By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
Now that crisp autumn weather has arrived, it’s a great time to enjoy outdoor events such fall festivals, historical celebrations, hayrides, wine festivals, mazes and scenic train rides.Last weekend, West Chester was supposed to be the site of a special event to determine who can make “The Best Darn Chili in Chester County!” — the site of the West Chester Rotary’s 22nd Annual Chili Cookoff (Gay and High streets, Downtown West Chester, www.westchesterchilicookoff.com).
However, due to inclement weather, the event was moved back a week to the scheduled rain date — October 19.
For the second straight year, the event will be hosted by Fiorenza’s Food For Friends, a nonprofit organization that is taking unprecedented steps to eradicate hunger in America.
At the heart of the festival is the chili competition, where cooks from all walks of life showcase their unique recipes.
From traditional beef chili to creative vegetarian versions, and everything in between, there’s a chili for every palate.
Attendees can sample and vote for their favorites, making every vote count in determining the “People’s Choice Award.”
This year’s Chili Cook-Off gives you two exciting ways to compete:
1. Standard Competition – All competitors will battle it out in our classic divisions: Restaurants, Corporations, Hometown Cooks, and Nonprofits.
2. Go Big with ICS Variety Types! – Compete under official International Chili Society categories with Traditional Red or Homestyle recipes for a shot at wider recognition! Winners can head to the World Championship Chili Cook-Off in 2026.
The family-oriented event, which runs from noon-4 p.m., will also feature live entertainment, a nonprofit showcase, a beer garden and an array of food vendors.
Scheduled performers are David Fiorenza, Steve Liberace Trio and Just A Bit Outside.
Vendors will be selling ice cream, kettle corn, as well as art, jewelry and other interesting merchandise.
All-you-can-eat wristbands are $10.
If Indian Summer is returning this weekend, then it might be a good time to check out a Native American Festival.
The Chester County American Indian Cultural Festival will be held at Historic Joanna Furnace (1250 Furnace Road, Geigertown, www.chescoamericanindianculturalfest.com) on October 18 and 19.The local “Native American Cultural Festival” features dance, drums, craft vendors, kids’ activities and live music.
The event will start with cultural dance demonstrations at noon. The “Grand Entry” at noon will mark the official start of the Pow Wow.
Admission is $5 per person with children (under 10) and seniors (over 65) admitted free. Dogs on a leash are welcome.
The Hagley Craft Fair is known for being one of the oldest and best annual craft events in the Brandywine Valley, will be held October 18 and 19 at Hagley Museum and Library (Buck Road East entrance via Route 100, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-658-2400, www.hagley.org).
The popular annual showis being held inside Hagley’s Library Building and Soda House along with the grounds outside the building.
This is a juried craft fair with more than 50 top-flight artisans demonstrating, displaying and selling their crafts.
This marketplace brings together talented artisans from the mid-Atlantic area for a two-day shopping experience featuring fine arts, crafts, and gourmet items. This premier show features works in wood, pottery, jewelry, fibers, metal, and other media, and includes a specialty food market. Vendors are located outdoors throughout Hagley’s beautiful upper property and inside the Soda House.
Refreshments are available for purchase at the food court featuring a variety of options from popular, regional food trucks and a Wilmington Brew Works Beer Garden.
Shuttles will be running throughout the event for quick access of the property.
Tickets also include a tour of the duPont family home and garden.
The Craft Fair will run from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $15 and are good for both days.
The 1696 Thomas Massey House (Lawrence Road, Broomall, 610-353-3644, www.marplehistoricalsociety.org) will be celebrating autumn with its Harvest Day Festival on October 18. The free festival features demonstrations of a variety of colonial crafts by period re-enactors and other special activities from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Visitors will be able to learn how to make apple butter, churn butter and make candles. There will be a working walk-in fireplace as well as a working blacksmith shop.
Newlin Grist Mill (219 South Cheyney Road, Glen Mills, newlingristmill.org) will host International Archaeology Day on October 18 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Visitors can dig into history at Newlin Grist Mill as the site celebrates and participates in International Archaeology Day.
This year’s International Archaeology Day coincides with the final Public Archaeology excavation of the year at Newlin Grist Mill. 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.
Depending on the day, visitors might be invited to help screen excavated soil to look for small artifacts or assist with cleaning artifacts that have already been excavated.
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
This is a free event.
Penns Woods Winery (124 Beaver Valley Rd, Chadds Ford, 610-459-0808, www.pennswoodswinery.com) will host its “Harvest Celebration” every weekend in October.
The event will feature live music, food trucks and artisan vendors. There will also be a free hay maze, apple cider donuts and the winery’s signature Pumpkin Spice Sangria.
Parking passes are required.
The outdoor space is family and dog friendly. Seating on the lawn is first-come, first-serve for groups of 10 or less.
