By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
Community Festival
The arrival of summer is here and so is the arrival of a plethora of fun outdoor family events.
Now through June 21, the sights, sounds and smells of a summertime fair will be filling the air in Downingtown when Saint Joseph Church (338 Manor Avenue, Downingtown, 610-269-8294, www.stjoesfestival.com) hosts its 17th annual “Community Festival.”
The event will feature all the traditional things associated with a summer festival — including exciting rides and amusement games. There will also be food concessions with all the standard festival fare — cotton candy, ice cream, hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn, corn dogs, soft pretzels and cheese fries along with mozzarella sticks, tomato pie and hot roast beef sandwiches.
The roster of music acts includes De La Salle String Band, Downingtown School of Rock, Yesterday’s News Band, Fusebox and Tinn Angel.
If you want to see helicopters flying above, just head to the American Helicopter Museum & Education Center (1220 American Blvd., Brandywine Airport, West Chester, 610-436-9600, www.helicoptermuseum.org) when it celebrates its annual event “Family Fest”
FamilyFest
The 2025 “FamilyFest,” which is the museum’s annual celebration of family and fun, will take place on June 21, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Helicopter rides will be available from 12:30-3:30 p.m. on a first come, first served basis at $100 per person. Visitors must be checked in by 2:45 p.m. to guarantee a flight.
The event will have vendors, food trucks, exhibits, drones, R/C helicopters, and much more. There will also be a classic car and motorcycle show that offers a Fan Favorite competition featuring prizes for the top three.
The cost is $20 per person, ages five and above.
“FamilyFest” will be held rain or shine. No refunds or vouchers for admission tickets. Helicopter rides will be refunded or honored on another scheduled ride day in 2025 in the event that the helicopters are unable to fly.
As part of Historic Philadelphia’s anniversary celebration at Franklin Square (200 Sixth Street, Philadelphia, phillychineselanternfestival.com), the organization is illuminating the park with its annual “Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival in Franklin Square.”
Now through August 31, Franklin Square will come alive every night with its Chinese Lantern Festival featuring more than two dozen illuminated lanterns – all constructed by lantern artisans from China.
In addition to the gorgeous light installations, visitors can enjoy live cultural stage performances, see the choreographed fountain light show in the historic Rendell Family Fountain, taste expanded food and drink options including Asian cuisine and American comfort food, drink a toast at the Dragon Beer Garden, and shop for Chinese folk artists’ crafts created on site as well as Festival-themed merchandise.
Guests can also play Philly Mini Golf and ride the Parx Liberty Carousel at a discounted rate. A portion of the proceeds from the festival benefits Historic Philadelphia, Inc. for the programming and care of this important public space and its many year-round free events.
Chinese-inspired performances will take place in Franklin Square twice nightly. Performances, which celebrate Chinese performance art and entertainment, are 30-minutes long and are scheduled for 7 and 9 p.m.
Festival hours are 6-11 p.m. Admission is $25 for adults ($28 on Saturday and Sunday), $23/$26 for youth, and $10 for children.
The 38th Annual Clifford Brown Jazz Festival will be held in Rodney Square (11th and Market streets, Wilmington, 302-576-3095, www.cliffordbrownjazzfest.com) now through June 21.
The free festival started on June 18 with a celebration of black joy and friends and music by Ingrid Jensen.
On June 20, the acts will be Chante Moore and Eric Benet.
The featured act on Saturday will be bassist extraordinaire Esperanza Spalding.
Other acts performing on June 21 will be Lili Anel, Carmen Lundy and Maya Belardo.
There is no admission charge on any day.
The intriguing Paranormal Cirque (https://paranormalcirque.com), which is intended for a mature audience, is touching down at several locations over the next six weeks – Lancaster (June 20-23), Whitehall (July 4-7), Pottstown (July 18-21 and Dover, Delaware (July 25-28).
This weekend, the circus will set up at Park City Center, which is located at 142 Park City Center in Lancaster.
Paranormal Cirque will expose audiences to a unique creation of combined theatre, circus, and cabaret with a new European style flare.
