Also: Sportscard and Outdoor shows come to area
By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times
Tyler Arboretum holds its annual Pancake Breakfast and Maple Sugaring Celebration Sunday.
For a family event that is both fun and educational, it’s hard to top the annual Pancake Breakfast and Maple Sugaring Celebration at the Tyler Arboretum (515 Painter Road, Media, 610-566-9134, www.tylerarboretum.org).
The popular wintertime event will be held on February 27 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
The Pancake Breakfast brings visitors to the arboretum site on a Saturday morning in February each year to dine at an all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast — a hearty morning meal featuring hot pancakes, savory sausage, fresh maple syrup, coffee, tea and juice.
After enjoying the tasty morning meal, visitors can go out into the arboretum to learn how real maple syrup — not maple-flavored pancake syrup — is made. Demonstrations and maple sugaring tours are presented throughout the morning at the old-fashioned maple sugaring festival. The tours show how authentic maple sugar is made — a process that involves tapping the trees and boiling down the sap.
If you’ve ever wondered why real maple syrup is such an expensive item, look at the numbers. It takes about 40 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of syrup and it takes about 30 years for a sugar maple tree to grow large enough to tap.
Tickets for the Pancake Breakfast are $12 for adults and $8 for children (ages 3-12).
Greater Philadelphia Expo Center hosts the Seventh Annual Greater Philadelphia Outdoor Sports Show this weekend.
The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center (100 Station Avenue, Oaks, 484-754-3976, www.phillyexpocenter.com) is hosting the Seventh Annual Greater Philadelphia Outdoor Sports Show now through February 28.
The “Sportfishing Supershow” will feature fishing tackle manufacturers and retailers, guides and fishing lodges, marine electronics, kayaks in the Demo Pond) and fly fishing in the Casting Pond. The “Deer Turkey and Big Game Expo” focuses on shooting sports, archery, lodges, camps and resorts, hunting dogs and taxidermists. The “Boatyard” hosts more than 100 fishing boats including bass fishing, aluminum fishing boats, saltwater fishing boats and pontoons.
The “Outdoor Adventures Hall” looks at camping and RVs, ATVs, hiking and family adventures. All halls include apparel, travel and tourism associations, trucks, wildlife art and photography, fishing and hunting clubs and state fish and game commission representatives.
Other attractions include “The Climbing Wall,” “Kayak Demo Pond,” “Fly Fishing Casting Pond,” “The Hawg Trough Tank” (a 5000 gallon fishing tank), “Trout Fishing Pond,” “Archery Range,” “Airsoft and Paintball Ranges,” fishing, hunting and camping seminars, and live animals.
Video link for Greater Philadelphia Outdoor Sportshow — https://youtu.be/QehmKcOd7Qw.
Show hours are noon-8 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $12 for adults and $3 for children (ages 5-11).
Even though only a few remnants of Valentine’s Day 2016 still exist — such as deeply-discounted off-brand candy at drug stores — chocoholics can still celebrate in the final days of February.
The Chaddsford Winery (632 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, 610-388-6221, www.chaddsford.com) will offer “Wine & Chocolate Samplings” through February 28.
Visitors can explore several areas of the historic property, including the cottage, Vintner House, and wine cellar. They also will be able to visit six stations featuring different pairings of John & Kira’s gourmet chocolate with Chaddsford wine — such as Sunset Blush paired with a Raspberry Ganache.
Advanced reservations are $25 per person. Participants can arrive anytime between noon and 6 p.m. on the reserved date to take the pairing tour.
It’s also the final days for “Chocolate-Covered February in Hershey” (various locations around Hershey, 800-HERSHEY, www.chocolatecoveredfebruary.com). Hershey has decadent chocolate events planned throughout the month of February but you’ll have to head there this weekend to enjoy them.
Some of the popular attractions are “Try It with Truffles,” “The Great Hot Cocoa Challenge,” “The Hersheypark Chocolate Parade,” “Chocolate Dessert Buffet,” “Wine and Chocolate Pairing,” “Hershey’s Character Breakfast” and “The Heart of Chocolate.”
Video link for “Chocolate-Covered February” — https://youtu.be/bRxnlz9IJvI.
Professional baseball players have arrived in their spring training camps and fans are already starting to feel excitement for the new season.
Deion Sander is among the sports stars scheduled to appear at the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show, this weekend at the Valley Forge Casino Resort.