The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire (Mount Hope Estate and Winery grounds, Route 72, Cornwall, www.parenfaire.com) is in full swing.
This year’s 45th annual staging of the event, which bills itself as “the most wondrous event in all the Knowne World”, is running now through October 26.
The festive annual event features authentic Elizabethan food and drink, traditional crafts from the guildsmen of yore and old-time games of skill — and a cast of hundreds of colorfully costumed re-enactors.
Every summer, the Faire, which takes place at Mount Hope Estate and Winery’s authentic 35-acre recreation of a 16th-century village in Olde England, features a new story from a different year of England’s past. This year’s Faire will take you back in time to the year 1590.
More than 70 shows are scheduled throughout each day on the Faire’s numerous stages.
Without a doubt, the most popular attraction is the Jousting Arena. Visitors to the Faire flock to Bosworth Field whenever it’s time for the Ultimate Joust. Peasants lead cheers for their favorite knights while musicians pound out a heart-thumping beat. The Master of the List announces the combatants and soon an encounter of royal proportions ensues.
The Faire offers a wide variety of activities for visitors, including listening to bagpipe music, checking out handsome Lords in their colorful silks, watching a jester’s acrobatics, learning how to juggle, being the recipient of a gypsy woman’s flirtations and watching the march of Beefeater Guards.
Guildsmen’s Way is the area that features a large variety of merchants and artisans, including jewelers, candle makers, potters, herbalists, leather smiths, clothiers, and pewter makers — all offering for sale and demonstrating their ancient wares.
And there are more than 20 Royal Kitchens located around the Faire with menus featuring a wide variety of food and beverages.
Single-day tickets are available at the gate for $38.95. For children (age 5-11) single-day tickets are available at the gate and online for $20.95.
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library (5105 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, Delaware, 800-448-3883, www.winterthur.org) is presenting a special attraction on October 18 – “Hops and Harvest.”
Visitors can celebrate autumn, Oktoberfest-style while strolling through the garden and savoring craft beers from local breweries. They can also enjoy lively music and the charm of festive German-inspired décor. It’s the perfect way to toast fall in a setting as vibrant as the season itself.
The event will run from 2-5 p.m.
Ticket prices are $60; $55 for Members. $35 for designated drivers (all inclusions plus a mocktail). $35 for students over 18 (ID required, no alcohol served under 21) and $8 for children under 18 (no inclusions).
Admission fee includes several tastings from local breweries, one soft Philly pretzel, a Winterthur beer glass, live polka music, and general admission.
On weekends now through October 25, the Kalmar Nyckel will be offering public sails from the Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard (Copeland Maritime Center, 1124 E. 7th St. Wilmington, Delaware, http://kalmarnyckel.org).
For two decades, the Kalmar Nyckel, which has its home base in Wilmington, has been hosting riders all over the world – especially in Delaware.
A ride on the Kalmar Nyckel is totally different from most tourist water rides.
The ship is a beautiful recreation of the original Kalmar Nyckel, which was built in Holland in the 1620s. Her main mast is taller than a 10-story building and she carries 7,600 square feet of sail area and six miles of rigging.
The original Kalmar Nyckel was a Swedish-owned, three-masted armed pinnace that sailed from Goteborg, Sweden in November of 1637 and brought the first permanent European settlers to the Delaware Valley.
Carrying 24 settlers from four countries (Sweden, Finland, Holland, and Germany), she landed on the banks of the Christina River.
The site, which became known as “The Rocks”, can be visited at Fort Christina Park off Wilmington’s East Seventh Street.
The Kalmar Nyckel made four documented round-trip crossings of the Atlantic, more than any other “settlers’ ship” of the era. The original ship was lost in the late 1600s.
In 1986 a group of citizens established the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation to design, build and launch a replica of the Kalmar Nyckel at a shipyard adjacent to the original landing site.
The new Kalmar Nyckel was constructed there and was launched on September 28, 1997. She was commissioned on May 9, 1998, and now serves as Delaware’s sea-going Ambassador of Good Will. She is a fully functional sail training vessel and has represented Delaware all over the country.
Tickets are $45 for adults and $25 for youth (ages 17 and under).
The West Chester Railroad (Market Street Station, West Chester, 610-430-2233, www.wcrailroad.com) is running its special “Fall Foliage Express” trains on October 19 and 26 and November 2 and 9. Trains depart at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.
The round-trip train ride travels to the village of Glen Mills and back and lasts for 90 minutes. During the brief layover in Glen Mills, riders can explore the historic Pennsylvania Railroad station and have a snack in the railroad’s picnic grove along Chester Creek.
Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for children ages 2-12 and free for kids under two.
The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad (Reading Outer Station, Reading, www.rbmnrr-passenger.com) is running its 2025 Fall Foliage Trains on weekends throughout October.
Passengers can enjoy a train ride to experience the fantastic fall colors that Pennsylvania has to offer.
