What To Do: Antiques in Delaware, National Dog Show

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times 

The Christmas season is knocking on the door so it’s no surprise that there are special events this weekend featuring holiday light shows, antiques, dogs, wine, museum tours and food festivals.

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library (Route 52, Wilmington, Delaware, 800-448-3883, www.winterthur.org) is presenting one of its most popular annual events this weekend — the Delaware Antiques Show.

One of the area’s longest-running traditional events, the Delaware Antiques Show has been around for more than 50 years. This year, it will be held from November 15-17 at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington.

Honored as one of the nation’s most highly acclaimed antiques shows, the annual three-day event presents a large and diverse assemblage of art, antiques and design. With more than 60 top-flight dealers participating, the Delaware Antiques Show highlights the best of American antiques and decorative arts.

From the newest collector to the most knowledgeable connoisseur, there is something for everyone. Tickets include lectures, book signings, and admission to the show and to Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library on the days of the Show.

The 60th annual staging of the show will feature sales displays featuring furniture and decorative accessories from the 17th to the early 20th centuries, including folk art, Native American art, ceramics, needlework, quilts, jewelry, prints, paintings, and rugs.

As usual, the knowledgeable dealers will be at their booths answering questions and offering advice to collectors. Visitors to the show can learn from the experts about a variety of different antiques categories, including brass, jewelry, painting, ceramics, silver, textiles and 18th and 19th century furniture.

Proceeds from the Delaware Antiques Show benefit the educational programs at Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. Hours are from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday.

Tickets are $25 and include the show catalogue. Children under 12 are admitted free. Ticket holders can also enjoy complimentary general admission at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library when they present their Delaware Antiques Show ticket during the three days of the show.

If you suffer from cynophobia then don’t even think about visiting the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center (100 Station Ave., Oaks, 484-754-3976, http://www.phillyexpocenter.com) this weekend.

Cynophobia is the fear of dogs.

On November 16 and 17, the National Dog Show will be held at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center – from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. each day.

The Kennel Club of Philadelphia has presented dog shows for more than 125 years. The two all-breed dog shows are held this year on Saturday, November 16 and Sunday, November 17.

The show is now the only benched show in America, which means that all breeds can be found in designated locations throughout the day both Saturday and Sunday.

There will be more than 2,000 of the top American Kennel Club sanctioned dogs from across the country. 205 breeds and varieties are eligible to compete for best of Breed, First in Group and the coveted title of Best in Show. Each day brings different competitions and attractions.

The show’s sponsor – the Kennel Club of Philadelphia – will host two all-breed dog shows with completely different competitions each day. The annual event is one of only a handful of “benched” events in the United States.

Many who are not familiar with competitive dog shows may find themselves wondering what the difference is between a benched dog show and a non-benched dog show.

A benched show is where the participating dogs are required to be on assigned benches when they are not being shown in competition. This allows all interested spectators, breeders, handlers and attendees to meet all the participating dogs, interact, ask questions, and share information about the various breeds present at the show. A non-benched dog show does not require all dogs to remain “benched” throughout the competition.

The National Dog Show, which has been held annually since 1933, is one of the four remaining (and the oldest) benched dog shows in the United States.

Visitors to the show will be able to check out a multitude of the top American Kennel Club sanctioned dogs from across the country.

Saturday is The National Dog Show Presented by Purina, taped for telecast nationwide on Thanksgiving Day by NBC. It is the most widely viewed dog show in America.

Sunday’s show offers more canine competitions, enhanced athletic dog exhibitions plus family-friendly activities and hands-on fun.

There will be a full schedule of events each day, including breed judging and demonstration events. The exhibitors at the show will be competing for prizes in categories in seven main groups — terrier, toy, working, sporting, hound, non-sporting and herding.

The area will also feature dog-themed face painting, caricatures and more.

Admission either day is $20 for adults, $10 for children (ages 4-12) and free for children (3 and under).

Chaddsford Winery (Route 1, Chadds Ford, 610-388-6221, www.chaddsford.com) is presenting “Reserve Tastings – Festive Faves” on Saturdays in November and December 1.

Guests will join the CFW Crew for an intimate and educational 60-minute experience in the Barrel Room. The trained staff will guide them through a pre-selected tasting of five widely diverse and award-winning wines from across our portfolio. The selections will be paired alongside seasonal local cheeses and other accoutrements to enhance your tasting experience.

The staff will also discuss topics such as grape growing conditions at our partner vineyards and the onsite winemaking process from production to aging and bottling.