This innovative horror story, which is presented in true circus style under a Big Top tent, features different shades of sexy and an incomparable storyline. Audiences likely will find it difficult to separate reality from illusion at this show as they fall into a parallel world and end up surrounded by monstrous creatures with hidden talents.
Currently, Paranormal Cirque has three tours running – Paranormal Cirque, Paranormal Cirque II and Paranormal Cirque III. The tour visiting our area is Paranormal Cirque III
Paranormal Cirque’s “Clown Castle” (also known as the Big Top) presents a mesmerizing effect while hosting a two-hour hypnotizing and enchanted show.
A careful casting selection has united the best artists from all over the world.
Under this Clown Castle, the black and red big top tent, there are aerial acrobats, illusionists, freaks, mysterious creatures and all the elements that make one think of a “normal” circus – but this one is not “normal.”
A new show with breathtaking implications always poised between fun and the most uninhibited fear that will transport you to a dark world inhabited by creatures with incredible circus art abilities. A crazy yet fun fusion between circus, theatre, and cabaret in perfect harmony with the evolution of a show that brings you back to when we dream … and when we had nightmares and fantasies.
Video link for Paranormal Cirque — https://youtu.be/locxFnh5UR8.
Ticket prices start at $20.
The American Swedish Historical Museum (1900 Pattison Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-389-1776,www.americanswedish.org) is celebrating Midsommarfest on June 21.
In Sweden, Christmas is the most important holiday. Midsommar is the second most important holiday in the Swedish calendar.
The midsummer party in Sweden involves flowers in your hair, dancing around a pole, singing songs while drinking unsweetened, flavored schnapps and eating a lot of pickled herring.
The holiday was originally a pagan festival celebrated in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Midsommar was “likely related to ancient fertility practices and ceremonies performed to ensure a successful harvest.”
When Christianity arrived in the region, Midsommar had to adopt a new meaning and one within the context of the new religion. It was then attached to the birthdate of John the Baptist.
The American Swedish Historical Museum’s Midsommarfest, which starts at 4 p.m. on Saturday, features live traditional folk music by the Last Chance duo and maypole dancing. There will also be crafts and games for the kids.
Visitors can purchase flower crowns, Swedish foods, and refreshments – and check out the Museum’s Swedish used book sale and Mormor’s Attic Shop, filled with second-hand treasures.
Tickets for Midsommarfest, which are available at the door, are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 5-12 and free for children under five.
The 2025 Manayunk Arts Festival (Main Street, Manayunk, http://manayunk.com/) will take place on June 21 and 22 in the heart of Manayunk along Main Street.
The Manayunk Arts Festival draws upwards of 200,000 attendees every year and is one of the largest outdoor arts festivals in the region.
The art show part of the event will showcase top-flight artists from around the country. Hundreds of respected local artists join with the national artists to sell handmade items of all sorts.
The two-day event will also feature crafts, food and music.
As an added attraction, there will be a wide variety of vendors specializing in fiber, glass, metal, wood, photography and other media.
The festival’s hours are Saturday from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
On June 22, Philadelphia-based nonprofit Cool Cars for Kids (CCfK), Inc. will bring together families of children with rare birth diagnoses and classic car enthusiasts who share a common passion and appreciation for the one-of-a-kind.
The Eighth Annual Philadelphia Concours d’Elegance (http://www.coolcarsforkids.com/concours.html) will take place at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum (6825 Norwitch Drive, Philadelphia) from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
The Philadelphia Concours d’Elegance will include an invitation-only assembly of classic automobiles and race cars; professional judging and awards presented for historical accuracy, technical merit, and style.
This premier fundraising event, to be held at the famed Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, promises a family-friendly day filled with elegance, engineering marvels, and the timeless allure of Jaguar, the British luxury car brand founded in 1922.
The family-friendly activities feature celebrity guests, a Car Corral behind the Museum for local car enthusiasts, food and specialty vendors and access to the Simeone Museum’s permanent collection of classic automobiles and race cars. The Simeone Museum was named Number Two of the top 100 classic car collections in the world by The Classic Car Trust.
