Brandywine Valley Events Calendar
At the end of this calendar of events is a suggested 1-6 day itinerrary to help in planning your visit to the Brandywine Valley. We also list Philadelphia events as we are only a 30 minute drive from the historic city of Philadelphia.
Longwood Gardens
Culinature: From Harvest to Table Dinner
Saturday, October 2, 2010 6:00 PM
Take a culinary tour of the Gardens and savor an amazing seasonal feast as you travel to different Garden spots for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, dinner and dessert.
Enjoy dinner music and watch Longwood's chefs create your meal with local produce in "field kitchens." Delight in the flavorful tastes of autumn—fresh from the harvest to your table. This spectacular dinner ends at the main fountain garden
with a dessert reception and fountain show.
View the menu.
$175 per person
Garden Pass Members receive a 15% discount ($149 per person)
Prices include Garden Admission.
Buy tickets online or by calling 610-388-5
Brandywine Valley Wine Trail
8th Annual Harvest Festival - September 25 & 26th, October 2 & 3
Experience the sights and smells of harvest and have a grape stompin’ good time as the eight wineries of the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail celebrate the 2010 vintage! You’ll find grapes galore as the vineyards commence harvest activities. Enjoy pastoral settings for picnicking, live music to "sit n’ sip" or dance by, grape stomping competitions, hayrides through the vineyards, BBQs, wine tastings, tours, and the opportunity to learn about the region where Pennsylvania’s most stellar wines are being grown. Purchase a Passport online or at our wineries to take part in this fun annual event! Passports allow for tastings at all 8 member wineries and are valid September 25 through December 30, 2010.
Kreutz Creek Vineyards
Enjoy Jazz music by Aniya from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. and pulled pork sandwiches both days, both weekends!
Paradocx Vineyard
September 25: Music by John Pollard Band, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
October 2: Join us for music from The Acoustic Groove Project, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Twin Brook Winery
Join us for free lawn concerts each day during Harvest Festival from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The lineup for September 25 has yet to be determined. On September 26, Ragtime Willi will entertain with some Funky Folk. October 2, enjoy classic rock, blues, folk and soul with Hake and Jarema Band. October 3 will have an as yet to be determined musician.
Holiday Open House
December 4 & 5
Complete all your holiday shopping as you relax at our wineries on December 4 and 5! We're setting the stage for stress-free holiday shopping. The wineries will be decorated in their holiday finery and will be hosting carolers, holiday musicians, and special holiday sale pricing! Forget fighting the crowds at the malls. Wine always fits, so shop with us!
Kreutz Creek Vineyards
Enjoy chocolate fondue and holiday cookies while you shop!
Wine & Chocolate Month, February 2011
Bring your sweetheart and come celebrate with the eight wineries of the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail as we present delicious wine and chocolate tastings and other romantic events throughout the month!
Barrels on the Brandywine
Every weekend in March 2011
Each March, the wineries feature tastings of the new developing vintage in barrels, buckets, bottles and more! This Passport Event gives you a chance to venture into our cellars, see the new wines firsthand, and participate in pruning demonstrations, seminars, classes and more.
Sip & Stay Getaway!
Come stay anytime at Hamanassett Bed and Breakfast! We offer wine trail passports for $20.00 each which allows you wine tastings at the following wineries. The passport is good for one full year from the date of purchase and you receive a souvenir wine class to take home.
Black Walnut Winery
Thurs & Fri 2-8, Sat & Sun 11-6, and by appt.
Chaddsford Winery
Daily 12-6
Kreutz Creek Vineyards
Sat & Sun 11-6
Paradocx Vineyard
Su-Th 11-7, Fr-Sa 11-8
Patone Cellars
Anticipated Opening Fall 2010
Penns Woods Winery
M-Thu by appointment only
Fr-Su 11-6
Stargazers Vineyard
Sa & Su 12-5 or by appointment
Twin Brook Winery
M-Sa 10-6 Su 12-6
June 25
Outdoor Concert Series
Chaddsford Winery
Notice: Members pour controlled amounts of their wines for tasting. However, tasting at several wineries, in close succession, can cause one to unwittingly consume alcohol above the legal limit. If you intend to visit more than one winery in a day, we recommend you employ a designated driver or limit your wine consumption accordingly.
Chester County, Pennsylvania 610-444-3842 or 866-390-4367
Brandywine River Museum
US Rt. 1
Chadds Ford, PA 19317
610-388-8337
Visit Website For more information, please call 610-388-2700
Longwood Gardens - throughout the year - Making Scents: The Art and Passion of Fragrance, 610-388-1000
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Meadow Wildflower Walk
Longwood's managed meadow is full of amazing wildflowers all summer. Sunflowers, goldenrod, aster, and lobelia will all bloom while moths, butterflies and birds fly through the meadow.
Get a special guided tour of this beautiful and serene part of the Gardens. The tour guides who lead you through this dynamic space are a well-informed, lively bunch that conduct in-depth, fun tours of this beautiful area.
Meet at the Peirce-du Pont House porch.
Every Saturday from June 12, 2010 to September 25, 2010
11:00 AM — 11:45 AM
Wonders of the Waterlilies Join Longwood's intrepid waterlily pool gardeners each Thursday at 6:30 pm for talks highlighting one of their most popular gardens.
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Click here for more information on Longwood Gardens
Winterthur
Wednesdays at Winterthur
Wednesdays, April–October (except August), 11:30 am
Demonstrations, talks, and guided walks covering a wide range of gardening topics.