While Opening Day may still be a little way off, sports fans can get in the spirit by attending this weekend’s Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show, which is running February 26-28 at the Valley Forge Casino Resort (First Avenue, King of Prussia, 610-524-0822, http://www.phillyshow.com).
The show will feature dealers from all over the country who will be selling a wide array of sports-related items such as game-used equipment, autographed balls, posters, magazine, game programs and autographed pictures. Visitors can also find a huge selection of collectors’ supplies including protective sheets, binders, ball protectors and display cases.
A major focus of the show will be trading cards — especially baseball cards. Show attendees will be able to find everything from ultra-rare vintage Honus Wagner and Babe Ruth cards to the latest releases. All sports will be represented, including football, soccer, ice hockey, basketball, wrestling, Olympics and UFC.
The show will also have a large number of live guests who will partake in autograph sessions including Deion Sanders, Wes Chamberlain, Jim Eisenreich, Tommy Greene, Kevin Stocker and Danny Jackson.
Admission to the show is $8 per day or $21 for a weekend pass.
Maceo Parker is among the talents performing this weekend at “Lancaster Roots & Blues — A Festival of Music.”
“Lancaster Roots & Blues — A Festival of Music” (http://lancasterrootsandblues.com/) has been such a success in recent years that it has expanded from two to three days. The 2016 edition of the popular event will run from February 26-28 at a variety of venues around Lancaster.
The festival will feature a wide variety of music including blues, jazz, roots, folk, bluegrass, soul, zydeco, R&B, country, rockabilly and rock and roll with a line-up that includes more than 70 acts.
The festival’s events will be staged at 10 different venues — 26 East, The Village Nightclub, Chameleon Club, Tellus360, Federal Taphouse, Lancaster Dispensing Co., Lancaster County Convention Center, The Trust Performing Arts Center, The Ware Center, and the Elks Lodge.
Some of this year’s featured music acts are Maceo Parker, Tinsley Ellis, Morgan James, The Stray Birds, The Innocence Mission, Dana Fuchs, Wayne Hancock, Kapali Long, Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials and The Wood Brothers.
Food trucks will be parked outside Lancaster Dispensing Co. and The Trust Performing Arts Center from 2-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday with the following participants — Mad Dash Concessions, Sugar Whipped Bakery, Lancaster Burger Co., and Dutch Country Concessions.
Video link for “Lancaster Roots & Blues” — https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QFV4qjXlzvs.
Tickets are $55 for Friday or Sunday, $60 for Saturday, $90 for a two-day ticket and $125 for a three-day ticket.
Winter break at Winterthur is over.
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library reopens, March 1.
On March 1, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library (Route 52 just south of the Pennsylvania state line, Wilmington, Delaware, 800-448-3883, http://www.winterthur.org) re-opens with all of its popular galleries prepped and ready to receive visitors.
And, there are some new exhibitions waiting in the wings. “Made in the Americas: The New World Discovers Asia” will open on March 26 and continue through January 8, 2017. “Made in the Americas: The New World Discovers Asia” examines the profound influence of Asia on the arts of the colonial Americas.
Featuring some of the most extraordinary objects produced in the Americas, this scholarly exhibition is the first, Pan-American study to explore how craftsmen across North, Central, and South America adapted Asian styles in a range of media — from furniture to silverwork, textiles, ceramics, and painting.
General admission tickets are honored for two consecutive days and include access to the garden, a garden tram tour, the Galleries and special exhibitions, and an introductory house tour. The Discovery Tour is offered throughout the day and does not require reservation. Tickets are $30 for adults, $28 for seniors and students and $17 for children (ages 8-11).
Also on March 1, the Historic Houses of Odessa, owned and operated by the Historic Odessa Foundation will reopen to the public for the 2016 season.
Through the end of December, the nonprofit Historic Odessa Foundation will offer regular tours of its landmark Delaware properties that house the foundation’s collection of more than 6,000 objects and furnishings that span an interpretive period in regional decorative arts from 1760 through 1850.
The houses and the foundations collections provide a background for a variety of events and educational programs for the public and schools throughout the season, including exhibits, lectures, entertainment, community and fundraising events. To kick off its 2016 season, HOF presents two exhibits — “Beyond Realism: The Art of Michael A. Bignell” and “Picture Perfect: 19th Century Photographic Portraits from the HOF Collection.”
In “Beyond Realism: The Art of Michael A. Bignell,” paintings by award-winning Maryland artist, and former architect, Michael Bignell will be on display through May 29. The stimulus behind Bignell’s work is known as “Beyond Realism,” and his subjects include Eastern Shore scenes, New York City, and Odessa.
