Fall Fun Guide by 21st Century Newspapers PA

YourGuideto Awesome Autumn Activities

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Fall Fun Guide

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Set the tone for autumn with Master Gardener Fall Fest

Scarecrow displays at Peddlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Village

Chocolate program at Pennypacker Mills

Falls festivals in the Wissahickon Valley

Chrysanthemum Festival at Longwood Gardens

Food retrospective at Temple Judea Museum

Harry Potter-themed straw maze

Fall theater preview

Great Pumpkin Carvers

Area Halloween attractions

Local breweries put fall fun on tap

Listings of fall festivals and events

Fall events at area parks, trails and historic sites

Thursday, September 26, 2013

ummer might be over, but the gardening season is still in full swing. The 10th annual Master Gardener Fall Fest offers plant lovers a menu of workshops, talks and gardening help Saturday, Sept. 28, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Smedley Park on Baltimore Pike in Springfield Township, Delaware County. Tour the display gardens and browse the plant sale and garden accessories tables. Arborist Alan JensenSellers, of the Davey Tree Co., will demonstrate pruning tools, principles and practices to enhance the health, aesthetics and structure of trees and other woody ornamentals. Master gardener Cynthia Sabatini will show easy ways to propagate annuals and perennials, while master gardener Beth Folkomer shares new and different recipes that tackle the mountain of zucchini ripening in the vegetable patch. Pumpkin painting with master gardener Jeanne Quintavalla will set the tone for autumn in one workshop, while master gardener Julia King takes

those pumpkins and adds flowers in another design workshop. Participants will make a wreath with corn husks and other fall accents in yet another session with Beth Folkomer. In between programs, enjoy tours of the sun, shade, native plant and pollinator gardens, all designed and maintained by master gardeners. Get inspired and then browse the plant sale table for bulbs, native plants and perennials. A bake sale table and the master gardener marketplace with its one-of-a-kind crafted items will tempt shoppers. Bring cash or checks and get a jump on the holidays. And as always, bring your gardening questions and concerns; master gardeners will offer help and information on insect pests and plant problems. Fall Fest opens at 9 a.m. with either the pruning workshop at $20 or the fall wreath making workshop at $25. Pumpkin painting at $25 or plant propagation at $20 follow, with a break for lunch at noon, before the final dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s selection at 1 p.m. with either fall flower design or zucchini cooking, both at $20. Lunch selections are turkey, vegetarian or beef at $10 per order. Call 610-690-7669 for details.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Fall Fun Guide

ScarecrowsinfiltratePeddler’s Villagein Lahaskaforthecomingoffallfestivities

By Jennifer Connor

jconnor@thereporteronline. com he winding brick pathways of Peddler’s Village in Lahaska, lined with numerous expertly crafted scarecrows lend themselves well to the cultural phenomenon that is fall in Bucks County. In fact, in its 34th year, Peddler’s Village scarecrow season and annual Scarecrow Festival have become a fall staple for many in Bucks County and its surroundings. Through Sunday, Sept. 29, visitors to the village can vote for the winners of this season’s scarecrow class — picking participants to win close to $5,000 in prizes. The scarecrows — with themes including Philly Love, Quite the Character Scarecrow,

A Traditional/Whirligig Scarecrow, Extraordinary Contemporary Scarecrow, Kids Only and group creations — will be on display through Sunday, Oct. 27. Last year, Pearl S. Buck International Volunteer Association entered for the first time, creating the Bucks County humanitarian, author and mother herself as a scarecrow. This year, the association is entering again as home-schooled high school students Angelina and Mark Bartorelli of Dublin create O-Lan, a character from Pearl S. Buck’s novel “The Good Earth.” According to Cynthia Louden, chair of special events/ community projects for Pearl S. Buck volunteer association, O-Lan is a peasant farmer and mother in China who does everything she can to take care of

her family, including stealing pearls. “We chose Angelina and Mark to work on the scarecrow because of their dedication, reliability and hard work,” Louden said. Though the organization didn’t win any prizes last year, it hopes to possibly gain some notoriety in this year’s category of “Quite the Character Scarecrow.” The festivities culminated in the Scarecrow Festival on Saturday, Sept. 21, and Sunday, Sept. 22. “The village is festive for two full months helping us say goodbye to summer,” Eve Gelman, public relations and social media manager said. “Plus, fall in Bucks County is such a fantastic time with all the beautiful leaf changes.”

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Fall Fun Guide

Chocolate gets an old face at Pennypacker Mills

By Audrey McGlinchy

in the area around Philadelphia,” he says. “When Ben Franklin was writing about chocolate, he was When Americans ate chocolate writing about it as a drink.” in the 18th century, they drank it Local residents can sample down. and see ambassadors from Mars “Chocolate, until about 1900, Chocolate prepare the chocolate was a drink,” explains Rodney drink of Franklin’s time when Snyder, chocolate history research Pennypacker Mills in Schwenksdirector at Mars Chocolate North ville, Pa., hosts “The American America. Heritage of Chocolate” on Oct. “That’s how it was, especially 5. The program also coincides 21st Century Media News Service

Thursday, September 26, 2013

with the opening of the Colonial’s servants’ area this fall. “We’ve been in the process since January of restoring it to the way it looked before we got here,” says Pennypacker Mills’ museum educator Linda Callegari. “[Opening the servants’ Please see Chocolate on 5

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Chocolate gets an old face at Pennypacker Mills Chocolate, from 4

wing] is a way to introduce something new at a place that’s been open for 30 years,” she says. With the restoration of the rooms in which hired help cooked meals, Callegari says Pennypacker will begin over the next year to focus its programming on food and how it would have been made in the time period before and during the Pennypacker family’s residence. For those who attend the Oct. 5 event, emphasis will be on both process and finished product. Snyder, who authored a section of the book “Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage,” the culmination of almost a decade of research spearheaded by Mars, explains that the process begins with roasting and ends with an amalgam of “American Heritage spices. “We have Chocolate” Though a basket runs they won’t where you at Pennypacker Mills be doing it separate the 5 Haldeman Road on-site, says shells from Schwenksville, PA. Snyder, the the cocoa 19473 first step in nips,” says Sunday, Oct. 5, the process Snyder. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. is to roast The next Tickets: Free. the cocoa step is to Info: 610-287-9349 or beans. This use a heated http://www.montcopa. simplifies metate, or org/pennypackermills. the second a mortar, to step: removsoften and ing the shells ground the and unearthing the cocoa nips. The final step is to pod. add a myriad of spices —

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cinnamon, nutmeg and red pepper, among others — and to continue grounding, cultivating a taste that is unlike the chocolate consumed today; it’s spicier and less sweet. “That combination of spices all in the right balance really make it an interesting drink,” says Snyder. It’s a combination to highlight Mars Chocolate’s own proposed mixing: the company is partnering with various historic sites,

like Pennypacker Mills, across the country, to offer free chocolate demonstrations and samples to the local public, plus selling the chocolate product, called “American Heritage Chocolate,” in more than 130 gift shops attached to the participating historic sites. “Now we can go to sites and explain to them what the chocolate tasted like and how the locals would have consumed chocolate,” says Snyder.

For those who visit these historic sites, it grants them a new and more flavorful look at history. “It gets people to look at us in a slightly different way,” says Callegari. “This enables Mars to take what they do best and blend it with history to benefit historic sites as well as the general public. This chocolate isn’t sold in stores. It’s only offered at historic sites. That makes it special and it supports the historic sites,” she says.

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Fall Fun Guide

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Local fall festivals to celebrate the season By Eric Devlin

edevlin@montgomerynews. com

File photo by KATHY CANTWELL

Rashaad Lusane, 8 months, of Norristown, sits in the pumpkin patch at the 2012 Whitpain Fall Harvest Festival.

File Photo by NANCY TIRRELL PARAVANO

Jake Tan, 5, of Lower Gwynedd, bounces on one of the kiddie amusements during the 2012 Lower Gwynedd Countrie Picnic.

FallFun! File photo by KATHY CANTWELL

Ashley Klein, 7, of Blue Bell, enjoys a pony ride during the 2012 Whitpain Fall Harvest Festival.

s the temperature begins to drop and the leaves slowly begin to change color, a number of area fall festivals are set to help celebrate the new season. The Ambler Oktoberfest and the Whitpain Community Harvest Festival are two annual events that promise to help residents get excited for fall. On tap is the 22nd annual Ambler Oktoberfest, sponsored by Ambler Main Street, set for Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an Oct. 6 rain date. Cheryl Casalinuovo, administrator for Ambler Main Street, said the event will shut down Butler Avenue from Lindenwold Avenue to Main Street beginning at 8:30 a.m. in order for visitors to check out the various festivities including a beer garden sponsored by the Ambler Rotary, food from local restaurants including the Lucky Well — the borough’s newest restaurant — and arts and crafts vendors. The event also promises a children’s area and musical entertainment throughout the day. “It’s a nice family event,” she said, “with something for everyone. We do have two music venues at Butler Ave-

nue and Main and at Borough Hall. Volunteer Luke Cleary is organizing the music.” For more information about the Ambler Oktoberfest, visit amblermainstreet.org. Finally, while the days might be getting colder, things are heating up in Whitpain Township for the annual Harvest Festival Oct. 12 at Wentz Run Park. In addition to the traditional favorites like the Great Pumpkin Patch, petting zoo, inflatable rides, a trackless train and the food court, this year’s festival will have a much more musical flavor, according to Whitpain Township Parks and Recreation Assistant Director Michael Richino. Local musicians Ashley Leone, the Fort Washington School of Rock and singer/ songwriter Brett Dennen are set to take the stage from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. along with live acts who will be performing throughout the day. “We’re hoping this turns into a yearly thing,” he said, “with the music side of it.” Additionally, Richino said the organization Love Hope Strength and the School of Rock have partnered together to register festival visitors as bone marrow donors. For more information about the Harvest Festival, visit whitpainrec.com. Follow Eric Devlin on Twitter @Eric_Devlin.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Fall Fun Guide