The following is the 2024 Pairing Line Up – Greeting Wine: Sparkling White; 2022 Chardonnay with Birchrun Hills Farm’s Little Chardy Cheese; 2023 Presage: Epilogue with Farm at Doe Run’s Seven Sisters Cheese and Small Batch Kitchen’s Peach Ginger Spread; 2021 Cabernet Franc with Birchrun Hills Farm’s Red Cat Cheese; and 2021 Only In Dreams with Éclat’s Porcini and Thyme Parallel Bar.

Tickets are $35 per person.

On November 16, Laurel Hill Cemetery (3822 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-228-8200, www.thelaurelhillcemetery.org) will present “Pocket of Paradise Neighborhood Tour” at 11 a.m. and “Heavenly Intonations: Laurel Hill’s Musical Legacy” at 1 p.m.

“Pocket of Paradise Neighborhood Tour” is a walking tour that covers both the history of the area, as well as the more recent past as it has been experienced firsthand by neighborhood residents.

Highlights include this history of original settlers, rise and fall of Dobson Mills, as well as the second phase of the industrial revolution that included household names such as Pep Boys, Tastykake and Penn Reels.

Tours will be led by Hidden City, area residents and the Friends of Laurel Hill.

At “Heavenly Intonations: Laurel Hill’s Musical Legacy,” participants will be able to visit the gravesites of those who contributed in some way to the musical legacy of America. In some cases, we’ll even hear their work.

This includes the composer who created the first serious American symphonic work and was also the first music critic in the United States; the woman who wrote the first words that Thomas Edison uttered into his recently invented phonograph.

The German Christmas Festival, which is also known as Christkindl Markt, will take place November 16 at the Delaware Saengerbund (49 Salem Church Road, Newark, Delaware, 302-366-9454,www.delawaresaengerbund.org). The free event is scheduled to get underway at 11 a.m. and continue until 3 p.m.

The kitchen will open at 11 a.m. and feature a wide array of German cakes, stollen and pastries along with a variety of hot food and sandwich items. The Bauernstube (restaurant) will be open all day with food and beverages. A wide array of vendor booths will be set up at the festival featuring imported candy, handmade articles, German Christmas items and ornaments, bakery items, a White Elephant sale and a children’s gift shop.

Live entertainment will be presented all day with dance performances by the Children’s Enzian Volkstanzgruppe at 1 p.m. and seasonal music by Enzian Musikanten throughout the day. Santa is scheduled to arrive between 2:30 and 3 p.m.

From November 21 through January 1, the Philadelphia Zoo (3400 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia) will host LumiNature, a gigantic holiday season light experience that turns the entire Zoo into a magical journey of lights, music, sounds and surprises.

The giant-sized holiday extravaganza will transform the entire Zoo into a nighttime winter wonderland. Guests will experience a magical journey of lights, music, sounds and surprises.

LumiNature will expand to feature 16 illuminated experience zones that will feature lively themed displays, newly enhanced installations and thousands of twinkling lights on a breathtaking journey celebrating the wonder of wildlife and the beauty of our planet.

Highlights this year include two brand-new illuminated zones, Shimmer River and LumiNature Lane, along with the return of fan favorites like Penguin Prismatic featuring a 40 ft. tall penguin glimmering with 40,000 lights, our iconic 25 ft. tall tree made entirely of 1,500 lit flamingo lawn ornaments and so much more.
At Shimmer River, take a journey through the jungle and enter a 100 ft. long tunnel filled with 4,000 lights, creating dynamic scenes from growing vines, to blooming flowers, multicolored kaleidoscopes and more.

LumiNature will feature more than a million lights and 10+ miles of power cord, 20 ft. tall coral reef and under the sea-inspired holiday tree featuring a giant sea turtle, sparkling waterfall and vine wall featuring 20,000 lights, 150,000 sparkling pink and aquamarine lights, 200,000 lights shining above the Septa PZ Express Train, over 1,500 illuminated flamingos and 200 illuminated penguins, 22 ft. tall butterfly tree covered in 4,000 butterflies, 20 ft. tall snake shimmering with 5,000 lights, 15 ft. tall blue gorilla wearing a glowing lei and 20 giant, floating jellyfish.

Additionally, seasonal fare, strolling performers, hot chocolate and ever-warming adult beverages promise to additionally spark the holiday spirit.

Tickets start at $22 for adults and $18 for children.

The 2024 Winter in Franklin Square holiday festival (200 North Sixth Street, Philadelphia, http://www.historicphiladelphia.org/franklin-square/holidays-in-franklin-square/) opens its season on November 21 runs until February 25.

It will be open from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.

