Bits & Pieces March 24

Posted by ChaddsFordLive on March 21, 2011

• Children’s Theater at CCArts (the Center for the Creative Arts) presents “Beauty and the Beast” live on stage. See the all youth cast’s second performance in this new theater program Saturday, March 26 at 2 p.m. Admission is $5. Tickets will be sold at the door beginning one hour before show time. The Center for the Creative Arts is located at 410 Upper Snuff Mill Row, Yorklyn, just 2 miles north of Hockessin.

• There will be a blood drive in the Charles F. Patton Middle School cafeteria on Friday, April 1 from 1-7 p.m.

• Unionville High School hosts the 13thannual “Jazz Along the Brandywine” festival on Saturday, April 2, beginning at 6 p.m. Top area bands will show off their chops in a variety of styles from soul to swing to samba. This year’s participants are Penn Wood Middle School, Springfield High School, Penncrest High School, Interboro High School, Penn Wood High School, Garnet Valley High School, and Bayard Rustin High School. The evening concludes with an exhibition performance by Unionville High School, followed by an awards ceremony. Tickets are $8 adults, $6 students and seniors 60 and over, free for 5 and under.

• Scarborough Fair returns to the Chadds Ford Gallery. New work from artist Paul Scarborough will be on display from April 8-May 8. The April 8 opening reception begins at 5 p.m.

• The Kennett Symphony will present Stravinsky’s the Rite of Spring, under the baton of Maestra Mary Woodmansee Green. Harpist Janet Witman will open with Debussy’s Sacred and Profane Dances. There will be two performances at Westminster Presbyterian Church in West Chester on Saturday, April 9, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

• The Brandywine Battlefield Park will hold a Living History Day April 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is on the life and times of the people of Chadd's Ford in September of 1777. Visitors will tour the Ring House (Washington's Headquarters) and witness gambling in the parlor. April Thomas of the Colonial Plantation and the Food Network will be in the Ring kitchen. There will also be a small encampment of soldiers with Ben the Blacksmith, a basket maker and a demonstration of marbleized paper.

• The Young Friends of the Brandywine Conservancy will team with the Brandywine Valley Association on April 30 to clean nearly 35 miles of the Brandywine River and its banks. Both groups have organized successful river clean ups in previous years. This year will mark the first time the two groups will clean up on the same day. To volunteer to help clean or for more information, contact Kathy Freney Smith at 610-388-8315 or send an e-mail ksmith@brandywine.org. Volunteers are advised to wear long pants, heavy shoes or boots, and sunscreen. Gloves and trash bags will be provided.

• D. B. Pest, an interactive mobile robot, will be one of the many treats in store for those who stop by the garden fair hosted by Penn State Cooperative Extension in Chester County. The event will take place on April 30 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the 4-H Romano Center, located on Rte. 322 in Honey Brook. “Gardening 101—It’s Easier than you Think!” is specially geared for beginners and will include talks on butterflies, vegetable gardening, garden design, and mulching; demonstrations on composting and pruning; educational mini-golf; and other workshops, activities, exhibits, and games, all designed to teach gardening fundamentals. Ice cream, hot dogs, and other food provided by the 4-H clubs of Chester County will be available on-site. The fair will also include a sale of plants and used gardening books. The facility is under cover, so the fair will be held, rain or shine. The cost is $5 per adult; children are free.