Fall’s favorite flavor celebrated at Longwood’s Chrysanthemum Festival By Kiersten McMonagle

kmcmonagle@21st-centurymedia.com rom Oct. 26 to Nov. 24, Longwood Gardens will be holding its annual Chrysanthemum Festival at the East Marlborough, Chester County location. The festival, which takes place in Longwood Garden’s indoor conservatory, is free to the public with the price of regular admission. This year’s festival will include more than 20,000 blooming mums which have been grown and nurtured specially for the occasion. The flowers have been trained to mimic clouds, torches, spirals, fans, 13-foot arches, and more, according to the Longwood Gardens website. “Mums are a fall favorite,” said Patricia Evans, the communications manager at Longwood Gardens. “And I think when you come to Longwood, you really get to see them grown in some extraordinary ways.” Among the flowers included at this year’s festival, there will appear a plant special to Longwood Gardens. The Longwood Gardens’ website boasts that its Thousand Bloom Mum will be the largest found in all of North America. Evans said that this year’s bloom took 18 months to grow properly, and those gardeners involved with the project were sent to Japan to work on it. The

gardens have been presenting Thousand Bloom Mums — qualified as any mum with more than 500 blooms on it — since 1995, but over the last four or five years gardeners have “really amped up their efforts,” said Evans. In total, this year’s bloom will hold more 1,100 perfectly grown and molded chrysanthemums. At the same time, a second Thousand Bloom Mum — itself holding roughly 500 blooms - will also be showcased at the Longwood Gardens located in Washington, DC. Longwood Gardens held its first Chrysanthemum Festival in 1981. For years before that, Pierre S. duPont — who created Longwood Garden — had grown the flowers in his indoor conservatory at the gardens. That year, it became an official festival which has been held every year since. The chrysanthemum, better known as the mum, is a common and well-loved autumn plant. While the flowers are native to Asia and northeastern Europe, they can be found in abundance throughout North America every year from September to November. Several breeds of the chrysanthemum can be found throughout North America, and are easily recognized by most. Longwood Gardens’ display, however, will include not only those flowers which we all know and love,

but several which visitors may never have seen before. In total, there are nine categories of mums: Quill, Daisy, Decorative, Buttons, Pompom, Spoon, Cushions, Spider, and Anemone; all of which have been nurtured into beautiful displays for visitors this upcoming October and November. Each year, Longwood Gardens creates an enormous display of mums for visitors to enjoy, in an ever-changing setup and array of designs. This year, Longwood Gardens will also be holding a number of other autumn-themed events for visitors to the gardens to enjoy. Included among these special seasonal events are Autumn’s Colors through Nov. 24, and the Pumpkin Playground from Sept. 28 to Nov. 1. For more information on the Chrysanthemum Festival, go to longwoodgardens.org, or call 610-388-1000. Longwood Gardens is located at 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348.

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Fall Fun Guide

A buffet spread with a doll topper prepared by Mollie the Kosher Caterer.

Photo courtesy of Temple Judea Museum

Thursday, September 26, 2013

By Mary Cantell

21st Century Media News Service

hat would you give to wake up to the scent of cinnamon sweet rolls or challah bread? A comedian once quipped that he liked to light a scented candle in the morning, which emanated the aroma of freshly baked biscuits, so that his roommates would awaken to a “sense of false hope.” But for Temple Judea Museum director/curator Rita (Rosen) Poley, there was nothing false about what wafted into her olfactory senses come daybreak as a child. Since she lived on top of a bakery, the scent of freshly baked goods was practically a 24/7 experience for her. “Rosen’s Famous Baking Company was truly a family business,” said Poley of the enterprise that was rooted in Russia, where in Rovno, her grandmother ran the village oven (a small “shtetl”). In her parents Philadelphia bakery, her father and uncles worked the bread and cake shops, respectively, Please see Kosher on 9

Kosher caterers then and now:

A retrospective at Temple Judea Museum

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Fall Fun Guide

Kosher caterers then and now

Betty, and father, Burt, in 1949. “For me, it was just a natural transition,” said Olster of following in his while her mother ran the store. parents’ footsteps. He’ll share his memTo this day, Poley fondly recalls how ories, including the 20-year success food became the mainstay staple that story at Park City West and catering the held her family (and society) together. White House in 2007. And it wasn’t long after talking with Diane Pieri’s grandmother was an friend and fellow artist Diane Pieri, outstanding cook and began her catering whose grandparents owned a fruitbusiness at a ripe 60 years of age. and-produce business before becoming “I only knew my grandmother as a caterers, that a kernel of nostalgia grew caterer who had her business in the upon discovering their two-story house she lived mutual foody backin on Durham Street in grounds. This led to Mt. Airy,” said Pieri. “It spearheading the subject was the very house all “When Jewish Food matter for this year’s fall the grandkids would visit Was the Family exhibition at the Temple and sleep over, the very Business” Judea Museum. house that always smelled will be on display On Sunday afternoon, so good. It spilled over at Temple Judea Museum, Oct. 6, the event (cawith boxes of homemade 8339 Old York Road, tered, of course) centers cookies, cakes, potato and Elkins Park, PA 19027, on a one-hour panel disliver knishes, strudels, through Dec. 15. cussion on the meaning halibut salad for 200, and Hours: Monday - Friday, of food shared commuhuge cartons of fresh eggs 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; nally outside the home from Lancaster farmers. Sunday, - 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.; from individuals who The house was comTuesday & Friday, have an ancestry devoted pletely in service to her open until 8 p.m. to kosher foods. Three business.” Sunday, Oct. 6: Jewish food businesses In addition to the panel, Panel discussion with are the primary focus of also continuing (until cocktail reception, 3 p.m. the exhibition. Oct. 6) is a silent auction, followed by dessert Representing the fami“Stirring the Pot,” to benreception at 5 p.m. lies, the panel includes: efit the temple. A number Info: 215-887-2027 or Diane Pieri (Mollie the of artists have contributed TJ Museum@kenethisrael. Kosher Caterer), Peter their work to the cause org. Olster (Betty the Caterer) and have created some and Rita Rosen Poley uniquely creative art on (Rosen’s Famous Bakjust one theme — spoons. ing Company). Rabbi Lance Sussman “They’re all wonderful,” said Poley. (Sussman’s Deli) and photographer “Some are fun, some are stunningly Jordan Cassway round out the panelists. gorgeous.” The discussion will include how koAmong the artists are J.T. Waldman, sher caterers were essential in bringing Rob Dennis, Kelly Sussman, Robyn people together for celebrations as well Miller, Cynthia Blackwood and blind as business functions, the role of family artist Ron Bryant, who’s been a in the rudiments of preparing food, and student at the Philadelphia Muthe importance of maintaining Jewish seum of Art in the museum’s Form traditions. in Art classes for artists with visual “Even as a child, I knew that I was disabilities. All together, 25 artists lucky to grow up as I did,” said Poley. have recreated their own rendition “It was more than just the baked goods of the humble kitchen utensil. and the business. It really was an entire The museum is open daily, disculture and a way of living a very deli- playing an audiovisual exhibition cious Jewish family life.” of Jewish artifacts, photographs Peter Olster will reminisce on his suc- and artwork. cessful enterprise begun by his mother,

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Artists (L to R) Rob Dennis, Marlene Adler, Cindy Blackman, Karen Shain Schloss, Carol Moore, Rhea Dennis and Robyn Miller gather to admire their handiwork in, “Artists Re-Imagine the Spoon,” a silent auction to benefit the Temple Judea Museum now on view at the museum at KI synagogue in Elkins Park.

Kosher, from 8

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Betty the Caterer (right) competes at the Ben Franklin Hotel- early 1960s Alan Rosenbloom (below) displays his wares at the Glendale Kosher Meat Market. Photos courtesy of Temple Judea Museum

Below, a spoon made by artist Kelly Sussman for the “Stirring the Pot” silent auction.

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Fall Fun Guide

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Peter Brown brings Harry Potter’s straw maze back to Woodmere By April Olinchak

21st Century Media News Service

umbledore’s Powers” trump almost any wizard’s magic in the world of Harry Potter, but at the Woodmere Art Museum, architect and designer Peter Everett Brown holds the wand of power — made not from the branch of an ancient and mystical tree, but from mere muggle straw. The third installment of “The Harry Potter Straw Maze: Dumbledore’s Powers,” opened Friday, Sept. 20 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a free celebration for muggles and magical folk alike. The exhibit continues through Nov. 3, with themed weekends for children ages 4 to 11. Admission is $8 per child or $20 for families. “Dumbledore’s Powers” features the legendary objects of the Deathly Hallows sought by Harry, Hermione and Ron in J.K. Rowling’s books. Brown renders the Invisibility Cloak, the Resurrection Stone and the Elder Wand, as the signature of Albus Dumbledore, a line within a circle within a triangle, in monolithic

A-maze-ing!

900-pound bales of straw on the hillside lawn of Woodmere Art Museum. The whimsical geometric installation invites children of all ages to climb, jump and play with art, nature and a sprinkling of magic. Surprisingly, the wizard behind the maze creates his magic from muggle ingenuity, architectural artistry and a propensity to promote play, rather than any enchantment. The Harry Potter influence comes from

the Woodmere Art Museum, starting with 2011’s “Owl’s Eye” maze to coincide with Chestnut Hill’s Harry Potter Weekend in October. One could argue that the first two mazes really were supernatural creations. “Owl’s Eye” and 2012’s “Diagon Alley” both had a wizards duel with the weather and won. Brown said, “The first year was almost a ruin before opening. We had two tropical storms and a

hurricane. It was a happy opening that quickly turned sad. It just wasn’t as pristine as it was when it was first put together. Last year was the first year with five-string bales and another hurricane, and it didn’t budge, proved solid, amazingly so.” Against meteorological power that surpasses even that of Lord Voldemort, the temporary straw structures stood. For Brown, his learning curve as self-described “expert generalist” beat the

supernatural and the superstorms. “We may not know the answer when we begin, but we are experts when we are done. It’s like working around the house. It’s rough when you begin, but by the end you’re really good at it. Wish I could have been that good when I started, but that’s part of the process.” Building in bales of straw isn’t the typical medium for Brown, so the learning curve started with discover-

ing that hay and straw are not interchangeable materials. He explained, “Hay is the plant or the grass, also the fruit product. Straw is the shell of the hay. Straw is used as animal bedding. Hay is a feed. Straw is a little less biologic in action — it won’t rot away. It’s hollow like a drinking straw. Moving from hay to straw was a big plus.” Please see Woodmere on 11

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so kinda cookie-cutterish. When I was a kid, we kind “Owl’s Eye” started out of made our own playwith two-string bales, the ground.” kind you might see a farmBrown serves his player lift by hand, 24 inches ground with a cherry on wide by 36 inches long by top, a 6-foot-tall inflatable 16 inches tall, weighing ball and new this year, about 40 pounds. inflatable inner tubes, hula “The appeal is that you hoops fabricated from ircan make much more rigation tubing and a bale sculptured detail if you mattress for jumping. will,” Brown said. “If you All designed, he said have smaller pieces, you to “encourage children to can delineate much more stretch their own envelope, detail than you would.” push their comfort zone — But the small they might bales didn’t learn some work so well things about on the hill. themselves. “Diagon I hope they “Dumbledore’s Alley” do play with Powers” marked the them. That’s Straw Maze is located at move to the Woodmere Art more monoMuseum, lithic arrange9201 Germantown Ave., ment, with Chestnut Hill, PA 19118. five-string Through Nov. 3. bales, 8 feet $8 per child or long by 4 feet $20 per family. wide by 3 Open Fridays, 6 - 8 p.m.; feet tall, curSaturdays, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.; rently used in & Sundays, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Dumbledore’s Info: 215-247-0476 or Powers. woodmereartmuseum.org. Brown said, “900-pounds dry — they are enormous.” Hougar Farms delivers two truckloads of bales, which are placed with a skid loader, similar to a fork loader. The layout takes a day, and remarkably, the Stonehenge-like structure is built in less than a day, weather permitting. Brown learned “Large blocks made it much easier to run on top of — remarkably wonderful material to use for a temporary install such as this … Children enjoy playing on top of the hay much more than they enjoy playing between the hay.” And for Brown, play is the point. “Generally the modern playgrounds are Woodmere, from 10

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Fall Fun Guide

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the whole intent — to encourage play.” After the playing is over, the straw leaves only a green footprint. Brown said, “The bales are turned into mulch in which to grow mushrooms. It’s pretty green, not much waste. It’s going back to the earth, making garden soil out of it.” By next fall, the lush Woodmere lawn will welcome back the Harry Potter Straw Maze. “It will be a challenge in year’s to come to top last year’s, but … like a set of blocks, it has infinite possibilities. It shouldn’t get old.”