The Electrical Spectacle Holiday Light Show will be open from 4-8 p.m. daily and 4-9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and will be closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Visitors are invited to experience the magic of the holidays and celebrate traditions new and old at the Franklin Square Holiday Festival.

Inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s electrifying genius, the free Electrical Spectacle Holiday Light Show presented by PECO is the key to holiday fun in Franklin Square.

Attendees can marvel at more than 50,000 lights as they shimmer, dance, and illuminate the Square to a soundtrack of holiday classics, some of which are performed by The Philly POPS in two alternating shows every 30 minutes. Every evening, one lucky audience member will be selected to “ignite’ the 4:30 p.m. show.

A popular annual Philly holiday tradition can be found at the Rothman Orthopaedics Institute Ice Rink at Dilworth Park (1 South 15th Street, Philadelphia, http://ccdparks.org/dilworth-park),

Beginning this November, some of Philadelphia’s favorite winter traditions return to Dilworth Park. Visitors of all ages can enjoy a dramatic seasonal transformation as fountains are replaced by the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute Ice Rink and reindeer topiaries take up winter residence on the Greenfield Lawn.

In addition, a full lineup of free entertainment is planned, including the Deck the Hall Light Show, the Made in Philadelphia Holiday Market and Rothman Orthopaedic Institute Cabin.

Dilworth Park’s winter season began on November 3 with the opening of the Wintergarden on the Greenfield Lawn presented by TD Bank. On November 4, the Rothman Orthopaedics Ice Rink and Cabin made its annual return.

The Rothman Institute Ice Rink at Dilworth Park is an unparalleled entertainment experience on Philadelphia’s center stage in a wonderfully urban and unique setting. Open seven days a week, the rink offers wintery fun for all ages, with a full slate of programs.

The Made in Philadelphia Holiday Market runs through January 1 with more than 40 local vendors.

Nemours Estate (850 Alapocas Drive, Wilmington, Delaware, www.nemoursestate.org), which is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., has finished its holiday preparation

Guests will be able to resume visiting when Nemours reopens for “Noël at Nemours” on November 19. It will run through December 29.

Ever since 1910, when Mr. and Mrs. duPont began living in their newly built mansion, the holiday season has been a festive time at Nemours. The Christmas decorations at the Nemours Mansion are often inspired by the architecture of the home, the customs of the duPonts or the French influence.

The Mansion is also decorated by some of the duPonts’ original decorations, including a German crèche, which dates from the late 19th century. The figures are soft ceramic, unglazed and hand colored.

Visitors can enjoy Christmas trees, wreaths, and hundreds of feet of garland on grand display in the Visitor Center, Chauffer’s Garage, Mansion and grounds.

All three floors of the Mansion will be decorated as well as the Chauffeur’s Garage and select areas of the gardens. Decorations will coincide with the story of the Estate along with a festive Versailles-inspired motif.

Live music performances will be held in the Mansion throughout the season.

Nemours Estate features an exquisite, 77-room Mansion, the largest formal French gardens in North America, a Chauffeur’s Garage housing a collection of vintage automobiles, and 200 acres of scenic woodlands, meadows and lawns.

Nemours was the estate of Alfred I. duPont.

Alfred named the estate Nemours, after the French town that his great-great-grandfather represented in the French Estates General. While looking to the past and his ancestors for inspiration, Alfred also ensured that his new home was thoroughly modern by incorporating the latest technology and many of his own inventions.

Admission to Nemours is $25 for adults, $23 for seniors and $12 for children.

“Christmas Candylane,” which is the annual holiday event at Hersheypark (100 West Hersheypark Drive, Hershey, 800-HERSHEY, www.hersheypark.com), is running now through January 1.

Visitors to Hershey can also experience the winter wonderland called “Hershey Sweet Lights, A Holiday Drive-Thru Spectacular.” The attraction is a two-mile drive through wooded trails featuring approximately 600 illuminated, animated displays.

Admission prices for “Christmas Candylane” start at $39.99.

“A Very Furry Christmas at Sesame Place” (100 Sesame Road, Langhorne, www.sesameplace.com) is a festive, family-friendly celebration with everyone’s favorite Sesame Street friends live and in-person at the amusement park in Langhorne.

The annual event, which runs through January 5, offers a wide array of family holiday activities.

Visitors to the park can sing along at three special Christmas shows and a spectacular music and light show at our giant 1-2-3 Christmas Tree, take a train ride tour through the Twiddlebugs’ Gingerbread Cookie Factory on the Sesame Place Furry Express, take part in the Neighborhood Street Party Christmas Parade, and have the opportunity to meet Lightning, the adorable reindeer from the movie “Elmo Saves Christmas.”

