Category Archives: Events

Become a Penn State Extension Master Gardener

Do you love gardening? Would you like to give back to the community by doing something you love?  Would you like to learn more about horticulture?  If you answered yes to these questions, you might consider becoming a Penn State Extension Master Gardener.

The Master Gardener Program promotes research-based best gardening practices to educate the community.  Master Gardeners develop their horticultural expertise through a series of classes conducted by Penn State University faculty and Extension staff. The Program is a great way to make lasting friendships, share your joy of gardening, and serve the community.

Master Gardeners typically have the following qualities:

  • A love of learning more about horticultural best practices based on scientific research.
  • A willingness and enthusiasm for sharing their knowledge and experiences with others.
  • A dedication to performing volunteer activities in their community.
  • A desire to promote environmental stewardship.

If these qualities describe you, and you would like to serve your community, become a Penn State Master Gardener.  Master Gardeners help the Extension Service better serve the home gardening public by answering questions, speaking to groups, writing gardening articles, working with youth, gardening in the demonstration gardens, and in many other ways.

To receive an application, you must first attend one of three upcoming free information sessions to learn about the program.  Two sessions will be held online (May 2nd and May 14th), and the third session will be held in person at the Smedley Park Environmental Center in Springfield on May 16th.  All sessions will be from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and are free to attend.  Applicant interviews will be held during the summer.

If you are interested in attending one of the information sessions to learn about the program and to receive an application, contact the Delaware County Master Gardener Coordinator, Holly Thorpe via email at hat5041@psu.edu. You can also hover over the appropriate QR code with the camera app on your smartphone or tablet to register.

In-person at Smedley Park:  May 16, 2024, at 7 pm A qr code with black squares Description automatically generated  

 Webinar: May 2 or May 14, 2024, at 7 pm  A qr code with a few black squares Description automatically generated                               

2024 Delco Garden Contest

The 33rd Annual Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Delaware County Garden Contest, open to all county gardeners (novice to advanced), will be held this spring and summer. Master Gardeners will personally visit all gardens entered in the content.  They are interested in gardeners’ good gardening practices, design, plant variety, and environmental impact and will recognize winning gardens for their merits.

On the judging days, entrants meet with the panel of Master Gardeners, who will not only judge the gardens but also answer gardeners’ questions. Award ribbons and certificates for each category will be presented at the annual Fall Fest, which takes place at Smedley Park in Springfield on Sept. 28.

Photo by Steven Brodsky

All Delaware County community gardens are welcome to enter, whether you are a school, senior center, or any other kind of group garden.

Judging Dates

The 33rd annual Garden Contest has the following three judging dates.  The first judging date of May 17 is for judging ornamental gardens that have spring ephemerals such as azaleas, bulbs, and peonies. The deadline to enter is May 13.

If your garden is full of annual flowers and early summer flowering shrubs and trees, the June 21 date fits your garden’s splendor.  The deadline to enter is June 17.

On Aug. 2, they will judge vegetable and community gardens throughout the county.  The deadline to enter is July 29.

If you are interested in entering the garden contest, copy the following URL into your browser: https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4ZKsuYttlUmrSho

Spring Concerts at Media Theatre

The Media Theatre, 104 East State Street, Media, PA, is bringing live music to State Street this spring. Joe Grasso and the Ramblers bring country rock and Blues to the stage, 7 p.m. April 19.

Ticket link: Buy: Joe Grasso and The Ramblers – Friday, April 19th, at 7:00PM (salesforce-sites.com)

Coming to the stage on May 5…

The Cosmic American Derelicts have recorded 6 albums, their most recent album Bergenfield Blues features Terry Reid singing and playing guitar on 5 songs. The Derelicts have been backing up and touring with Terry in the US/UK since 2007, having played well over a hundred shows together. Hear them perform 7 p.m., May 5.

Learn more at Terry Reid & Cosmic American Derelicts — The Media Theatre

Arden Children’s Theatre presents ‘Pinocchio’

Arden Children’s Theatre is bringing the classic tale of Pinocchio to life on the Arden’s intimate 175-seat Arcadia Stage at 40 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA starting April 10. This captivating production, by director Rebecca Wright, is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, and promises to delight children and adults ages four and up. The show begins previews April 10, opens Saturday, April 20, and runs through June 2.