A-maze-ing!

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Thursday, September 26, 2013

Fall Fun Guide

Exciting fall theater season begins! Tony Braithwaite has written, and stars in, the Act II Playhouse production of “Didn’t Your Father Have This Talk with You?” — extended through Oct. 11.

Also, “Flashdance the Musical,” Nov. 19 to 24; “Beauty and the Beast,” Nov. 26 to Dec. 1; “I Love Lucy® Live on Stage,” Dec. 26 to 29. — “Parade”: This new Tony Award-winning musical is based on a true story. It follows a falsely accused factory manager, in 1913 Atlanta, Ga., as the town erupts against him. The Arden Theatre production runs Sept. 26 to Nov. 3 at 40 N. 2nd St., Philadelphia; 215-922-1122. Also, “Stick Fly,” Oct. 24 to Dec. 22. — “Bunny Bunny”: A witty, imaginary biography of Gilda Radner, one of television’s funniest females and her relationship with the author. The 1812 Theater production runs through Oct. By Gloria Hayes Kremer 27 at Walnut Street Theater, 21st Century Media News Studio 3, 825 Walnut St., Service Philadelphia; 215-592-9560. — “Didn’t Your Faome truly ther Have This Talk with exciting new You?”: A world premiere producfeatures always funny and tions offer versatile Tony Braithwaite in a promising stories, audience participastart to the tion, even rap music. The fall theater Act II Playhouse production season. runs through Oct. 11 at 56 There is E. Butler Ave., Ambler; 215even a new start-up theater 654-0200. company called MeadowAlso, “The Woman in brook Productions in our Black,” Oct. 29 to Nov. area. Winning musicals and 24; “The Twelve Dates of real smash hits from BroadChristmas,” Dec. 10 to 29. way will brighten our stages. — “In the Heights”: Great news for theatergoers This Tony Award-winning of all ages. musical reveals the conflictHere are some of the high- ing dynamics in the changlights for you to consider. ing neighborhood of a New — “Once”: The Tony York enclave. The Walnut Award-winning musical, Street Theatre production adapted from the lovely film, runs through Oct. 20 at 825 is endearing and delightful, Walnut St., Philadelphia; 215as a street musician finds love 574-3550. unexpectedly. It runs Oct. 29 Also, “Elf: The Broadway to Nov. 10 at the Academy Musical,” Nov. 5 to Jan. 5. of Music, Broad and Locust — “4000 Miles”: In this streets, Philadelphia; 215poignant drama, a young man 893-1999. and his 91-year-old grand-

Steve Kazee and Cristin Milloti starring in “Once,” coming to the Academy of Music from Oct. 29 through Nov. 10. Photo by JOAN MARCUS.

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Perry Young and ensemble of “In the Heights,” continuing at Walnut Street Theatre through Oct. 20. Photo by Mark Garvin.

Jillian Mueller starring as Alex Owens in “Flashdance the Musical,” playing at the Academy of Music from Nov. 19 to 24. Photo by JEREMY DANiEL.

Sirena Irwin stars as Lucy and Bill Mendieta is Ricky in “I Love Lucy® Live on Stage” at the Merriam, Dec. 26 to 29. Photo by JUStiN BARBiN.

mother discover the fragile line between growing up and growing old. The Philadelphia Theatre Company production runs Oct. 11 to Nov. 10 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St., Philadelphia; 215-985-0420. Also, “Nerds,” Nov. 29 to Dec. 29. — “My Mother’s Jewish, My Father’s Italian and I’m STILL in Therapy!”: What a timely and comic portrayal of society’s diverse lifestyles. The Bristol Riverside Theatre production runs through Oct.6 at 120 Radcliffe St., Bristol; 215-785- 0720. Also, “Pride and Prejudice,” Oct. 29 to Nov. 24. — “The D Word”: Ditched, Dumped, Divorced, and Dating. A musical comedy about life’s complicated periods. The Society Hill Playhouse production runs through Oct. 28 at 507 S. 8th St., Philadelphia; 215-9230210. — “Miles and Ellie”: A story of young love interrupted and how life can change things around. The Montgomery Theater production runs through Sept. 29 at 124 Main

The cast of “The D*Word — A Musical”: (L to R ) Katie Harper as DeeDee, Christine Hudman as Erica, Amanda Kaiser as Kate and Christine de Chavez as Jen. Running at Society Hill Playhouse through Oct. 28.

St., Souderton; 215-7239984. Also, “Miracle on South Division Street,” Nov. 13 to Dec. 1. — “Emma”: Jane Austen’s delightful portrayal of an endearing but quirky young woman is an elegant satire of her coming-of-age journey. The Lantern Theater production runs through Oct. 27 at 10th and Ludlow streets, Philadelphia; 215-829-0395. Also, “Jane Austen Festival,” Oct. 11 to 15. — “Red Herring”: Three love stories, a murder and an espionage plot. Amusing complications ensue, of course. The Villanova Theatre production runs Oct. 1 to 13 at Vasey Hall at Villanova University; 610-519-7474. Also, “Everyman,” Nov. 12 to 24.

— “Address Unknown”: Two German expatriates, one a Jew, one a non-Jew, reveal the destructive forces of antiSemitism and fascism. The new Meadowbrook Productions company play runs Nov. 7 to 24 at Walnut Street The-

64 Rose Valley Road, Media; 610-565-4211. Also, “Macbeth,” Oct. 17 to Nov. 17; “A Christmas Carol,” Dec. 6 to 31. — “I Am My Own Wife”: The Theatre Horizon production describes the problem of a man in a tumultuous relationship. It runs Oct. 31 to Nov. 24 at 401DeKalb St., Norristown; 610-283-2230. — “Cock”: How difficult attitudes can impact on this gay man’s life is explored in the Theatre Exile production. It plays Oct. 17 to Nov. 10 at Studio X, 13th & Reed streets, Philadelphia; 215-218-4022. — “Spamalot”: Monty Python’s hilarious send-up of the Arthurian Legend comes to Media Theatre, 104 E. State St., Media, through Nov. 3; 610-891-0100. atre, Studio 5, 825 Walnut St., Also, “Joseph and the Philadelphia; 215-970-9040. Amazing Technicolor — “Corpse”: A mystery Dreamcoat,” Nov. 30 to Jan. with fascinating plot twists 4. concerns twin brothers, one — “The Rainmaker”: of whom has malicious ideas. Drought brings out the best The Hedgerow Theatre proand worst in 1936 Iowa farm duction runs through Oct. 5 at country, at People’s Light &

Theatre, 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, through Oct. 13. Also, “The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith,” Oct. 16 to Nov. 24; “Cinderella: A Musical Panto,” Nov. 20 to Jan. 12. — “God of Carnage”: A grade-school altercation leads to a severe emotional entanglement among the parents of the 11-year-olds. Continues at Playcrafters of Skippack, 2011 Store Road, Skippack through Sept. 28; 610-584-4005. Also, “Two Gentlemen of Verona,” Dec. 18 to 27. — “The Dining Room”: A.J. Gurney’s acclaimed comedic drama runs at Town & Country Players, Route 263, Buckingham, Sept. 27 to Oct. 12; 800-838-3006. — “Rocky Horror Show”: Just in time for Halloween, the popular musical comes to Bucks County Playhouse, 70 S. Main St., New Hope, Oct. 23 to Nov. 2; 215-862-2121. Also, “Meet Me in St. Louis: A Live Radio Play,” Dec. 4 to 27.

Sean Close and Rachel Brennan star in the Montgomery Theater production of “Miles and Ellie,” through Sept. 29. Photo by BiLL PAPULA.

— “The Convert”: A compassionate story set amid the mid-1890s colonial scramble in South Africa, running at the Wilma Theater, Broad and Spruce streets, Philadelphia, Oct. 9 to Nov. 10; 215-5467824. — “Jersey Boys”: The ever-popular musical biography of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons returns to the Forrest Theatre, 1114 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Dec. 11 to

Jan. 5; 215-923-1515. — “Spring Awakening”: The Tony Award-winning drama exploring the passage from adolescence to adulthood with poignancy and passion comes to Steel River Playhouse, 245 E. High St., Pottstown, Sept. 26 to Oct. 13; 610-970-1199. Also, “Accomplice,” Nov. 1 - 10; “Shrek the Musical,” Dec. 5 - 22.

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Thursday, September 26, 2013

The Great Pumpkin Carve elevates the jack-o-lantern to art By Kiersten McMonagle

kmcmonagle@21st-centurymedia.com or more than 40 years, pumpkins in Chadds Ford have been transformed into works of art. This year, come watch more than 60 local artists put their carving skills to the test during The Great Pumpkin Carve at the Chadds Ford Historical Society. Held over three days during the week prior to Halloween, the artists will create jack-olanterns you wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t typically see on your neighborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s porch. Nadia Barakat, an employee at the Chadds Ford Historical SoPlease see Pumpkin on 15

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The Great Pumpkin Carve in Chadds Ford Choice. Additionally, honorable mentions will be named for Best Overall ciety, said the carvers will work on Pumpkin, Most Halloween Pumpkin, “giant pumpkins specially grown for Best Carving, Most Original Pumpthe occasion.” Those “giant pumpkin and Best Use of Pumpkin. kins,” weighing between 150 and 400 The Great Pumpkin Carve has been pounds each, will be carved on the taking place since the early 1970s first night of the event and then each when local artists Andrew and Jamie individual work of art will be lit for Wyeth carved pumpkins for Jimthe audience to view on the second mie Lynch to decorate the inside of and third nights of The Great Pump- the Chadds Ford Inn. When more kin Carve. and more local artists began to join, At the end of the three-night event, the event expanded to larger venues one winner will be named in each of each year. The event is now held in the following seven categories: Best the Chadds Ford Historical Society’s Overall Pumpkin, Most Halloween meadow and has become a classic Pumpkin, Best Carving, Most Origi- fall event in Chester County. nal Pumpkin, Best Use of PumpIn addition to pumpkin carving, the kin, People’s Choice, and Carvers’ event will include hayrides, music Pumpkin, from 14

and food. There is also an opportunity for kids to partake in the Great Pumpkin Carve. They can help create a path of lighted, carved pumpkins to help lead visitors across a dark meadow to the event area. Go to the historical society’s web site to register. The Great Pumpkin Carve takes place Oct. 24 to Oct. 26 from 5-9 p.m. each night. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Chadds Ford Historical Society members and children 6 and under are free. For more information, go to www. chaddsfordhistory.org, or call 610388-7376. The Chadds Ford Historical Society is located at 1736 Creek Road, Chadds Ford, Pa.