As an added attraction this year, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is spending the holiday season at Sesame Place. The lovable reindeer along with his friends Clarice and Bumble, will be available for photos with guests.

Tickets for “A Very Furry Christmas” start at $29.99.

Bethlehem, which is known as the “Christmas City,” presents Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem (PNC Plaza at SteelStacks, 645 East First Street, Bethlehem, 610-332-1300, http://www.christmascity.org) every Friday, Saturday and Sunday now through December 22.

Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem showcases aisles of exquisite handmade works by the nation’s finest artisans. The market also features live performances of Christmas music and vendors with an amazing variety of tasty food items.

Other special attractions include ice carving, glassblowing demonstrations, “Breakfast with St. Nicholas,” outdoor artisan huts, fire pits and igloos in the Outdoor Village, and Käthe Wohlfarht with handmade ornaments, nutcrackers and collectibles from Germany.

A guaranteed way to get into a Christmas mood is by visiting Koziar’s Christmas Village (782 Christmas Village Road, Bernville, 610-488-1110, www.koziarschristmasvillage.com) which began its 76th season on November 2.

Koziar’s Christmas Village is truly a holiday wonderland — a wintertime spectacle that delights young and old alike with a huge amount of holiday displays and special attractions. It will remain open every night through January 1 — including Christmas Eve, Christmas Night, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Night.

The tours of “Christmas Village” feature visits to a variety of displays and exhibits, including “Santa’s Post Office,” “Christmas in the Jungle,” “Manger Scene,” “Christmas Beneath the Sea,” “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” “Olde Fashioned Bakery Shop,” “Toy Maker and his Toy Shop,” “Christmas in Other Lands” and “The Olde Church”.

Other attractions at Koziar’s Christmas Village include a huge model train display, a toy shop, a country kitchen, indoor and outdoor Christmas displays and a place to visit with Santa and even get pictures taken with the old guy in the red suit. Admission to Christmas Village is $13 for adults, $12 for seniors (65 and older) and $11 for children (ages 4-10).

In addition to Koziar’s Christmas Village, several other Christmas events are already underway.

The American Music Theatre (2425 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, 800-648-4102, www.AMTshows.com) has its holiday show running now through December 30.

The AMT’s 2024 show, “Joy to the World,” is an all-new presentation of favorite sacred and secular holiday songs performed by professional artists from across the country. The show will feature spectacular vocal harmonies, lively musical arrangements, impressive dancing and the music of the AMT Orchestra.

Also featured will be elaborate scenery, elegant costumes and a theater decked out with holiday decorations.

Patrons can witness the magic and splendor of the holiday celebration as AMT presents “Joy to the World” featuring incredible singers, astonishing dancers, wondrous costumes, breathtaking sets, and all the endearment of a perfect fireside family moment.

Audience members will be able to bask in the beauty of the season and cherish the stories of spirit and love. Beautiful snowscapes, child-like joy, cherished stories, the spirit of love, and all your favorite things about the holiday season are cast onstage in this glorious celebration of timeless holiday classics.

Ticket prices start at $25.

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.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children.

On November 16 and 17, the Olde Fort Mifflin Historical Society will celebrate the 245th Anniversary of the “Siege & Bombardment of Fort Mifflin.”

There will be two days of activities commemorating the historic siege and bombardment of Fort Mifflin (Fort Mifflin and Hog Island roads, Philadelphia, 215-685-4167, www.fortmifflin.us) that took place in 1777. The event gets underway each day at 10 a.m. and continues until 4 p.m.

Four full scripted battles will tell the story of the greatest bombardment of the Revolutionary War.

Fort Mifflin, which was originally called Fort Island Battery, was commissioned in 1771. It was also known as Mud Island Fort because it sits on Mud Island (also known as Deep Water Island) on the Delaware River near the Philadelphia International Airport. During the American Revolutionary War, the British Army bombarded and captured the fort as part of their conquest of Philadelphia in autumn 1777.

During the siege, 400 American soldiers held off more than 2,000 British troops and over 250 ships that had been responsible for launching an endless barrage of cannonballs into the fort. After five days of holding off the British, the American troops evacuated the fort after having successfully denied the British Navy free use of the Delaware River.

Activities at this weekend’s commemoration will depict life in the 18th century and feature weapons demonstrations, tactical demonstrations, musket drills for youngsters and a scavenger hunt. There will be military re-enactors portraying both American and British forces as they commemorate the largest bombardment that took place in the entire American Revolution.

A “skirmish” will be staged at 1:30 p.m. each day.

Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors and $10 for veterans with ID and children (ages 6-12).