“Picture Perfect: 19th Century Photographic Portraits from the HOF Collection” presents a small case exhibit of its 19th-century photographs depicting prominent Odessa citizens. It will be on display through June 1 in the National Historic Register Wilson-Warner House (c. 1769).
The Historic Odessa Foundation owns and operates The Historic Houses of Odessa, a 30-acre enclave of 18th and 19th century structures located in the town of Odessa. The original town of Odessa, originally known as Cantwell’s Bridge, has retained much of its 18th century charm. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is home to a National Historic Landmark, and two National Park Service “Network to Freedom” sites.
Another incentive to make a trip south across the Pennsylvania-Delaware state line this weekend could be a visit to Hagley Museum and Library (Route 141, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-658-2400, www.hagley.org).
The featured exhibit is “Driving Desire: Automobile Advertising and the American Dream,” which opened recently and is running through January 1, 2017.
Throughout the 20th-century, the automobile has met our practical needs for transportation while simultaneously reflecting and even creating new desires and personal identities. “Driving Desire” explores the relationship between automobile advertising and Americans’ car buying decisions.
This provocative exhibition features more than one hundred artifacts and historic images, drawing heavily from Hagley’s Z. Taylor Vinson collection of transportation ephemera. The exhibit is open daily from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Visitors will be able to check out Hagley’s current exhibits, explore demonstrations in the Powder Yard, tour the du Pont ancestral home, and enjoy walks along the scenic riverside. Exhibits and dioramas document the Brandywine Valley’s early eras as well as the history of the DuPont Company.
Admission to Hagley Museum is $14 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, $5 for children (ages 6-14) and free for children (5 and under). Admission is free for current military personnel and their families.
Another good destination in Delaware this weekend will be the 15th Annual Hockessin Art Festival. The event, which runs from February 26-28, will be held at the Hockessin Memorial Hall, (606 Yorklyn Road, Hockessin, Delaware, 302-998-1930, www.wwrr.com).
The Wilmington & Western Railroad’s Hockessin Art Festival is a fundraising effort to benefit the railroad, now entering its 50th year of tourist service. The W&WRR operates steam and diesel trains year-round on 10 miles of track through the scenic Red Clay Valley.
The festival features more than 25 artists who will be displaying and selling original works of art. Refreshments will be available and door prizes will be awarded. On February 26, there will be a special “Friday Evening Preview” from 5-8 p.m. featuring light hors’ doeuvres and a cash bar.
This year’s roster of artists includes Beth Palser, Larry Anderson, Christina Oddo, Catherine Colsher, Steve Oliver, Sandy Askey-Adams, Doris Davis-Glackin, Joe and Lorann Jacobs, Kathy Ruck, Patricia Brown-Tolton, Anna Biggs Designs, Shawn Faust, John Stevens, Judy Antonelli, Rick Phillips, Andy Smith, John Stywer, James Browne, Derek Carlson, Marcie Tauber, Lynn Taylor, Rita Trimmer, Helena van Ememrick-Finn, Ellen Gavin and Susan Yoder.
As an added attraction, the Wilmington & Western Railroad will be running its “Festival Express” on Saturday and Sunday. The railroad’s vintage 1929 railcar will depart from the station behind Memorial Hall for 40-minute round trips through the towns of Yorklyn and Ashland.
The trains depart from behind the Hockessin Memorial Hall in Hockessin. Tickets are $5 and departure times are noon, 1, 2 and 3 p.m. both days with an additional train at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Admission to the festival is $3 for adults and free for children (under 12). Tickets for the train ride are $5 for everyone.
This weekend, there is a special event at the Berks Nature site (25 North 11th Street, Reading, 610-372-4992, www.berksnature.org) that will be fun for families and great for their feathered friends.
On February 27 from 9 a.m.-noon, Berks Nature is hosting a special activity called “Build your Own Birdhouse!”
Participants will be able to create a welcoming home for birds in their own backyards. Attendees will learn about local birds, types of habitats they prefer, and bird house placement and maintenance.
Most importantly, each participating family will get to build its own birdhouse — and all ages welcome. There is a limit of one birdhouse per family unless you purchase an additional registration. The cost is $20 per family.
There is a popular special event scheduled for Kennett Square this weekend — the Fourth Annual Kennett Winterfest on February 27. Unfortunately, tickets are already sold out. Keep that in mind next January and get your tickets early.