Ahauntingseasonof thrillingnewattractions By Yael Tsarfati

Photo courtesy of Ghost Tour of Philadelphia

Thursday, September 26, 2013

“The Ghost Tour of Philadelphia” is a 90-minute walking tour of Society Hill he chill is starting where you get to visit the to approach us, Strangers’ Burial Ground and fall is finally and other creepy haunted here. Halloween places. The tour also is right around the includes an introduction to corner, and with ghost hunting gadgets and it comes exciting an indoor tour of the Powel fun attractions for House, an old haunted manthe whole family sion. to enjoy. The leaves are While this ghost tour is starting to change to pretty scary, it is also has a bright shades of red and orange, side — some of the proand the pumpkins will soon ceeds go to a non-profit orbe staring at you with their ganization that is dedicated crooked smiles. to the historic preservation This fall season calls for movement in Philadelphia. fun festivities, so be sure to Be sure not to miss the check out such attractions as “Ghost Tour of Philadelthe “Ghost Tour of Philaphia,” you never know, you delphia,” Six Flags’ “Fright may get to see a real live Fest,” “All Hallow’s Eve ghost. And the tours are Festival” at Pennypacker offered at night, so they are Mills, “Field of Screams” in creepy and bone-chilling, Mountville, Pa. and Eastern which is perfect. State Penitentiary’s “Terror If you like upside down Behind the Walls.” So get roller coasters with a Halready for some jaw-droploween theme, then Six ping horror that will have Flags’ “Fright Fest” is the your heart pumping and place for you. Fright Fest your blood boiling. There 2013 offers attractions for is never a dull moment this the little ones and the whole Halloween season with the family to enjoy. terror packed adventure that you will find. Please see Halloween on 16 21st Century Media Service

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Attractions geared toward families include Monster Maze, a new corn maze with scary surprises at every turn, Doc Snooker’s Halloween Time machine, Trick-orTreat Trail, The Spooky Kooky Magic Show, Professor Slithers’ Creepy Critters and many more. Six Flags’ Fright by Night Monstertainment shows are geared to teens and adults. At 6 p.m., Ghoulmaster leads a pack of almost 200 zombies to awaken Dr. Fright and unleash “Fright by Night.” Dead Man’s Party is Fright Fest’s signature song and dance production that features two rotating shows: the classic show with more than a decade of hits and “The Guest List” featuring new songs and spell binding choreography. Another great attraction for the young adults is Doc Swan’s Freak Show, which puts amazing feats and ghastly freaks on display. Six Flags’ “Fright Fest” also offers Terror Trails, Mazes and Haunted Houses. Don’t miss out on all the screams and fun with zombie infested Manors, Voodoo Island or the Asylum with inmates trying to escape at every corner. Also check out Wasteland, a creepy land of toxic spillage and mutants that come out after dark. There are endless possibilities for Halloween adventure-packed fun at Six Flags’ “Fright Fest.” If you’re looking for a great place to take the kids and the whole family this fall, the All Hallow’s Eve Fall Festival at Pennypacker Mills is a place to visit. Come for a free afternoon on Saturday, Oct. 19 from 1 – 4 p.m. Take a tractor-pulled hayride around the grounds and view the beautiful autumn scenery. Children of all ages get to pick whatever pumpkin they desire and hand-paint them. These beautiful handcrafted pumpkins are perfect for displaying on your front porch this Halloween season. Make sure to bring your camera to capture every memory at Pen-

npacker Mills this year as kids make vintage-inspired Halloween crafts and do gravestone rubbings. Families line up to toss apples in the cider press and turn them into mash for pressing. Children and their parents’ shuck dried corn, just as farmers did in the old in days. Other activities will include a bean-bag toss and a hay pile to jump in. And let’s not forget the delicious refreshments to be served. If you really want to be scared, explore America’s #1 haunted attraction, “Field of Screams.” This place really packs a punch with a variety of horrific events to choose from. You can start off with the haunted hayride on a custom built wagon. The ride includes gruesome sounds and takes you deep into the “Field of Screams’” cornfields to witness things that you would only see in your worst nightmares. See amazing special effects and creepy characters on this terrifying thrill ride. The Den of Darkness is a historical barn, which was built in the early 1800s. It is rumored to be haunted, and mysterious things occur inside its walls. People allegedly disappeared and died in the building and were never accounted for. Ghosts are said to haunt the grounds, and anyone that enters will be under their spell. Experience the arachnophobia room, the checkered room, the ballroom, the dreadfully creepy doll room and the horrific meat locker. So beware, and good luck surviving the Den of Darkness in one piece. The “Field of Screams” goes crazy with the Frightmare Asylum. The Applegate Mental Hospital housed many unwanted criminally insane patients and was abandoned in the mid-1900s. But the patients and deranged doctors still haunt the asylum and show no mercy to any visitors that cross their path. The Deranged Physician is in charge of the Asylum, so be cautious as you step into his creepy office of torture. The

Frightmare Asylum offers quality scenes and special effects in a four story haunted hospital. You can feel the fear and insanity as you meet the disturbed doctors and nurses. If your heart is pumping and your biting the tips of your finger nails, “Field of Screams” is definitely the must see attraction this fall season. It is special because it offers such a wide array of choices like the Nocturnal Wasteland Haunted Trail, The ZOMBIE Fun Run 5k Event and many more. There is even a non-scary Corn Cob Acres Field of Fun for children to enjoy. One of the scariest attractions is in Philadelphia, and this year it’s better than ever before. “Terror Behind the Walls” at Eastern State Penitentiary will have you trembling with fear. It is rich with criminal history — most notably, gangster Al Capone — so you are sure to catch lingering souls of felons roaming the halls. There are six sinister attractions that are sure to blow your mind. A few of these include Lock Down, Infirmary, and Night Watch. Lock Down takes place in Cellblock 12, which was constructed in 1911 and abandoned in 1971. Guests are actually locked within the dark cells, and actors dressed as guards and inmates pop out to scare them. There are crazy sound effects, and it is complete chaos. Infirmary is the prison’s old hospital ward. Anyone that enters is in for screams and horror as they are sure to see the ghosts of the criminally insane. And don’t

forget about their deranged nurses and doctors chasing them with needles. Stay quick on your feet if you want to survive the infirmary. “Terror’s” Night Watch places you in a room that is pitch black; you are in total darkness. You have to find your own way out and manage to survive with your flashlight. Be careful, and make sure nothing grabs you. “Terror Behind the Walls” is America’s largest haunted house and is ranked among the top haunted attractions in the country. For 2013, the eerie prison will have a much more sinister feel, so be sure to brace yourselves for some frightening attractions. With so many events and attractions this fall, there is not a minute to spare. Friends and family have plenty of ways to spend quality Halloween time together. With the leaves changing and the temperature dropping, it’s time to whip out that Halloween candy and decorations and get ready for the trick-or-treaters. The seasons Photo courtesy of Pennypacker Mills

Halloween, from 15

Photo courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary

Ahauntingseasonofthrillingnewattractions

change quickly, so enjoy the fall festivities, and make them last. Ghost Tour of Philadelphia Signers Garden at 5th & Chestnut Sts. Philadelphia, PA 19106 Info: 215-413-1997 or www.ghosttour.com Six Flags’ Fright Fest P.O. Box 120, 1 Six Flags Blvd. Jackson, NJ 08527 Info: 732-928-2000 or www.sixflags.com All Hallow’s Eve Fall Festival at Pennypacker Mills 5 Haldeman Road Schwenksville, PA 19473 Info: 610-287-9349 or www.montcopa.or/pennypackermills Field of Screams 3493 Marietta Avenue Lancaster, PA 17601 Info: 717-285-7748 or www.fieldofscreams.com Terror Behind the Walls 22nd and Fairmount Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19130 Info: 215-236-2985 or www.easternstate.org

Fall Fun Guide

Thursday, September 26, 2013

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Fall fun is on tap Number of local breweries on the rise

By Gary Puleo

gpuleo@21st-centurymedia.com

t seems Pennsylvania’s been busy brewing up a lot more than Yuengling. With all due respect to the country’s oldest brewery, located in Pottsville, a report released earlier this year by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee indicates there were more than 100 breweries operating in the state at the end of 2011. That’s double the number of breweries that existed 10 years earlier. How many of those are microbreweries is anyone’s guess, noted an associate of the Brewers of Pennsylvania, who asked to remain anonymous. “It really all depends on how you define a microbrewery,” he said. “Years ago you could define Victory Brewery as a microbrewery, but today it can be anything from a local brewpub to a guy brewing out of his basement.” The American Brewers Association defines a craft brewery as “small, independent and traditional,” producing fewer than six million barrels of beer a year. Then again, a brewpub may be called a microbrewery if it’s avidly distributing a fair amount of suds off site. Among those that blend their own brand of hops and yeast on the premises and serve the amberhued results with food, only a few have developed the loyal following

of Appalachian Brewing Co. With authentic wood beams overhead, timeworn brick walls bedecked with nostalgic art that touts the microbrewery’s lineup of artisanal suds — Jolly Scott Ale or Hoppy Trails, anyone? — the Collegeville brewpub is doing justice to its partnering, 15-yearold flagship location in a 1915-era building back in downtown Harrisburg. As popular purveyors of handcrafted elixirs and fine food in Harrisburg, Camp Hill, and Gettysburg, the Appalachian concept infiltrated Montgomery County two years ago, with a state-of the-art copper and stainless steel Newlands brewing system, capable of brewing batches of 140 gallons of standard and seasonal beers. Staples here include Water Gap Wheat Ale, a “light and refreshing American style wheat beer, brewed with a high percentage of malted wheat, a beer true to character with a hazy unfiltered glow. The citrus flavors are complemented by a slice of lemon traditionally served on the side,” and Mountain Lager, which the makers describe as a crisp and drinkable lager brewed in the Dortmunder-Export style with all the flavor of its German heritage. The beer boasts “a golden blond color and exhibits a moderate hop palate with a mellow finish. Our brewers have developed this beer as a tribute to the Appalachian Mountains where we live and play.” A summery favorite surfacing in July, Hinterland Hefe Weizen is billed as a “light-bodied wheat ale, using special yeast (called ‘hefe’)

to produce clove and banana flavors during fermentation. This unfiltered beer has an incredibly spicy and fruity complexity. Is it any wonder that 28 percent of all beer consumed in Germany is Weizen-style beer? the brewmasters wonder.” Three-year-old Prism Brewing Company in North Wales was founded by Rob DeMaria, a Philadelphia native who found artistic expression in making beer, according to his company bio. A friend’s request to concoct a flavorful and unique brew led to the creation of a honey-laced India Pale Ale, which became so popular it spawned Bitto Honey IPA, named after the buddy who inspired it. Tea is second only to water in consumption around the world, and beer may or may not be in third place, but it doesn’t really matter, since whole leaf black tea and beer merge into one satisfying beverage in Prism’s ParTea Pale Ale. The unique brew adds “a subtle tea flavor and aroma,” according to DeMaria. “A refreshing and dry mouth feel give this beer a smooth finish and a unique bitterness. An incredible amount of tea goes into this beer — so much so our brewers have a tough time getting the whole leaf tea out when done (picture the tea party men tossing chests of tea overboard). We named it because the flavors seen to dance on your tongue and they party all night.” It was out with the unbleached white flour and sugar and in with the hops when Victory Brewing

