili.
The event, which will run from 11 a.m.-8 p.m., will feature food, spirits and merchant vendors along with a kid’s zone with bounce houses, face painting and balloon animals and much more.
Some of the featured acts this year are No Irish Need Apply, The Natterjacks, Birmingham 6, The John Byrne Band, The Shanty’s, and Bogside Rogues.
Admission is $25.
The Morris Arboretum & Garden (100 East Northwestern Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-247-5777, www.morrisarboretum.org) is holding two tours this weekend.
The “Garden Highlights Tour” will be held on May 11 and 12 at 1 p.m. both days.
The Arboretum’s knowledgeable guides will design a tour around the interests of the attendees. Every tour is different.
Participants should meet at Widener Visitor Center 10 minutes prior to the tour.
Also on May 11, Morris will present “The Wetland: A Unique Ecosystem.”
“The Wetland: A Unique Ecosystem” investigates many native plants and trees in the natural lands area near the Wissahickon Creek. This special tour includes a brief history of the area and describes the nature of the Wetland ecosystem.
The Wetland provides important resources — water, food, shelter — vital for plants, trees, and wildlife. This tour is off paved pathways, and visitors are advised to wear walking or hiking shoes.
Both tours are free with general admission — Adults: $20; Seniors (65+ years): $18; Youth (3-17 years): $10; and Children (Under 3): Free.
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 two years ago.
Wonderspaces features 14 art installations that all play with the idea of perspective. New artworks are rotated 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.
Some of the current featured exhibits are SPHERES: Songs of Spacetime, ERUPTURE, Rainbow Rooms and RADIANCE (INFINITY BOX NO. 6)
Grim Philly’s “Dark Philly History Tour” (www.grimphilly.com) will be held every evening throughout the spring.
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.
Tickets are $35.
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 $20.
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 $20.
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 $20.
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 $20.
Grim Philly’s “Dark Philly History Tour” (www.grimphilly.com) will be held every evening throughout the winter.
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.
Tickets are $35.
One of the more energetic traditional springtime events in Pennsylvania Dutch country is the Rough and Tumble Engineers Historical Association’s annual “Spring Stream Up” (Rough and Tumble, 4977 Lincoln Highway East, Kinzers, 717-442-4249, www.roughandtumble.org).
“Spring Steam-Up” is looked at as a special event each year at Rough and Tumble — a time to get the steam engines out of hibernation and fire them up. It is also a time for the plowing to begin.
“Spring Steam-Up” is scheduled for May 10 and 11 from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. One of the highlights will be sessions of “Plowing with Steam and Gas Tractors.” This activity will be held only if weather is favorable to plow.
There will be a variety of displays featuring steam engines, gas engines, steam tractors, gas tractors and antique cars. Also featured will be a model shop, a sawmill, two steam trains and blacksmithing demonstrations at the museum’s blacksmith shop.
“Tractor Games” are scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. The “Garden Tractor Pull” and the “Children’s Pedal Tractor Pull” will be held on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Tickets for “Spring Stream Up” are $5 for adults and $2 for children (ages 6-12).
