• Enjoy a nature’s play day. Discover the wild side of Mt. Cuba Center with a day of outdoor fun at the center. Take to the open skies with kite-flying; get up close to Mt. Cuba’s trucks and tractors; navigate a nature obstacle course; and more. Embrace your inner explorer on a guided hike through rolling terrain. Food and beverage selections are available for purchase. Free parking for this event is at 1003 Old Wilmington Road, just east of Brackenville Road. It happens on Saturday. Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The day is included with admission. Get tickets here.
• This Saturday, the Kennett Regional Fire Department will host their first-ever joint Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 2 to 6 p.m. at Po-Mar-Lin Fire Coat 36 Firehouse Drive. The department comprises Po-Mar-Lin, Longwood, and Kennett fire companies. There will be live music, food and canned cocktails by Saloon 151, apple cider and apple cider donuts from Northbrook Marketplace, coffee and treats from Farmer & Co, and family activities such as pumpkin painting, an Autumn Sensory Bin, and crafts provided by the Kennett Library. All three fire companies will be present to answer any questions from the community and will showcase the specialties of each company. The event is free to attend.
• Longwood Gardens is closing out its Illuminated Fountain Performances for the year on Oct. 26. Watch as colorful fountains dance to stunning Italian melodies … the music of Adele and Prince… spooktacular favorites to get you in the Halloween mood … and much more. Get tickets here.
• The Chadds Township Ford Residents Association and the Brandywine Battlefield Park will hold a flag retirement ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 2-3 p.m. The event is in honor of Veterans’ Day.
• The West Chester Christmas Parade is accepting applications for 125 parade marshals as 13-foot-tall floats, local Olympians and the 2024 Mummers Champion String Band prepare for the parade on Friday, Dec. 6. Parade marshals ensure spectators are safely on sidewalks, move the parade along and assist with some clean-up. For those who prefer an alternative role, the Greater West Chester Chamber is seeking about 15 volunteers to help with the setup and breakdown of the main stage area before and after the parade. Sign up here, or here.
• Now through Jan. 18, The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick is on display at the Brandywine River Museum of Art. Explore the legacy of Wharton Esherick (1887-1970), one of the most creative and interdisciplinary figures of twentieth-century American art, craft, and design. Co-organized by the Brandywine and the Wharton Esherick Museum (WEM), this major exhibition details the artist’s career from his early woodcut illustrations for books by the avant-garde literati to his revolutionary reimagining of furniture forms as organic sculpture.