Cool Cars for Kids, Inc. is a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia that brings together families of children with birth defects and classic car enthusiasts who share a common passion and appreciation for the one-of-a-kind. Funds raised from this unique partnership will directly forward its mission by supporting local and national charities – including The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – to deliver care and support to children and families who struggle with the medical complexities associated with rare diagnoses.
General Admission is $35.
Elmwood Park Zoo (1661 Harding Boulevard, Norristown, www.elmwoodparkzoo.org) will celebrate “World Giraffe Day” with “Breakfast with the Giraffes” at 8:45 a.m. on June 22 and 23.
The Zoo is also presenting “School’s Out Weekend” celebrations on June 21 and 22 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
The weekend will be filled with entertainment for the whole family.
And, if you bring your report card, you’ll receive $2 off attractions.
Zoo admission is $26.95 for adults and $23.05 for children (ages 3-12).
Penns Woods Winery (124 Beaver Valley Road, Chadds Ford, http://www.pennswoodswinery.com) is hosting a “Music Liver in the Vineyard” today now through Sunday.
On June 20, Chris Despo will perform from 5-7:30 p.m.
Joe Nester will entertain visitors on June 21 from 2-5 p.m.
On June 22, West Chester’s Nicole Zell will perform from 1-4 p.m.
*The West Chester Railroad (610-430-2233, www.wcrailroad.com) is running its “Summer Picnic Special” on Sundays now through September.
Passengers can enjoy a train ride from West Chester to Glen Mills and return on a warm summer afternoon. Pack a lunch to have during our stop at the Glen Mills train station picnic grove.
The duration of the ride is 90 minutes.
Tickets are Adults, $25; children (ages 2-12), $20; children (under two), free.
Hope Lodge (553 South Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington, 215-343-0965, http://www.ushistory.org/hope/) will be presenting a “Guided Mansion Tour” on June 22.
Hope Lodge was built between 1743 and 1748 by Samuel Morris, a prosperous Quaker entrepreneur. Morris acted as a farmer, shipowner, miller, iron master, shop owner, and owner of the mill now known as Mather Mill. Hope Lodge is an excellent example of early Georgian architecture, and it is possible that Edmund Woolley, architect of Independence Hall, offered advice in building. Samuel Morris owned the estate until his death in 1770.
Visitors can participate by watching a short film and then taking a tour. Guided tours of the mansion will depart at 1 and 2:30 p.m.
Tour admission is $8 for adults, $5 for seniors (age 65+) and for youth ages 6-17, and free for children under 5. Hope Lodge is a Blue Star Museum which means that active-duty military personnel, including National Guard and Reserve and their families, are admitted free for regular tours from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Historic Odessa (Main Street, Odessa, Delaware, 302-378-4119, www.historicodessa.org) is both a scenic and an historic site in Delaware.
In celebration of Juneteenth 2025, the Historic Odessa Foundation’s National Park Service Network to Freedom exhibit and tour: “Freedom Seekers: The Odessa Story” will be free to the public on June 22.
In 2009, the foundation’s Corbit-Sharp House, a National Historic Landmark and a stop along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, was accepted into the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom by the National Park Service, which evaluated the site as “making a significant contribution to the understanding of the Underground Railroad in American history.”
Odessa was a key player in the Underground Railroad both geographically on the border of freedom and in terms of its population of abolitionists. Built in 1772 and one of Delaware’s most historic homes and important examples of Georgian architecture, the Corbit-Sharp House is one of nine sites, two programs and two facilities in Delaware on the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom.
The home of a noted Underground Railroad sympathizer, the Corbit-Sharp House was the site of a close-call on the Underground Railroad described in the later-in-life reminiscence of Mary Corbit Warner, the fourth child of prominent Quakers Daniel and Mary C. Corbit.
Odessa is one of Delaware’s most historic sites.
Historic Odessa is open to the public from March through December, Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.4:30 p.m. and Sunday from 1-4 p.m. The site is also open Monday by reservation. General Admission: Adults, $10; Groups, Seniors, Students, $8; and Children under six are free.
The Brandywine Valley has quite a few museums and tourist sites that provide residents and tourists ideal opportunities to spend leisure time — and you can maximize your effort if you take advantage of the 2025 Brandywine Treasure Trail Passport (www.visitwilmingtonde.com/passport/).