Company got its start in a former Pepperidge Farm Bakery in Downingtown. According to company lore, the brewery’s initial production gave birth to Victory Festbier, Brandywine Valley Lager (now Victory Lager), and HopDevil Ale. Initially, owners Ron Barchet and Bill Covaleskiy predicted that the malt Victory Festbier would rise above the rest in popularity, but they ultimately concluded that their customers wanted “hoppier” beers, such as the HopDevil Ale, which is now among the company’s beers that are distributed in more than 25 states. One of Pennsylania’s youngest breweries is Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company in Croydon. Among the one-year-old microbrewery’s signature brews is Trauger Pilsner, named in honor

of the Trauger family of Bucks County, who were among the earliest German immigrants to the area in 1747. The beer is described as being “assertively hopped with Hallertau and Tettnanger noble hops,” with a “cracker-like malt backbone that finishes crisp and dry, which makes this one highly drinkable.” To head brewer Jeremy Myers, beer is as much an art form as a science, “but at the end of the day it’s simply four basic ingredients and how you use them that make all the difference. My favorite beer styles are mainly German styles like Pilsners, Hefeweizens, Kölsch, and Weizenbocks, but I’d be a liar if i didn’t say that I can be a hop head from time to time and didn’t appreciate a well brewed Belgian Tripel or Golden Strong.”

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September

2102. Go to www.downtownwestchester.com for more information.

Thursday, September 26, 2013 boroughs and the surrounding communities together with workshops, music, food, and beer and wine tastings. For more information visit www. STMainSt.org or search for “Souderton Art Jam” on Facebook.

Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Mennonite Heritage Center, 565 Yoder Road, Harleysville. On display at Peddler’s Village The 7th annual Bucks County There will be farming and folk craft now through Oct. 27 will be a larger Ancestry Fair, hosted by Visit Bucks demonstrations, apple foods, Pa. than life scarecrow contest, and visiCounty and the Genealogical Society German foods, children’s activities, tors can vote for their favorites to win of Pennsylvania, will take place Sept. horse and wagon rides, sheep herda total of over $5,000 in cash prizes; 28. Education sessions will be free, The second annual Can Jam ing, a tractor parade and a baking Visit www.Peddlersvillage.com for and several guest speakers will talk Music Festival will take over the Sly contest. details. about county record preservation Fox Brewing Company grounds at A pancake and apple sausage efforts, how to start researching your 331 Circle of Progress Drive in the breakfast will be held 7:30 to 10:30 If you’re feeling brave, visit the own family history, and more - visit Pottstown Airport Industrial Park on a.m. Breakfast is $8 for adults for world’s most horrifying woods at www.VisitBucksCounty.com or follow Saturday, Sept. 28, The free event will adults and $4 for children eight and the Valley of Fear, which features @VisitBucksPA on Twitter. feature a half-dozen of the region’s younger. haunted hayrides and scary tales at top musical acts and a Kan Jam TourParking is at the Indian Valley the Phoenix Sports Club, located at The 20th annual New Hope Arts nament in which the winning team Middle School, 130 Maple Avenue, 301 W. Bristol Road in Feasterville. & Crafts Festival will be held from will be awarded its combined weight with a shuttle to the nearby Frolic. Starting Sept. 27 seasonal events 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 28, and in Sly Fox beer. The entertainment Admission: $8 for adults and include guitar songs by campfires, youth; $2 for children six through 12; live music, family fright specials, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the 29th at New for the day includes performances by Ataloft, Travel Lanes, John Train, children younger than six eat free. No more - visit www.ValleyofFear.com or Hope-Solebury High School in New Hope. More than 200 artists and Swift Technique, The Lawsuits and pets please. call (215) 942-9787. crafters will show media including Toy Soldiers. Information: www.mhep.org, info@ oil paintings, watercolors, pastels, mhep.org or 215-256-3020. Haunted tours at The Pennhurst sculpture, jewelry and more www. And on Sept. 29 at 2 p.m. the Asylum in Spring City, Chester CounVisitNewHope.com or (215) 862Zwingli United Church of Christ on Perkasie Borough’s annual Fall ty, through Nov. 3. The Pennhurst 9990 for details. Wile Avenue in Souderton will host a Festival will be noon to 5 p.m. Haunted attraction includes the Celtic, Gospel and Old Time Music Sunday, Oct. 6 in Menlo Park on Fifth Pennhurst Asylum, a hospital themed Starting Sept. 28, pick the perfect concert performed by QUADAS, Street. walk thru attraction featuring many pumpkin at Shady Brook Farm, a 24-member club of hammered The event will include a petting items and artifacts that were part of located at 931 Stony Hill Road in dulcimer, mountain dulcimer, and zoo, demonstrations, craft vendors, the original State School. Located on Yardley during the farm’s Pumpkinautoharp performers. Local group scarecrow workshop, face painting, the upper floors of the old Adminisfest. Wagon rides to the patch will Daybreak will also make an appearpie contest, sand art, pony rides, tration building, which dates to 1908, be offered, as will pig races, gem ance; www.STMainSt.org for details. music and food. Contests include this attraction features a combination mining, a petting zoo and more, all ones in scarecrow making, pie baking of high tech animatronics, digital running through Oct. 31; on Fridays, and pumpkin carving. sound and motivated actors, as well For information, see www.perkasieas fine detail and realism. Pennhurst Saturdays and Sundays Sept. 28 through Nov. 2. Shady Brook also borough.org or call 215-257-5065. is located at Church Street and Bridge First Friday events come to downoffers Horrorfest, a night of frights Road, Spring City, Pa. 19475. For including horrifying hayrides, an alien town Lansdale and Skippack Oct. 4, Two of the most iconic characters more information and ticket prices, with both towns planning a events encounter, carnage in a corn maze, from the legendary Sesame Street go to www.pennhurstasylum.com. over the subsequent weekend. and more. Visit www.Shadybrooktelevision show will celebrate their birthdays in October, inviting kids The Ghost Tours of West Chester. farm.com or call (215) 968-1670 for Lansdale’s Whites Road Park will for special events at Sesame Place, details. Walking tour with tales of ghosts, be host to the fourth annual Lansdale located at 100 Sesame Road in folklore and history, through Oct. 26. Oktoberfest, Oct. 5 from 11:30 a.m. Merrymead Farm, located at 2222 Langhorne. Your guide, dressed as a gentleman to 5 p.m. German themed dancValley Forge Road in Worcester, will On Oct. 5-6, young visitors can from the 1850’s, will lead you on a ers, beer, food, bands, a pie eating kick off their 30th annual Harvest celebrate the Count’s Batty Birthday 90-minute walk through the spooky contest, and the Maskrugstemmen Days festival with the Lighting of the Bash and on Oct. 12-13, wear their lanes of downtown neighborhoods contest where drinkers see how long favorite Halloween costumes for Great Pumpkin Sept. 27. Music and where you will explore the place they can hold a full mug of beer. For entertainment for kids will begin at Grover’s Not-So-Spooky birthday, of the shadow people, learn of lost more information search for Lansdale both held at the park during normal 6:45 p.m., with storytelling and the souls of the underground railroad, Oktoberfest on Facebook or follow @ hours. Abby Cadabby will host her lighting of the pumpkin at 7:30 p.m. and stand where the gallows once OktoberfestPA on Twitter. Admission is $2 per person with own fairy pumpkin party at the park stood and murderers were hanged. hayrides available for an additional Oct. 19-20, and the best Halloween New stories of phantoms, apparitions The two-day craft and jewelry charge from 6 to 9 p.m.; for more party on this side of Transylvania will and witches are added. This event festival Skippack Days, now in its information call (610) 584-4410 or be held by the Count on Oct. 26-27. is perfect for the entire family. Tours 41st year, will be held from 10 a.m. to The park is open from 10 a.m. to 8 visit www.Merrymead.com. are every Friday and Saturday night 6 p.m. Oct. 5 and 6, with fall-themed p.m.; follow @SesamePlace or visit in late September and all of October. handmade crafts available throughout www.SesamePlace.com for details. The first ever Souderton Art Jam, They begin at 8 p.m. rain or shine. the village - visit www.ILoveSkippack. Wear comfortable walking shoes and will held Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to 6 com for details. p.m. in Souderton Community Park. The 22nd annual Ambler Oktodress for the weather. Price is $10 Organized by Souderton-Telford berfest will be held on Oct. 5 from per person ages 5 years and up. Res• The 40th annual Apple Butter Main Streets, the Art Jam will bring ervations are required. Call 610-696Frolic will be 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please see events on 19 local artist and artisans from both

October

Autumn Events

Thursday, September 26, 2013

events, from 18

Fall Fun Guide

Freddy Hill also offers pumpkin patch tours for groups to ride through the patch, learn how pumpkins grow, ride through the cornstalk maze, and finish with ice cream at the dairy store. Tours are $7.50 per person, take roughly 90 minutes and are offered in the morning and early afternoon on Tuesdays through Montgomery Township hosts its annual Autumn Festival Oct. 5 from Fridays in October; to book a tour call Lesa at (215) 855-1205, extension 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the township’s William F. Maule Park at Windlestrae. 109 or email freddyhill.lesa@gmail. Visitors can enjoy age-appropriate in- com flatable, a parade of kids in Halloween Get lost in Merrymead’s five-acre costumes, trick or treating, and seasonal crafts, food and entertainment cornfield maze every Friday and for all ages. For more information or Saturday night in October, which to volunteer visit www.MontgomeryT- will be open, weather permitting, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. from Oct. 5 wp.org or call (215) 393-6900. through Oct. 27 and during the day from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays MCCC will host its 20th annual Community Day Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. and Sundays Oct. 6-28. Admission is $12 per person and alcohol, smoking to 1 p.m. at its central campus, located at 340 DeKalb Pike in Whitpain. and backpacks are prohibited; (610) 584-4410 or www.Merrymead.com Admission is free and visitors can for details. learn about college programs and Weekday hayrides are available at courses, take tours, enjoy kids attractions and live performances by MCCC noon, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at Merrymead Tuesdays through Fridays instructors, and take advantage of a Health & Wellness expo presented by in October, and a 700 foot long MCCC’s nursing program. Visit www. cornstalk tunnel will start Oct. 1, which younger kids can tour from MC3.edu or call (215) 641-6460 for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through details. Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays, Freddy Hill Farms, located at 1440 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays; Oct. 14 Sumneytown Pike in Towamencin, for the Columbus Day holiday, the will host its 27th annual Freddy’s cornstalk tunnel will be open from Fallfest on four straight Saturdays and Sundays in October. From noon 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and hayrides will to 5 p.m. Oct 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 be offered continuously during those same hours. and 27, visit for hayrides, pumpkin picking, pig races, a cornstalk maze, Come to the 16th Annual Beer mini golf, and more - for details call Tasting Extravaganza that is the (215) 855-1205 or visit www.FredKennett Brew Fest held in downtown dyHill.com. Kennett Square, Chester County, Oct. For those who like to ride the rails, 5. Come out and enjoy national craft on weekends starting Oct. 5 the New beers accompanied by great food and music from 2 – 6 p.m. Sample beers Hope & Ivyland Railroad offers a 35-mile Fall Foliage Train operating from more than 90 regional brewerout of New Hope Station and SEPTA’s ies. This event always sells out. Get Warminster station, where riders can your tickets now. Tickets are not sold at the gate. Tickets cost $45. For enjoy the sights and sounds of the tickets and more information, go to season. kennettbrewfest.com. The New Hope & Ivyland is also offering murder mystery dinner trains Nottingham County Park in southin conjunction with Act 1 Producern Chester County will hold “Bark tions, featuring the mystery “Monin the Park,” a canine- friendly ster Mashed” through November. Visit www.NewHopeRailroad.com or festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Oct. follow @NewHopeRailroad on Twitter 5. The event promotes responsible dog ownership and brings together a for more information. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring a beer garden, food vendors, restaurant samplings, arts and craft vendors, and more throughout downtown Ambler; visit www.AmblerMain Street. org for details.

