The YMCA of Greater Brandywine is launching a new Esports program for students in middle and high school in collaboration with the National YMCA Esports program, providing a virtual sports experience for youth and teens that promotes leadership and personal growth.
The new eight-week program is currently registering youth and teens in grades five through 12. The program begins on April 5.
As a part of the program, participants will practice virtually with teammates from across the region in three-game selections, Rocket League, NBA 2K21 or Super Smash Bros. Teams will meet two times a week with one hour for practice and one hour for play. Each practice will be led by a trained coach who will support participants in a wide variety of areas, including positive competition, team-building activities, and the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.
Jim Paro, Senior Vice President at the YMCA of Greater Brandywine, is spearheading the Esports pilot. “Esports is one of the fastest-growing trends for youth engagement and this program is an excellent means to teach young people teamwork, sportsmanship, and online safety. We’re thrilled to be piloting the program and look forward to expanding it in the coming months.”
YGBW’s Seventh-Grade Initiative
The YMCA is committed to serving teens, especially because as kids face adolescence, they are more likely to begin distancing themselves from formal organizations, friends, and family and to experiment with unhealthy behaviors. COVID has added an additional layer of complication for these formative years. To help support teens, YGBW offers a complimentary YMCA membership for seventh-grade students providing them with a safe space where they can make friends, discover their passions, and cultivate a healthy lifestyle. Learn more at ymcagbw.org/7th-grade-initiative.
Any youth with a YGBW membership, including those who are enrolled through our seventh-grade initiative, are eligible for discounted pricing when they enroll in our esports program.
Esports is a growing national program with more than 125 higher education institutions developing varsity collegiate Esports programs over the last five years.
Farm Abandoned by Mimi Snyder at Square Pear Gallery
Ceramic artist Rhoda Kahler is busy these days. Among other things, she is preparing for an upcoming solo exhibition titled “Form and Image” opening this Friday, April 2nd at Church Street Gallery in West Chester. Kahler’s tile work is quite popular. It’s been featured in several publications over the years and on television, including on the Home and Garden Television network (HGTV). Drawing from nature, much of Kahler’s art bends toward the organic.
Orange Sky by Rhoda Kahler at Church St. Gallery
Like other ceramic artists, Kahler fell for the tactile intimacy of clay. “To me, my tiles are three dimensional paintings that are my interpretations of life and places. In this exhibition, you will see that I am exploring with color, and have added brighter colors to my palette, as well as a more painterly effect. I am also experimenting with new sculptural concepts for my tilework, and I am very excited to share these ideas.” Her tile murals appear in public and private collections throughout the Delaware Valley—including the E.O. Bull Center for the Arts at West Chester University and Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry among other sites. “Art is everywhere, whether or not we realize it, it is. It could be a crack in the sidewalk, an expression on a face or tree roots weaving their way through the ground… there lies art. For me, it is this relationship between an object or feeling, thought or concept and how it appeals to my sense of form.”
Rhoda Kahler in her studio
For more about Rhoda Kahler visit her website here. The gallery will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Friday and will reopen for a reception with the artist from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Masks are required to enter. For hours visit Church Street Gallery here. The show runs through May 1st.
The Delaware Valley Art League (DVAL) has been gathering and exhibiting their work in and around our area since 1947. Two worthy goals of the non-profit are to promote an interest in the fine arts in the greater Philadelphia region and to enhance the skills and creativity of the league’s members. The non-profit provides ample opportunities for its 200 plus artist members. They enjoy a fellowship with other artists, exchange professional views, develop new techniques, and of course to exhibit their art. Folks volunteer to organize monthly meetings, outings, guest artist demos, workshops, lectures and more.
Fennel and Radishes by Sara Hamilton at Square Pear Gallery
With such a large membership, they sometimes can have four exhibitions running at the same time and they always have their eyes out for new venues to work with. Exhibitions are held at locations like Square Pear Gallery in Kennett and healthcare facilities including Penn Medicine Valley Forge, Penn Medicine at Bala Cynwyd and Bryn Mawr Hospital. Several plein-air events are organized throughout a typical year including two and three day formal sessions in stunning settings like the BRM and Longwood Gardens, which culminate in a show and sale and informal “paint-outs” at locations like St. Peter’s Village and Chanticleer.
Of course, the pandemic put a damper on DVAL’s schedule but it hasn’t stopped the group from pivoting to the virtual scene to conduct business and plan events. DVAL had two online shows for its entire membership and a third one is coming up in May. Current board members will have their work on view at Square Pear beginning First Friday, April 2nd with 40 original works on view. DVAL’s first new brick and mortar show since the pandemic began will include board members George Gallatig, Giovanni Arcamone, Deborah Vaughan, Ardyth Sobyak, Liz Delany, Mary Smith, Jeanne Gunther, Daria Nawrocki, Donald Leong, Indira Cariappa, Mimi Snyder, Sara Hamilton and Laurie LaMont Murray. Murray said, “The art we’re showing mirrors the breadth of our organization as a whole.
Peaches 2 by Ardyth Sobyak at Square Pear Gallery
You’ll find land and seascapes, still life, figures and fish, animals and abstracts. There are watercolors, oils and acrylics in every size and price range rom the creative solitude of an extraordinary year. The board is looking forward to this. We’re thinking folks may want to plan a day trip through the beautiful Brandywine Valley to see this show and enjoy Kennett. Social distancing and your finest spring masks required!” The show runs through April 30th. For more details visit Square Pear here. For more information about DVAL visit here.
Other events worth checking out: “On Art: Conversations with the Artists” at The Delaware Contemporary (TDC). Artist talks are on TDC’s YouTube channel every other Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. Visit here for details. This year’s InLiquid Benefit Auction will be in person and online April 7th to April 11th. Visit to peruse and bid on art here. Philadelphia Open Studio Tour (POST) is virtual this year. Register here to attend this free event every Wednesday evening in April.
A native of Philadelphia, Constance McBride lived in Arizona for 16 years, where desert observations made a transformative impact on her work as a research based visual artist. Passionate about contemporary art, she was actively engaged in the local arts community. She served as a board member for several art organizations, managed an artist collective/gallery space, curated and juried several exhibitions and wrote for two arts publications in Phoenix. She taught ceramics at Shemer Art Center and Museum and exhibited her work both locally and nationally. McBride returned to Pennsylvania in 2018 and resides in Chester Springs with her husband and two dogs. In West Chester, she serves as a board member at The Art Trust Gallery at Meridian Bank and teaches ceramics at Chester County Art Association. She also teaches at Clay on Main in Oley, PA. She is a member of American Craft Council, Philadelphia Sculptors, and Women’s Caucus for Art, Philadelphia Chapter.
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