The cost is $49 for an individual pass and $99 for a family pass (for up to five family members).
The Brandywine Treasure Trail Passport is good for one-time admission to Wilmington and Brandywine Valley’s top attractions now through October 31.
A family pass, which includes one-day admission to each of 12 sites, can bring a savings of over $200 for the holders — especially since many of the participating institutions have regular admission fees in double figures.
The list of locations covered by the Brandywine Treasure Trail Passport includes Longwood Gardens, Delaware Museum of Nature and Science, Brandywine River Museum, Delaware Art Museum, Delaware History Museum, Hagley Museum and Library, Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, Nemours Mansion & Gardens, Read House and Garden, Mt. Cuba Center, Rockwood Museum and Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.
The 2025 season is in full swing at Chanticleer (786 Church Street, Wayne, www.chanticleergarden.org).
The Chanticleer estate dates from the early 20th-century, when land along the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was developed for summer homes to escape the heat of Philadelphia.
Adolph Rosengarten, Sr., and his wife Christine chose the Wayne-St. Davids area to build their country retreat. The family’s pharmaceutical firm would become part of Merck & Company in the 1920s.
The Rosengartens hired architect and former classmate Charles L. Borie to design the house, which was completed in 1913. Landscape architect Thomas Sears designed the terraces as extensions of the house. A 1924 addition converted the summer home into a year-round residence and the family moved here permanently.
Admission to Chanticleer is $15 for adults and free for pre-teen children (12 years and under).
Andalusia Historic House, Gardens and Arboretum (1237 State Road, Andalusia, www.andalusiapa.org) is located on a wooded promontory overlooking the Delaware River.
It has been a stately presence on this stretch of water, just north of Philadelphia, for more than 200 years. The ancestral home of the Biddle family, Andalusia is also a natural paradise of native woodlands and spectacular gardens that have evolved over time.
Placed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks in 1966, the Big House — one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the United States — provides an unparalleled look into our nation’s past, while also offering a glimpse into the life of a family that helped to shape its future.
Its surrounding gardens delight the senses all through the year, from the tumbling, brightly colored leaves of fall to the floral extravaganza of spring and the abundance and scent of summer.
Self-Guided Garden Tours will be available Mondays through Wednesdays through November 4 (excluding holidays) at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m.
Grim Philly’s “Dark Philly History Tour” (www.grimphilly.com) will be held every evening throughout the summer.
Participants can walk with tour guides from the grounds of America’s first White House, Congress, and Liberty Bell to homes and sites of Hamilton, Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and more than 10 other Founding-Fathers. The surprising dirt of espionage, murder, sexual license and blackmail highlight the secrets of 1776 with a ghost story or two along the way. This tour is highly researched. And your guide is a historian.
Tickets are $35.
Ghost Tour of Philadelphia (215-413-1997, www.ghosttour.com), Ghost Tour of Lancaster (717-687-6687, www.ghosttour.com) and Ghost Tour of Strasburg (717-687-6687, www.ghosttour.com) operate throughout the winter and offer an eerily entertaining evening of true ghost stories and real haunted houses.
The Ghost Tour of Philadelphia, which is based on the book, “Ghost Stories of Philadelphia, PA.,” is a candlelight walking tour along the back streets and secret gardens of Independence Park, Society Hill, and Old City, where ghostly spirits, haunted houses, and eerie graveyards abound.
Participants can discover the ghost lore of America’s most historic and most haunted city with stories from the founding of William Penn’s colony to present-day hauntings.
The activity is open year-round – weekends, December-February; every night, March-November. Tickets are $24.
The Ghost Tour of Lancaster and the Ghost Tour of Strasburg are based on the book, “Ghost Stories of Lancaster, PA.”
Participants in the Ghost Tour of Lancaster explore the long-forgotten mysteries of one of America’s oldest cities, with haunting tales of otherworldly vigils, fatal curses, and star-crossed lovers. The tour provides the opportunity to experience 300 years of haunted history from the Red Rose City’s thorny past. Tickets are $20.