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number of local and regional services and recreational opportunities for families with dogs. “Bark in the Park” is a 2013 American Kennel Club (AKC) Responsible Dog Ownership Day Event, which includes an Ask the Vet! Station, dog health and well-being lectures, and Canine Good Citizenship. There is a $5 parking fee. Nottingham County Park is located six miles south of Oxford, Pa., off U.S. Route 1, just above the Maryland State Line in southwestern Chester County. For more information call 610932-2589, go to www.chesco.org and click on parks, or email Ranger Bishop at rbishop@chesco.org.

strations, a stone skipping contest, and “ARTCICLES” the re-cycle event. Contact Sheila Dugan at 610-3235400 or e-mail her at sheiladugan@ comcast.net. Skippack’s third Winetober fest is Oct. 12, as multiple venues in the village will host Pennsylvania wineries, with proceeds benefiting the Ronald McDonald House. All attendees must be over 21 and show valid ID, and check-in will be held at After5 Gifts, located at 4038 Skippack Pike. For details visit www.Winetober.com or call (610) 584-1155.

The 23rd Annual Cheltenham Township Community Harvest See the stars from MontgomFestival promises fun for all ages ery County Community College’s with a lineup of exciting events Sat., observatory and observation deck. Oct. 12 from noon to 7:15 p.m, when Community observation sessions there will be fireworks. The festival will be held Oct. 7, 7-9 p.m.; Nov. setting is the Curtis Arboretum, a 4511, 7-9 p.m.; Feb. 3, 2014 from 7-9 acre park located at 1250 W. Church p.m.; March 17, from 8-10 p.m.; and Road in Wyncote. Festival highlights April 7, 8-10 p.m. The observatory is include all-day music and entertainlocated on the third floor of MCCC’s ment, including DJ Charlie Differ, Al Advanced Technology Center at 1313 Moretti Victory Jazz Band’s soulful Morris Road in Whitpain; visit www. jazz sound, The Bull Dogs’ classic MC3.edu or call (215) 641-6460 for rock and pop, the Really Big Shoe’s details. music from the ’70s and ’80s, The Rolling and Strolling Children’s Show Enjoy Cocktails at the Castle, and Tom’s Music Fun Children’s while dining on the area’s finest food Show. There will also be hayrides, a and experiencing the Mercer Museum craft fair, inflatable amusements with in a whole new way Oct. 11 from a variety of bounces and other fun 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Bid on unique challenges for the kids, wacky arcadeexperiences and spectacular items style games in which youngsters can in silent and live auctions, which will win prizes, a “Needle in the Haystack” include automated technology this dive for hidden treasure, and a townyear for the first time. Admission is ship public works and emergency $150 or $125 for museum members; response vehicle display and commucall (215) 345-0210 extension 132 nity information tables. In addition, or visit www.MercerMuseum.org for there will be a food court with lots of details. tempting treats, plus pumpkin decorating, sack races and other delights. The Stichter Masonic Lodge No. Admission to the Community Harvest 254 F & A.M. at 20 N. Franklin St., Festival is free, and plenty of on-site Pottstown will host a “Temple of parking is available. The rain date is Terror” haunted house in their lodge Sunday, October 13. building on Oct. 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 25, 26 from 6 to 10 p.m. Cost for Keswick Village Business Associatickets is $15. www.facebook.com/ tion in conjunction with Abington templeofterror Township is proud to present the Second Annual Keswick Village The annual RiverFest is scheduled Fall Festival to be held Saturday, for Saturday, Oct. 12 at Riverfront Oct. 12 from noon to 6 p.m. Keswick Park and College Drive in Pottstown Avenue will be closed between Easton from noon to 6 p.m. It features artist Road and Abington Avenue allowing displays, musicians, historic walking neighbors, friends and patrons to tours, kayak rides, fishing demon-

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Autumn Events

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Fall Fun Guide Night Tales by Henry Mercer on Oct. 18 at Fonthill Castle, located on enjoy area businesses, food vendors, Court Street off of Swamp Road in crafts, music, entertainment and fun Doylestown. A special tour of the castle from 7 to 8:30 p.m. will draw for the whole family. from Mercer’s collection of Gothic stories, and conclude with a dramatRotorfest All Helicopter Air ic performance of Edgar Allen Poe’s Show, Oct. 12 and 13 at the “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Reservations American Helicopter Museum just and pre-payment are required, with outside of West Chester, Chester $20 admission, $15 for members; County. The only all-helicopter air show in the country. Featuring flight visit www.MercerMuseum.org or call (215) 348-9461 for details. demonstrations, parachute team, And enjoy Mercer by moonlight helicopter rides, amusement rides, music and fun for the whole family. while wandering - and wondering Helicopter rides are $40 per person. what lurks in the shadows of the Mercer castle. Discover the history Parking is free. Admission is $15 and stories behind the museum’s for adults; $10 for children. The American Helicopter Museum is lo- gallows, brooms and canes from cated at 1220 American Boulevard, witch doctors during a nighttime West Chester, Pa. 19380. For more tour friendly for families with kids 8 years old and over. Admission is $12 information, call 610-436-9600, or $10 for members, $10/8 for kids or go to www.americanhelicopter. under 12; reservations are required museum. by calling (215) 348-9461. 11th Annual Chili Cookoff in Tylersport Volunteer Fire downtown West Chester, Oct. 13. Company’s 21st annual Haunted Sample the best chili in Chester Hayride will be held 7 to 10 p.m. County from restaurants, nonFridays and Saturdays, Oct. 18 and profits, businesses and hometown cooks. Buy a wristband for $10 and 19 and 25 and 26 at the firehouse on Ridge Road in Tylersport. eat as much chili as you want from The first wagon begins its journey the various competitors and then into the Haunted Woods when it is vote for your favorite. There will completely dark. be kids area with a moon bounce, Tickets are $10 per person; free slides and other fun activities. The for children younger than five. VIP cookoof runs from noon to 3 p.m. tickets for $20 get you to the front of on Gay Street in downtown West the line. Buddy Night is Oct. 26 when Chester. Gates open at 10:30 a.m. you can get two tickets for $18. For more information, go to www. For information, see www. westchesterchilicookoff.com. tylersportfireco.com or call 215-2575900. The Perkasie Lions Club will hold its annual Old Fashioned Hayride Harleysville Rotary’s annual 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Fridays and SaturHalloween Parade will be 11 a.m. days, Oct. 18 and 19 and 25 and 26. The tractor-pulled wagon hayrides, Saturday, Oct. 19 on Maple Avenue and Main Street, Harleysville. Regheld weather permitting, start and istration and line up will be at 9:30 end at the Moods Covered Bridge, a.m. At Indian Valley Middle School on Blooming Glen Road, near the on Maple Avenue. Glenwood Shopping Center. Each ride is about 15 minutes long, is not Skippack will also host a chilscary, and is geared for children and dren’s Halloween parade at 10 a.m. their families. Rides are $1 per person; proceeds Oct. 19, starting at Hotel Fiesole, 4046 Skippack Pike and ending at benefit the Lions “White Cane Project” for the visually impaired. The Li- Mal’s American Diner, 4006 Skipons will have refreshments available pack Pike - to register call the diner at (610) 584-0900 or visit www. to purchase during the evening. SkippackRestaurants.com. The club will also be accepting donations of any used eyeglasses. Upper Gwynedd hosts its 18th For more information, please call annual Fall Fest from 11 a.m. to 3 215-453-7127. p.m. Oct. 19. On that date visitors Hear a collection of November events, from 19

Thursday, September 26, 2013 can enjoy ghosts and goblins, cookie and pumpkin decoration, scarecrow making, a moon bounce, giant slide, arts and crafts, and refreshments. The township’s Holiday Happenings will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 3 where representatives of home show companies will be on hand to find gifts. All three events will be held at the township’s municipal complex located on Parkside Place off of Sumneytown Pike. The 2013 Wine and Yoga Fest at Crossing Vineyards & Winery, located at 1853 Wrightstown Road in Washington Crossing will be held Oct. 20. From 2 to 5 p.m., 20 piece jazz band Jazz 4 Nothin’ will perform, and proceeds from live and silent auctions and ticket sales will benefit the Peace Valley Holistic Center’s Special Needs Children Services grant Fund. For details visit www. PeaceValleyHolisticCenter.org or visit www.CrossingVineyards.com.

pumpkins weighing as much as 400 pounds are transformed into works of art by more than 60 local artists. You can watch the artists carve their creations on the first night and then see the pumpkins lit up on the second and third nights. The event runs from 5 to 9 p.m. each night. In addition to pumpkin carving, the event will include hayrides, music and food. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Chadds Ford Historical Society members and children 6 and under are free. For more information, go to www. chaddsfordhistory.org, or call 610388-7376. The Chadds Ford Historical Society is located at 1736 Creek Road, Chadds Ford, Pa.