Audiences may be familiar with Wright’s work at the Arden, where she previously directed An Illiad, Backing Track, and last season’s Red Riding Hood. Featuring four talented Philadelphia-based actors, Reese Castaldi, Izzy Sazak, Nathan Alford-Tate and Anthony Martinez-Briggs, the cast combines to play a dozen characters throughout the 90-minute show.

In this fast-paced reimagining of the classic tale, the show begins with four painters arriving on set seemingly prepared to paint the walls of an empty theatre, only to find an audience eagerly anticipating a production of Pinocchio. The four playfully scramble with their paint brushes, mops, ladders, and other tools to begin telling the exciting tale, eagerly asking for help from the audience to propel the story forward.

Ticket Link: Pinocchio – Arden Theatre Company

Delaware County 4-H Junior Master Gardener Summer Camp

Do you know a young person between the ages of 8 – 11 who is interested in gardening and learning more about native plants in our ecosystem? Are you looking for a great summer camp opportunity for your child? Then registering to attend the first annual Junior Master Gardener Summer Camp may be an ideal fit! 

Cohosted by the Penn State Extension Delaware County 4-H and Master Gardeners, this camp, running from June 24 – June 27, will engage campers in hands-on gardening and learning activities on topics such as the importance of plants, parts of a plant and what it needs to grow, planning a garden, friends, and foes (insects) of the garden, and healthy eating choices. 

This half-day camp will run from 8:30 am until noon each day at the Environmental Center at Smedley Park, 20 Papermill Rd., Springfield, PA 19064.

The cost for registration is $75 per camper. Families with two or more campers registering will receive a $15 per camper refund. All campers are encouraged to bring snacks if needed, and a water bottle. No food will be provided.

Camp is limited to 20 youth. Participants are selected on a first-come, first-serve basis.

To learn more about the Junior Master Gardener Summer Camp and to register:

  • To register, contact Lauren Kauffman, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development, lyr5015@psu.edu or call 484-472-5113                                            

The registration deadline is June 1, 2024.

DCS presents ‘Tales From Europe’

DCS May 5th Symphony Concert

Delaware County Symphony (DCS) Symphony Series presents Tales From Europe on Sunday, May 5 at Neumann University’s Meagher Theater.

The concert will feature:

    • Engelbert Humperdinck – Prelude to Hansel and Gretel 
    • Felix Mendelssohn- Violin Concerto
    • Youth Concerto Competition Winner- Kai Freeman performing Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Violin in E minor. 
    • Richard Strauss: Aus Italian

The Delaware County Symphony May 5 at 3 p.m. concert will take place in Neumann University’s Meagher Theatre. Tickets for the concert may be purchased at dcsmusic.org/tickets

The intimate atmosphere of Neumann University’s Meager Theatre provides a unique opportunity to hear these wonderful works up close.

If You Go:

Find out more about the pieces featured at this concert by attending Meet the Music, a free, pre-concert lecture presented by Neumann University Music Professor, Dr. Richard Sayers, at 2 p.m.  Meet the Music takes place in the McNichol room of the Life Center at Neumann University from 2-2:30 p.m. before the Sunday symphony concert.

Ticket/info link: Delaware County Symphony Tickets (ticketleap.com)

New production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly closes Opera Philadelphia’s 2023-2024 Season

Opera Philadelphia’s 2023-2024 Season closes in spectacular fashion this spring with a new production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly that illuminates and ultimately transcends harmful stereotypes, empowering the protagonist Cio Cio San with new choices for her future.

Madame Butterfly and its title character have fascinated audiences for more than a century. Though hailed for its achingly beautiful score and a story that explores universal themes of love and betrayal, it can also perpetuate problematic Asian stereotypes rooted in Orientalism and exoticism.

The new production designed by Yuki Izumihara and directed by Ethan Heard, both making their Opera Philadelphia debuts, seeks to explore ─ and explode ─ the opera’s core, damaging stereotype of “the submissive, self-sacrificing Asian woman.” Drawing from the text of the opera, in which Cio Cio San is described as an “exotic,” “doll-like” “toy,” the production presents the young geisha as a doll that is purchased, played with, and ultimately abandoned by her husband, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton.