They will travel over the rails to Historic Jim Thorpe after boarding the train at Reading Outer Station or Port Clinton Station.
Passengers will have time to explore historic Downtown Jim Thorpe during the layover.
Tickets for the all-day excursion start at $99.
The New Hope Railroad (32 Bridge Street, New Hope, www.newhoperailroad.com) is running its “Grapevine Express,” which features “Wine & Cheese Tasting” on October 18 and 19 at 4 p.m. each night.
Riders are invited to take part in a romantic “Wine and Cheese Excursion” and enjoy fine gourmet cheese, artisan crackers, meats, fruit, and our featured local wines. Additional Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic beverages are also available onboard.
Wine and cheese will be served to passengers as they travel along the same railroad line passengers did when it was built in 1891 connecting New Hope with Philadelphia. The journey travels through the beautiful hills and valleys of Bucks County, along once vital waterways and streams and across numerous trestle bridges.
The excursions will take place aboard one of the railroad’s lavishly appointed first-class parlor cars.
Tickets are $99 (ages 21 and older only).
The Strasburg Railroad (Route 741, Strasburg, www.strasburgrailroad.com) is running its “Wine & Cheese Train” on October 18 and 92 at 5 p.m.
Passengers can enjoy the luxurious, climate-controlled first-class accommodations and a tasting of select wine, cheese, and crackers as they travel in style down the tracks from Strasburg to Paradise and back. The total trip time is 45 minutes.
“Wine & Cheese Train” boarding is 30 minutes before the scheduled departure. Riders must be 21 or older and have their photo ID ready when they board.
Featured wines are carefully selected from Waltz Vineyards, and cheeses are paired accordingly. Beer and select non-alcoholic beverages are also available for purchase upon request. Riders can purchase a souvenir wine glass on board the train if desired. Glasses are $7 each.
In accordance with Pennsylvania law, alcohol is only served during the train ride. The rail line is not permitted to serve alcoholic beverages while the train is berthed in the station.
This popular train is available on select Friday and Saturday evenings throughout the season. Tickets are $79.
On October 18, the Colebrookdale Railroad (South Washington Street, Boyertown, www.colebrookdalerailroad.com) is running its “Autumn Cider and Donuts Express” at 10 a.m.
Departing from Boyertown, the train travels through vibrant fall foliage. Everyone gets a donut and cider while enjoying the bliss of the Secret Valley.
This is a one-hour excursion with ticket prices starting at $47.
There will also be a 90-minute excursion – “Fall Foliage Tour” – on Sunday on October 18 at noon and 3 p.m. and October 19 at 1 and 3:30 p.m. Ticket prices start at $37.
The Northern Central Railway (2 West Main Street, New Freedom, www.northerncentralrailway.com) is running “Fall Foliage Trains” on October 18 and 19.
Riders can enjoy the beauty of fall in Southern York County as the train follows the original Northern Central Railroad, a mainline in operation since 1838, through the scenic Heritage Rail Trail County Park.
Motive power will be the William H Simpson No. 17 replica steam locomotive or the 6076 PRR GP9 historic diesel locomotive. The conductor and brakeman will tell riders about the history and growth of the towns and villages they pass along the way.
Ticket prices start at $69.99.
Other excursions this weekend are “Ghost Tracks & Campfire Frights” on October 18 at 6 p.m. and “Pumpkin Patch Express” on October 19 at 11 a.m.
Treetop Quest Philly (51 Chamounix Drive, Philadelphia, www.treetopquest.com) is an aerial adventure park that will challenge you physically and mentally as you maneuver from tree to tree through obstacles and zip-lines. Once you’re equipped, they will teach you how to operate your equipment and you’ll be able to swing through each course as many times as you want for 2.5 hours.
Each participant is outfitted with a harness and gloves. Each course has a continuous belay system — a lifeline that is impossible to detach without a staff member. The activity is self-guided, and the staff is ready to assist when needed.
Gloves are required for our activity. During this time, we encourage participants to bring their own gloves to use while up in the trees, gardening gloves are perfect for this activity.
Ticket prices start at $38.
“TreeTrails Adventures Trevose” (301 West Bristol Pike, Trevose, treetrails.com/trevose-pa) is an adventure park full of fun challenges for outdoor adventurers of all ages.
Participants can experience the rush of TreeTrails Adventures as they swing through the trees of the adventure park. They will be able to discover the excitement of climbing and zip lining above the forest floor with family, friends, co-workers, or teammates.
The park, which is based at Phoenix Sport Club in Bucks County, offers two ways to experience climbing – TreeTrails Adventure Park and KidTrails Park. Young explorers can enjoy miniaturized courses in the adjacent KidTrails Park.
General Park Admission prices are: Main Park Adult Tickets (Ages 12+), $59; Main Park Youth Tickets (Ages 7–11), $51; KidTrails Tickets (Ages 4–7), $12.
