Around Town Dec. 17

Posted by ChaddsFordLive on December 17, 2015

• It’s Breakfast with the Trains on Saturday, Dec. 19 at the Brandywine River Museum of Art. From 8:30 to 10 a.m., museum visitors can take part in a behind-the-scenes visit with the Brandywine River Museum of Art Railroad. Discover how the extensive layout, one of the world’s largest, is created, and the complicated multitasking it takes to keep everything running. This before-hours event includes a private tour of the trains in action with Brandywine RR engineers, including special activities for the youngest train fans and a continental breakfast in the museum café. Children will receive a Brandywine RR souvenir; ages 3 and older accompanied by an adult are welcome. Tickets — $20 for museum members and $25 for others — are limited. Reserve online at www.brandywine.org/museum/events or phone 610-388-8326.

• The mushroom will drop again this year. Kennett Square will usher in the new year with its annual Mushroom Drop. At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, in the heart of Kennett Square, a 500-pound stainless steel mushroom glittering with thousands of lights will be lowered with a countdown to the new year. It is the finale of Midnight in the Square, Kennett Square’s family-style New Year’s Eve bash with music, food and fun. The night will include children’s activities beginning at 6 p.m. on Dec. 31, and there will be a heated tent that has a cover charge of $10. General admission is a nonperishable food item for the Kennett Food Cupboard.

• It’s still two months away, but chocoholics should mark Feb. 21 on their calendars. That’s the day for the United Way of Southern Chester County’s annual Chocolate Lovers Festival. Hundreds of chocolate treats from cakes and brownies to candies and cookies will be available for tasting at Kennett High School from 1 to 4 p.m. General admission is $10 per person (or $30 for a family of four) and gets you six tastings. Special Connoisseur tickets — $25 per person or $45 for two — allows for noon admission and free parking. Parking for others is $5. For advance tickets, go to www.kennettchocolate.org Chefs and bakers who want to enter their chocolate creations may win ribbons in several categories — amateur, professional or student. There is no entry fee, but the deadline to enter is Feb. 17.

• The Kennett Area Senior Center sponsors Zumba classes on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. with professional instructor Kim Malone. The class is open to all ages: teens through seniors. Come check out a class ($8 drop in fee) or just sign up for a 10-class session ($59/adult, $49/age 15 and younger).

• With just a week left until Christmas, Kennett Square invites area residents to shop and dine before the holidays. Free three-hour holiday parking will begin on Thursday, Dec. 17 and continue through Jan. 3. For a calendar of events on the many scheduled activities, click for More information.

• PennDOT announced that all driver’s license and photo centers, including its full-service center in Harrisburg, would be closed Friday, Dec. 25 for the Christmas holiday. Photo centers will not offer extended hours on Thursday, Dec. 24, and will close at the same time as driver license centers. However, customers may still obtain a variety of driver and vehicle products and services online at www.dmv.pa.gov. There are no additional fees for using online services.

• Motorists can check traffic conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com, advises PennDOT. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 770 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

• Christiana Care Health System’s Center for Heart & Vascular Health will offer a support group for people who have received or plan to receive implantable cardioverter defibrillators. The free sessions will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 12, and Tuesday, March 8, at the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center, 4755 Ogletown-Stanton Rd. in Newark, De. The meeting includes a topic-based presentation, an opportunity for questions and answers, and a group support session. Family members are welcome to attend. Registration is requested by calling 800-693-CARE (2273) or 302-623-CARE (2273).