“Puccini trapped his Butterfly in a beautiful score. In turn, Madame Butterfly has become a trap, as AAPI artists are asked to lend it authenticity and life in new productions that promise much but change little,” said Izumihara, a scenic, projection, and production designer born in Shimonoseki City, Japan and based in Oakland, CA. “To liberate ourselves from Puccini’s beautiful trap, we propose accepting Cio Cio San as the puppet he created and rendering her as such onstage. Through this form, the production becomes a cautionary tale, examining how ongoing misrepresentation in content and character portrayal affects us all and takes over, unless and until we put our emphasis on the future ─ positivity and empowerment.”

“Pinkerton fetishizes the fifteen-year-old Cio Cio San as a delicate object – something to be purchased, enjoyed, and disposed of,” said Heard, the hapa, Chinese American, co-founder of Heartbeat Opera and Associate Artistic Director of Signature Theatre. “We will see her as a doll puppeteered by our soprano, who we are calling the Spirit of Cio Cio San. While the Spirit initially wants to fulfill Pinkerton’s fantasy, she eventually awakens to the damaging role she is being asked to play.” Scenic and projection design illustrate the need for this metamorphosis in representation, stripping away traditional opulence and ornamentation.

Winner of the prestigious Renee Fleming Award from the Eastman School of Music, Taiwanese soprano Karen Chia-ling Ho makes her Opera Philadelphia debut as the spirit of Cio Cio San. Before earning raves for performances at San Francisco Opera and Carnegie Hall, she began her musical career at the age of 6 singing in the Taipei Hua-Hsin Children’s Choir of Taiwan. The physical manifestation of Cio Cio San is brought to the stage by Philadelphia-based puppet artist Hua Hua Zhang, who was born in Beijing, China, earned an MFA in Puppet Art in the School of Fine Arts at the University of Connecticut, and is the founder and artistic director of Visual Expressions.

If You Go:

Madame Butterfly
Music by Giacomo Puccini; libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
April 26, 28, May 3, 5, 2024
Academy of Music
Performed in Italian with English supertitles
Approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes including one 20-minute intermission.
Tickets on sale at operaphila.org

 

‘Jamie Wyeth: Unsettled’ unveiled at Brandywine Museum of Art

Jamie Wyeth: Unsettled will be on view at the Brandywine Museum of Art from March 17–June 9, 2024. Unsettled traces a persistent vein of intriguing, often disconcerting imagery over the career of renowned artist Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946). This major exhibition—organized by the Brandywine and five years in the making—features more than 50 works drawn from museum and private collections across the country that focus on the artist’s arresting, visceral imagery, revealing fascinating insight into Wyeth and the art of visual storytelling.

Brandywine River Museum of Art.

Following its debut at the Brandywine, the exhibition will travel to four additional art museums around the United States.

Brandywine Museum of Art is at 1 Hoffman’s Mill Road, Chadds Ford, PA Current admission rates and hours of operation can be found at www.brandywine.org/hours.

A Chance To Own Rare Singing Bowls

Joseph Feinstein has many museum-quality small antiques singing bowls. He has now begun to sell some of his collection. Some of the smallest are now for sale online, including 75 cups and Manipuri bowls.

When I started collecting singing bowls, I would literally look for years for just one nice thick 4″ manipuri bowl. They are so rare and few, it took me two decades to collect the handful you see today. These are all of the small manipuri bowls in the collection. I still have a couple dozen more larger manipuri from 6″ – 8″ to record but all the small ones from under 4″ to 5.75″ are now online. – Joseph Feinstein

You can hear and shop for them here: Manipuri Antique Singing Bowls

Many of the antique singing bowls now online are 4 inch diameter and smaller. Larger ones will be recorded and put online later this year.

Paranormal Nights at Rockwood Mansion

The Rockwood Mansion in Wilmington, Delaware was built by Joseph Shipley, a Quaker merchant banker between 1851 and 1854. Its Gothic Revival architecture and enchanting landscape were designed to reflect the beauty of an English country estate.

The museum reflects the way the Bringhurst family, descendants of Shipley, lived during the turn of the 20th century.

Upcoming Events at Rockwood Park:

  • Rockwood Paranormal Experience

    This is Rockwood’s classic Paranormal Program to investigate the mansion from the unfinished attic to the decayed basement through the highly polished living spaces in between.

Dates:

  • Sat | 7-9 pm | 4/13
  • Sat | 7-9 pm | 5/18
  • Sat | 7-9 pm | 6/15