What To Do: Christmas events begin to ramp up

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times  Holiday Magic at Brandywine It is the middle of November and that means many of the area’s traditional Christmas activities have begun – including a highly anticipated event in Chadds Ford. “Holiday Magic at Brandywine”, which was formerly known as “A Brandywine Christmas,” is running now through January 10 at the Brandywine River Museum...

What To Do: Even a scary time, it’s still Halloween

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times  Longwood Gardens This weekend, there is a wide variety of activities that can keep people of all interests occupied. Not surprisingly, the schedule is top-heavy with Halloween-related attractions and events. Fortunately, for those who don’t care about Halloween – or have already reached a saturation point with the marketing for the holiday...

What To Do: Chadds Ford Pumpkin Carve goes virtual

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Chadds Ford Pumpkin Carve One of the most popular Halloween events in the area is “The Great Pumpkin Carve” (Chadds Ford Historical Society, Route 100, Chadds Ford, 610-388-7376, www.chaddsfordhistory.org). Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers initially decided to change it from a “walk around” event to a “drive through” event....

What To Do: More attractions begin to open

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Wharton Esherick Museum Like tulip bulbs that sit dormant for months and then start to emerge with renewed life each spring, events and attractions around the area are slowly starting to emerge after pandemic-required dormancy. After being closed for several months because of the COVID-19 shutdowns, the Wharton Esherick Museum (1520 Horse Shoe Trail,...

What To Do: Despite event cancellations, there are options to get out of the house

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times  The Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation The tight restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been eased somewhat by the Governors of Pennsylvania and Delaware. There has been a steady re-opening of attractions such as amusement parks, zoos, movie theaters and parks –local, state, and national. So, if your cabin fever has reached a breaking...

What To Do: Butterfly Festival will go on, with a few changes

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times  Butterfly Festival If you have butterfly bushes in your yard or in your neighborhood, you’ve probably seen plenty of the beautiful insects flying around, dancing with each other and feeding on the plants’ blooms. Every year, there is a colorful and entertaining Butterfly Festival in late August at Colonial Gardens (745 Schuylkill Rd, Phoenixville,...

What To Do: Thanksgiving? Pshaw. Bring on the Christmas events!

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Longwood Gardens It’s countdown time for Thanksgiving 2019 and the number of days left is in single digits. And we all know that Thanksgiving is the traditional “unofficial” start of the Christmas holiday season – even though the season commercially “started” when Christmas items were being stocked on stores’ shelves on Labor Day...

What To Do: Kutztown Folk Festival highlights busy week

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times This is the weekend that one of the summer’s most popular annual Pennsylvania events gets underway. The 70th Annual Kutztown Folk Festival (Kutztown Fairgrounds, off Route 222, Kutztown, 888-674-6136,www.kutztownfestival.com) opens on June 29 and runs through July 7.

What To Do: Fun for Fathers’ Day

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Fatherfest If there is a hot air balloon, a blimp, a helicopter or a giant condor in the sky above you, it’s almost a certainty that you’re going to look up. If it’s a helicopter, the audio part emphasizes the visual part as it attracts your attention. When there is a chopper flying overhead, it is virtually impossible to resist a skyward gaze.

What To Do: take a train ride with the Easter Bunny

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times The Easter Bunny on the west Chester Railroad. The Easter Bunny is known for hopping around — but not always. Sometimes, instead of bouncing along the ground, the big happy rabbit rides a train. The holiday bunny has already embarked on his three-weekend stint of riding trains all around the area. The West Chester Railroad (610-430-2233, www.westchesterrr.net)...