Chrysanthemum Festival at Longwood Gardens, Oct. 26 to Nov. 24. Discover more than 20,000 blooming chrysanthemums nurtured and trained by Longwood’s horticulture experts, some for more than a year, to resemble clouds, torches, spirals, Skippack’s International Car fans, 13-foot arches, and more. You Show is Oct. 20, starting at 11 a.m. can see the largest Thousand Bloom and running to 5 p.m., held in the Mum in North America—which parking lot of the Hotel Fiesole. Cars showcases more than 1,100 perfect of all ages will be on display, includ- yellow blooms. The Chrysanthemum ing in a car corral where cars can be Festival is free with regular gardens sold or voted on to win awards. The admission. For more information, go car show overlaps with the Village’s to longwoodgardens.org. Longwood Community Services Day Oct. 20, Gardens is located on US Route 1, where local emergency services and about 3 miles northeast of Kennett nonprofit members will be recogSquare, Pa. in Chester County. To nized between noon and 4 p.m. Both find directions online or with GPS, events’ rain date is Oct. 27; www. use 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett ILoveSkippack.com for details. Square, PA 19348. Penn Foundation’s 11th annual Autumn Event fundraiser will be 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22 at Calvary Church, 820 Route 113, Souderton. This year’s featured speaker is actor Jeffrey Tambor. The emcee will be 6ABC Action News anchor Eva Pilgrim. This year’s Adventures in Excellence Award will go to Henry Rosenberger, owner of Tussock Sedge Farm in Blooming Glen. A silent auction will begin at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 each or four for $60. For information or tickets, see www.pennfoundation.org or call 267-404-5937. The Great Pumpkin Carve at the Chadds Ford Historical Society in Chester County, Oct. 24 to 26. Giant

Learn from the Ghost of Henry Mumbower as he returns to the Evans-Mumbower Mill, located on Swedesford Road in Lower Gwynedd, Oct. 26, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., to see how well the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association has been caring for the mill. Admission is free for WVWA members, $5 for adults and $3 for children between three and 12 years old; www.WVWA.org/evansmill or call (215) 646-8866 for more information. Sellersville’s annual Halloween Parade will be Saturday, Oct. 26. Entrees sign in at the Sellersville Museum, 120 E. Church Street, Sellersville at 9 a.m. The parade is at 10 a.m. In event of rain or snow, the Please see events on 21

Autumn Events

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Fall Fun Guide

Project, a Street Outreach Program designed to help runaway and homeparade will be held at the firehouse, less youth in Bucks County. The road rally is not competitive, 2 N. Main Street, Sellersville. For information, see www.sellers- and lets groups, families or friends answer questions by driving the Rally villeboro.org. Route on public roads, testing their skills to follow route instructions and The Old York Road Historical win awards. Society presents its 13th annual The rally starts at 9 a.m. at the Halloween Cemetery Crawl Oct. Starting Line, located at 260 North 27 at 2 p.m. at Fairview Cemetery, 1511 Twining Road, Willow Grove, Broad St. in Doylestown across from 19090. Tickets are $5 for members, the County Parking Garage on Doyle Street. Pre-Registration is required $8 for nonmembers. Fairview is and the cost is $100 per team (Driver an 18-acre historically AfricanAmerican cemetery containing over & Navigator) and $45 per additional passengers. To pre-register 13,000 interments. The tour will or sponsor a team visit https:// review a century of local AfricanAmerican history. Among the inter- www.etouches.com/rollforsouls-pa esting burials are soldiers from the or contact Ruth Santiago at (267) 884-4312. Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I and II and Vietnam. Peddler’s Village offers its 2013 Following the tour, there will be Apple Festival Nov. 2 and 3 from 10 seasonal refreshments. a.m. to 6 p.m. Sample treats includThe Mennonite Heritage Center, ing country apple butter, apple cider, apple zeppoles, apple fritters and, of 565 Yoder Road, Harleysville, is sponsoring a Farm & Barn Tour 8 course, apples dipped in caramel, while shopping for goodies from a.m. To 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. artisans and taking part in, what else, 26. apple pie eating contests. The tour by motor coach will visit six farms in the Bucks and Come enjoy the 79th Running of Montgomery County area, with an the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup Races, additional stop for lunch. The tour Nov. 3 in Unionville, Chester County. guides will be Mennonite Heritage The Pennsylvania Hunt Cup is a TimCenter Collections Manager Joel ber steeplechase race with a distance Alderfer and barn enthusiast Roy of four miles and 22 fences, over fair Landis. Stops will include a collection of hunting country. From its inception it has been intended as a substantial antique barn machinery; a pretest of both horse and rider, and is served, multi-generational farm; one of just three 4-mile steeplechase a modern dairy, hog and poultry farm; a poultry operation and farm races sanctioned by the National market; a grass fed beef operation Steeplechase Association. Gates open at 11 a.m. The event takes place in and a dairy farm with its own milk Unionville at the intersection of Route bottling operation. 926 and Newark Road. Admission is Participants will board at the Hagey Coach terminal, 210 School- $50 per car. For more information, go to pahuntcup.org. house Road, Souderton. Cost, including lunch at Swamp On Nov. 10 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mennonite Church, Steinsburg, and the Evans-Mumbower Mill in Lower gratuity for the bus driver, is $70 Gwynedd offers an open house a ($65 for members). Preregistrapreserve walk, for visitors to take a tion is required. Information or to guided hike to an ancient dam. www. register: www.mhep.org or 215WVWA.org/evansmill or call (215) 256-3020. 646-8866 for more information. events, from 20

November

Drive around with the top down during the Roll for Souls Road Rally Nov. 2, while taking a drive through scenic Bucks County sites and raising funds for The Synergy

Page 21 quired and admission is $5 per child for kids three years old and over; visit www.Montcopa.org or call (610) 2700215 for details.

with Creek Road (formerly known as Route 100).• Phone: 610-388-2700. For more information, go to www. brandywinemuseum.org.

Peddler’s Village also hosts its Grand Illumination Celebration from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Nov. 22, when Santa switches on the outdoor holiday light display at 6:15 p.m. Free cider and marshmallow toasting will be available, along with merchants selling holiday gifts - that day through Sunday, Nov. 24 will be the village’s Merchant Open House weekend.

Old-Fashioned Christmas in West Chester, Dec. 5 and 8. Chester County’s biggest holiday celebration. It starts with the Mars Drinks OldFashioned Christmas Parade on Dec. 6 at 7:15 p.m. and continues during the weekend with tons of events. More than 30,000 spectators come out to enjoy the parade. For more information, go to www.downtownwestchester.com.

Take a sneak peak under the tree with the Mercer Museum’s annual holiday exhibit of A Century of Holiday Trees and Toys, on display at the Mercer from Nov. 23 through Jan. 4. The show features trees decorated in the taste of decades past, from the 1860s through 1970s, along with toys from private collections and period-specific ornaments. The display is included in museum admissions; (215) 345-0210 or www. MercerMuseum.org for information. Towamencin hosts its annual 5K Turkey Trot walk and run Nov. 23 at Fischer’s Park, with registration starting at 8 a.m., the run starting at 9 a.m. and awards given at 10 a.m.. Runners who pre-register will receive a free long-sleeved t-shirt, and medals will be given to the top three runners in each age category. For more information visit www.Towamencin. org and click on “Events.” The annual Christmas Tree lighting in Skippack is Nov. 29, with festivities starting at 6 p.m. in the parking lot of Floral and Hardy, 4007 Skippack Pike. Each evening from Nov. 23 through Dec. 21 the village of Skippack will be lit with candles, carols and holiday decor - ‘tis the season!

December

A Brandywine Christmas. The Brandywine River Museum celebrates the season Nov. 29 with fabulous holiday displays including an extensive O-gauge model railroad, antique dolls Learn about turkeys, hear their from the collection of Ann Wyeth calls, touch their feathers, and make McCoy and thousands of whimsical special turkey-themed crafts on Nov. “critter” ornaments on holiday trees. 20 at 1 p.m. at Norristown Farm Park, The Brandywine River Museum is located at 2500 Upper Farm Road in located on U.S. Route 1, Chadds East Norriton. Pre-registration is reFord, PA 19317, near the intersection

Malvern’s Victorian Christmas, Dec. 6 and 7 features chamber singers, high school choruses, Tuckers Tales Puppet Show, workshops for kids, carriage rides, open houses at downtown businesses, elaborate displays of toy trains, carolers, visits with Santa, hayrides, pony rides and more. This is a huge two-day celebration that offers fun for the entire family. For more information, go to www. malvernsvictorianchristmas.org. Peter Wentz Farmstead Candlelight Tours take place Saturday, Dec. 7, 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. The soft glow of candlelight wil guide you throughout the Farmstead for tours showcasing colonial music, seasonal decorations, holidays foods and a visit from Belsnickel, a Pennsylvania German St. Nicholas in furs.(Last tour begins at 8:30 p.m.) Info: 610-584-5104 John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove will hold its Annual Holiday Open House Dec. 8, 1 to 4 p.m. Family fun awaits everyone at the free Annual Holiday Open House. Enjoy live owl presentations, hot cider, cookies, live music, beautiful seasonal decorations, and kid- and family- friendly activities including a teasel critters scaverger hunt. Info: 610-666-5593. Pottsgrove Manor by Candlelight takes place Sunday, Dec. 8, 2 to 8 p.m. Tour the mansion by candlelight as costumed interpreters portray its colonial residents as they celebrate Twelfth Night. From music and dancing in the parlor to hearth cooking in the kitchen, take in the sights and sounds of the season. Info: 610-3264104

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Fall Fun Guide

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Montgomery County Parks, Trails and Historic Sites Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Join Mars Chocolate History Ambassadors as they bring chocolate history to life through an interacKinnergschpiel Series: tive demonstration of the historical A Walk on the “Wild Side” Peter Wentz Farmstead • Lansdale, PA bean-to-beverage story. Touch, taste, and smell chocolate as our Founding 19446, 610-584-5104 Fathers did. A variety of American “Child’s Play”...Preschoolers will Heritage Chocolate® products will be join naturalist Ruth King for a walk along the nature trail to look for signs available for sale. Refreshments served. of wildlife and learn about safe and All ages; suggested donation $2 per dangerous varieties of plants. Dress person. for the weather! Ages: 3 and up and accompanied by Saturday, Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. an adult; fee: $5 per child; pre-regisWaterfowl Watch tration required. Norristown Farm Park • 2500 Upper Farm Rd East Norriton, PA 19403, Friday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 610-270-0215 Homeschool Day More than 25 species of ducks Pottsgrove Manor • 100 W King St migrate along the Atlantic Coast each Pottstown, PA 19464, 610-326-4014 autumn. We’ll be looking for these Bring your homeschoolers out for a fun-filled and educational field trip to dabblers and divers in the park’s wet learn about colonial life. A number of areas. Bring binoculars. Ages: adults with or without children hands-on activities will be offered— (minimum age 7); free; preregistraactivities vary from year to year, so repeat visitors will always experience tion is required; meet in parking lot something new! This program is great #2. for individual families, homeschool groups, and even small school groups. Saturday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. This program is ideal for elementary- An Evening of Bone Chilling aged children; fee: $5 per child. Ghost Stories Green Lane Park • 2144 Snyder Rd, Saturday, Oct. 5, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Green Lane, PA 18054, 215-234-4528 The American Heritage of Join us by a roaring campfire and hear tales of haunting, revenge and mysChocolate tery! This will be an outdoo program. Pennypacker Mills • 5 Haldeman Rd No rain date. Schwenksville, PA 19473, 610-287Ages: 9 and up; free; please bring a 9349