The Ghost Tour of Strasburg is a candlelight walking tour of the quaint and historic town of Strasburg in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Visitors will experience an entertaining evening with a costumed tour guide spinning tales of haunted mansions, eerie graveyards, and spirits that roam the night … in a town lost in time. Tickets are $20.
If you like to look at model railroad layouts, then you should definitely check out the Garden Railway Display at the Morris Arboretum & Garden (100 Northwestern Avenue, Chestnut Hill, www.morrisarboretum.org).
The ultra-popular Garden Railway Display has become a major summer attraction at The Gardens at Morris Arboretum. The 26th annual edition of the display had its official season opening in late May and now will remain open until September 30.
This summer, Morris Arboretum will unveil a brand-new exhibition in its popular Garden Railway – “Garden Railway: Dinos!”
With more than 15 different rail lines running along a third of a mile of track, visitors will enjoy a spectacular display of dinosaurs including Triceratops, and Velociraptor, as well as other Mesozoic creatures—all made out of natural materials such as bark, leaves, and twigs.
As one of the largest outdoor miniature train displays in the United States, the Garden Railway will delight and amaze visitors of all ages.
The railway has a quarter mile of track featuring seven loops and tunnels with 15 different rail lines and two cable cars, nine bridges (including a trestle bridge you can walk under) and bustling model trains.
The buildings and the display are all made of natural materials – bark, leaves, twigs, hollow logs, mosses, acorns, dried flowers, seeds and stones – to form a perfectly proportioned miniature landscape complete with miniature rivers.
Philadelphia-area landmarks are all meticulously decorated for the holidays with lights that twinkle. There is even a masterpiece replica of Independence Hall are made using pinecone seeds for shingles, acorns as finials and twigs as downspouts.
Visitors will be able to see miniature replicas of iconic structures at some of America’s most famous public gardens including the Climatron at Missouri Botanical Garden, Torii Gate and Pavilion at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Science Pyramid at Denver Botanic Gardens, and so much more.
The Garden Railway is celebrating 25 years with a new addition — 300 feet of track. This is the largest expansion of the Garden Railway since it was installed in 1998. The new looping section of track extends the total model rail trackage to a third of a mile, making it one of the largest outdoor model train displays in the country.
Admission is $20 for adults; $18 for seniors (65 and older); $10 for students (ages 13-17 or with ID), active military and retired military; and free for children (under 3).
A sweet place to enjoy flowers in bloom is Tyler Arboretum (515 Painter Road, Media, 610-566-9134, www.tylerarboretum.org).
The arboretum’s schedule for this weekend features the “Saturday Wildflower Walk: Spring Edition” at 1 p.m. on June 21 and “Bluebird Nesting Box Tour” at 1:30 p.m. on June 22.
On Saturday, guests can join wildflower expert Dick Cloud on an informative two-hour hike that takes them through meadows, woods, and occasionally streamside.
Although the focus is on plants, Cloud will talk about whatever participants might see while they are out.
Sunday’s tour is more specific.
For more than 50 years, volunteers at Tyler Arboretum have been monitoring the nesting activities of the Eastern Bluebird. This is a family-friendly tour to share this tradition.
Admission to Tyler Arboretum is $18 for adults (ages 18-64), $15 for seniors (65 and older) and $10 for children (ages 3-17) and Military with valid ID.
Newlin Grist Mill (219 South Cheyney Road, Glen Mills, 610-459-2359, www.newlingristmill.org) will host one of its “2025 Public Archaeology Days” on June 21.
Guests are invited to join the Mill staff as they dig into history with archaeological excavations and learn more about the site through the evidence under foot.
The public is invited to participate (or just watch) as Newlin Grist Mill’s professional archaeologist, Keith Doms, and a dedicated corps of archaeology volunteers seek to gain a deeper understanding of the site’s history through careful excavation using scientific techniques and thorough documentation.
Excavations this season are planned for the Trimble farm complex in the Historic Area. The Trimble family built their house on the property adjoining the Mill in 1739 and, over time, built a whole complex of structures to support the operations of their household and farm.
By conducting archaeological studies in the area around the Trimble House, the Newlin Grist Mill staff hopes to learn more about the people who lived and worked there in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.
The event, which will run from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., is free and open to all ages (children must be accompanied by an adult).