Ages: 8 and up; free; pre-registration not meant for the faint of heart. Corequired; bring binoculars and meet at sponsored by the Farm Park Preservation Association. the Church Road Fly-fishing Area. Ages: adults with or without children Sunday, Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. (minimum age 7); $5 per person; preSaturday, Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 registration required for groups of 10 p.m. Scarecrow Making or more; meet at the Milk House/Park Laerenswaert series: Norristown Farm Park • 610-270Office parking lot. 0215 Fall Harvest How do you make a scarecrow? It’s Peter Wentz Farmstead • 610-584Saturday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. really not that hard, but we thought 5104 Open-Hearth Cooking workit would be more fun if we did it “Worth Learning”...Explore the tratogether. We’ll have a contest (with shop: “Cast-Iron Chef” ditional chores performed during the several categories) to see whose is Pottsgrove Manor • 610-326-4014 autumn harvest on a colonial farm. the best. If you want to donate your In this hands-on workshop, historic Visit the garden, spend time in the scarecrow or make an extra for our cook Mercy Ingraham will teach summer kitchen to experience food park, we’d ove to display it at our participants how to cook with and preservation and open-hearth cookPark in the Dark night hike. Bring care for cast iron cookware. Historiing, and join the farmers in clothes, something to make a head cally and seasonally appropriate the barn as they shell corn and press with, and a hat for your scarecrow. dishes of the colonial period will apples for cider. We’ll supply the straw. be prepared (and eaten!) by the All ages; suggested donation $2 per Ages: adults and children 5 and up; participants. person. $5.00 per scarecrow; preregistration Ages: 12 and up; fee: $50 per person; required; meet at the park office. class size is limited to 8; registration Saturday, Oct. 12 at 11 a.m. and payment required by Oct. 15th; Wiggly Wooly Bears Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 10 a.m. please wear comfortable clothing and Norristown Farm Park • 610-270Trees Are Terrific! bring an apron. 0215 Lorimer Park • 183 Moredon Rd Munch, munch, wiggle, wiggle: let’s Abington, PA 19006, 215-947-3477 Saturday, Oct. 19 at 11 a.m. go on a caterpillar hunt! Take a close look at trees. Their Fall Foliage Hike Can wooly bears really predict the leaves are starting to change colors. winter weather? Let’s find out! Take a Green Lane Park • 215-234-4528 How come some trees don’t lose their walk and do a caterpillar craft. Lace up your hiking boots and join leaves in the fall? Find out the answer Ages: 2-3 years with an adult; $5.00 a Park Ranger for a 3-mile hike to to that and more as we learn to per child; pre-registration is required; enjoy the fall colors of Green Lane identify trees by their leaves, branch Park. Moderate terrain. meet at the pavilions. arrangement, and bark. We’ll press Ages: 9 and up; free; pre-registraleaves (cardboard leaf press provided) Sunday, Oct. 13, 1 to 3 p.m. tion required; meet at the Tennis and make high quality leaf prints after Wonderful Wolves Court Parking Area off Green Lane the tree walk. Road. Upper Schuylkill Valley Park • 610Ages: adults with 948-5170 or without children Come and celebrate “Wolf Awareness Saturday, Oct. 19, 1 to 4 p.m. (minimum age 4); $5 All Hallow’s Eve Fall Festival Week” at the Park. per person; pre-regisPennypacker Mills • 610-287-9349 Visitors will learn about the loved, tration required; meet Fall fun for the whole family! but sometimes controversial animal at the pavilion. Hayrides, cider press, corn shucking, that is the Wolf. This family friendly event will include meeting the Park’s pumpkin painting and crafts for kids Saturday, Oct. 12 at to make and take home. resi dent Wolves Hunter and Scout, 8 a.m. Enjoy some candy corn, cider and as well as Early Bird Walk spiced wafers too. kids’ hands-on activities. Green Lane Park • All ages; suggested donation $2 per All ages; suggested donation $2 per 215-234-4528 person. person; event will be held weather Fall migration for permitting as all activities will be raptors and songbirds Saturday, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. outdoors. is well underway, and Learn the Basics of Outdoor early morning is the Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. (last tour Photography best time to enjoy leaves at 7:45 p.m.) and Video Production the show. Warblers, Park in the Dark! Lower Perkiomen Valley Park • 610sparrows, and many Norristown Farm Park • 610-270666-5371 others will be passing 0215 What better way to capture nature through around this Hear a few scary stories and see a than by using technology to take pertime. Fall mornings “specter” or two as you walk through fect images! Join Ranger Tom Kirk as mean heavy dew on the park at night. Watch out for he shares information on composing the ground. Waterwitches and goblins! Flashlights not proof footwear highly allowed. The walk is in the dark and Please see Parks on 23 recommended! chair or blanket to sit on; meet at the Tennis Court Parking Area off Green Lane Rd.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Fall Fun Guide

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Montgomery County Parks, Trails and Historic Sites Parks, from 22

Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.

Lecture: shots, focusing subjects and lighting a “The Potts Family’s Iron scene in the great outdoors. Informa- Production and tion will include 10 tips for more pleasing photo/video memories from Distribution System” your smart phone, still camera or video camera. Ages 10 and up; suggested donation $2 per person; pre-registration is required; participants should meet at the main pavilion; event is weather permitting; participants must bring their own cameras. Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2 p.m.

Marvelous Mushrooms

Lorimer Park • 215-947-3477 Join us for our annual fall mushroom walk. Learn which mushrooms are better eyed than fried. Fungi are an intrinsic part of our ecosystem. Find out why. We will collect and identify mushrooms as we walk in the woods. Ages: adults and children 8 and up; free; pre-registration required; meet in the classroom. Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m.

Crayon Hike

Norristown Farm Park • 610-2700215 Take a first look at color. We’ll be taking advantage of the peak of fall foliage and the beautiful fall flowers on a color walk. Try to match the colors you are given with natural things that we find. Leaf rubbings and other colorful nature crafts will add to the fun. Ages: 3 and up with an adult; $5.00 per child; pre-registration required; meet at the pavilions. Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 1 p.m.

Spooky Things

Norristown Farm Park • 610-2700215 Halloween is coming soon. Do spiders, bats, and owls scare you? Come out and learn more about these creatures of the night. We’ll hear a story and make a spooky craft. There may be a trick or a treat! Wear your costume and find out. Ages: 3 and up with an adult; $5.00 per child; pre-registration required; meet in the park office.15 16

Pottsgrove Manor • 610-326-4014 To close the Manor’s exhibit, “Forging a Lifestyle: Ironworking with the Potts Family,” Potts and Rutter family historian Dan Graham will present a talk on the development and implementation of the Potts family’s colonial-era iron production and distribution system. He will discuss the evolution of their multi-forge, multifurnace organization and how the expansion of their iron distribution practices kept up with it, making Thomas and John Potts some of the most successful ironmasters of their day. Recommended for ages 12 and up; suggested donation $2 per person. Sunday, Nov. 3 at 1 p.m.

Potpourri of Pods

Norristown Farm Park • 610-2700215 Join the naturalist as we search for interesting flower pods, grasses, and rose hips to use in dried flower arrangements and other fall crafts. Learn to identify plants when they are past the blooming stage. Bring garden gloves, clippers, and a basket or tall bucket for gathering. Ages: adults and children 8 and up; free; pre-registration required; meet in parking lot #5 (Shannon Mansion).

Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Kinnergschpiel Series: My Food

Peter Wentz Farmstead • 610-584-5104 “Child’s Play”...Preschoolers will learn about the origins of food and some basic food preparation skills typical of previous centuries. Dress to get dirty! Ages: 3 and up accompanied by an adult; fee: $5 per child; preregistration required. Saturday, Nov. 9 from 1 to 4 p.m. (Raindate: Sunday, Nov. 10th)

Laerenswaert Series: Vintage Car Show

Peter Wentz Farmstead • 610-5845104 “Worth Learning”...Walk the grounds of the Farmstead to view the classic car collections of the local Model A’s and Studebakers clubs. Tours of the historic house also offered throughout the day. All ages; suggested donation $2 per person. Saturday, Nov. 9 at 4 p.m.

White-tailed Deer

Norristown Farm Park • 610-2700215 Our largest local mammal deserves a program of its own. Learn some natural history about WhiteTuesday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. tails. Explore the park in search Seed Travelers of signs that deer leave behind. While Norristown Farm Park • 610-270there are no guarantees 0215 with wildlife, we should be able to Take a first look at seeds. Where do see the animal. Sturdy seeds come from? How do they get around? We’ll learn about their many footwear is recommended. Ages: adults with or without children ways of traveling. Help us collect (minimum age 7); free; preregistraseeds in the meadow. Bring a sock tion required; meet at the pavilions that will fit over your shoe for our seed walk. The program will conclude (parking lot #3). with a seed craft at the milk house. Saturday, Nov. 16 from 10 a.m. to 12 Ages: 3 and up with an adult; $5.00 p.m. per child; pre-registration required; Holiday Craft Series: meet at the pavilions. Centerpiece Workshop Green Lane Park • 215-234-4528 Come to the park and create a holiday centerpiece for your table

using local cones, nuts and seeds. Afterward, you can add your own candle and greens to complete your beautiful creation. Ages: 12 to adult; materials fee $8 per person; pre-registration required, program limited to 16 people; meet at the Deep Creek Picnic Pavilion.

Ages: adults with or without children (minimum age 6); free; preregistration required; meet near the ranger hut. Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 1 p.m.

First Look at Turkeys

Norristown Farm Park • 610-2700215 Saturday, Nov. 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. Gobble wobble season is here. Holiday Craft Series Learn about the bird around Wall Hanging Workshop which our holiday revolves. Hear Green Lane Park • 215-234-4528 a turkey call, touch a turkey Make an attractive holiday decoration feather, and make a special turkey to hang on your wall or craft. What do turkeys eat? front door. We will use local nuts, Take a short walk to look for their seeds and pods to create a holiday masterpiece to take “home for food and habitat. Ages: 3 and up; $5.00 per child; the holidays.” Ages: 12 to adult; materials fee $8 per pre-registration required; meet at the park office. person; pre-registration required, program limited to 16 people; meet at the Deep Creek Picnic Pavilion. Sunday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m.

Full Moon Hike

Saturday, Nov. 23 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Christmas Wreath Making Workshop

Pennypacker Mills • 610-2879349 Make a beautiful live wreath! Bring ribbon for a bow and some active at night. Perhaps we’ll be lucky enough to see or hear a few. greens from home and we’ll also provide greens, supplies, and The moist evening air enhances instructions. Refreshments served. our sense of smell as well Ages: 12 and up; fee: $12 per peras theirs. Let’s use all of our son, pre-registration and prepaysenses to explore the woods at ment required. night.

Lorimer Park • 215-947-3477 Take a night hike by the light of the moon. Mammals are generally more

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Fall Fun Guide

Thursday, September 26, 2013