September 1: Edible Ornamentals
September 8: Soil Structure: A Garden's Foundation
September 15: September Showstoppers
September 22: Warning: Nursery Stock to Avoid
September 29: Working Buildings of Farm Hill, from Past to Present
October 6: Wrought Iron to Nylon Webbing: Seating in the Winterthur Garden
October 13: Oak Hill: Fruits and Restoration
October 20: Bark: More Than Just Noise
October 27: Winterthur Garden History
Dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. Walks last 45-60 minutes. No reservations necessary.
Members free. Included with general admission.
Hagley Museum
March 13 through January 2, 2011
Remember Me: du Pont Family Keepsake Portraits
August 5, 12, 19, 26 - Thursdays - 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Dollar Days
Admission to Hagley is only one dollar every Thursday in August. Free for members. Use Hagley's main entrance off Route 141 in Wilmington, Delaware.
September 19 - Sunday - 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Hagley Car Show
Browse through more than 500 antique and restored cars that date from the early nineteen-hundreds to the nineteen-eighties. The show features vehicle parades, motoring music, video and go-cart racing, and a festival food court. Activities are on Hagley's upper property. Admission charged. Advanced ticket sales begin in June. Free for Hagley members and children five and under. Use Hagley's main entrance off Route 141 in Wilmington, Delaware.
October 16 and 17 - Saturday and Sunday - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Hagley Craft Fair
This artisans' marketplace brings talented artisans from the Mid-Atlantic area to display and sell fine arts and crafts. This premier show will feature works in wood, pottery, jewelry, fibers, metal, and other media. Admission is $5, free for members and children under six years old. Use Hagley's Buck Road East entrance off Route 100 in Wilmington, Delaware.
November 26, 2010 through January 2, 2011
Christmas at Hagley
The1803 du Pont ancestral home, Eleutherian Mills, is decorated primarily in Colonial Revival style for the holidays. Dried flowers, greenery, fruits, and other natural materials create a beautiful holiday ambiance accentuated by soft lights and Christmas music. Exhibit included in regular admission. Free for members. Use Hagley's main entrance off Route 141 in Wilmington, Delaware.
Other Events
in or near the Brandywine Valley:
August 6–8, 2010. Rain or Shine!
The Riverfront Blues Festival is a 3 day, outdoor music festival held on the riverfront in Wilmington, DE., a short 25 minute drive from Hamanassett.
Paranormal Investigation - Saturday, October 9, 2010
An introduction to the resident spirits followed by a paranormal investigation in Chester Heights. Join Tri-County PRS for an Evening with the Ghosts of Parastudy 8 PM - midnight.
$40.00 per person to investigate this very haunted Victorian mansion, including access to the normally off-limits third floor and basement! House is located 1/2 mile from Hamanassett Bed and Breakfast. For more information or to reserve a place call 610-580-6006. Tell them Hamanassett sent you!
Ridley Creek State Park is a short 10 minute drive from Hamanassett and has many activities from which to choose.
With more than 2600 acres of woodlands and meadows, youwill want to visit many times. Next door to the park is Tyler Arboretum. You will find cross country skiing, picnicing, bicycling, dog walking, horseback riding, trout fishing (catch and release), sledding and tobogganing. The park is recognized by the Audubon Society as a significant birding site. Below are some of the activities you will find at the park:
Twelve miles of walking trails pass through a variety of habitats throughout the central portion of the park. Bikes are not permitted on unpaved hiking trails, but the five-mile, paved Multi-use Trail along Sycamore Mills and Forge roads is designated for bicycles, joggers, walkers and cross-country skiers. (Park in lots #7, #11, #15 and # 17.) A 4.7-mile trail begins in Picnic Area #8. When the snow flies, cross-country skiers may use the hiking and multi-use trails when snow cover permits (and a large grassy slope by the park office is popular for sledding).
For more information call 610-566-1725.
Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation - Ridley Creek State Park - Media
112 acre living history site located in the heart of Ridley Creek State Park, 10 minutes from Hamanassett. It authentically represents life on a farm in southeastern Pa. between 1760 and 1790.
The Plantation has been a working farm for over 300 years. It is restored to a late 18th century appearance complete with animals typical of the period and authentically clothed historical interpreters. On weekends from April to November, visitors can observe the farm family cooking over the open hearth, preserving foods, processing textiles, tending field crops and performing other chores necessary to survival in the 18th century world.
Sept. 18 & 19 Civil War Battle & Encampment
October 17 & 17 Medieval Days - Knights, Vikings & more
October 22 & 23 Ghost Tours 6-10 PM
October 30 & 31 Pompions & Witches - Halloween at the Plantation! Featuring
the use of pumpkins in colonial times and an Edgmont Witch
Trial.
Nov. 26 & 27
Wassail Day & Ye Olde Gift Shoppe Sale
Dec. 11 " If thrifty & young they winter winter well..." Keeping
the livestock through the winter with feeding demos
The plantation is open weekends and holidays from mid-April to mid-November.
West Chester Grower's Market May through December 20 every Saturday from 9-1. At the corner of Chestnut and Church Streets.
The West Chester Growers Market is a truly local market. Only handmade, or homegrown products, produced or harvested by the vendors themselves can be sold at the market. You’ll find flavorful farm produce, colorful cut flowers and bedding plants, free range meats, oven fresh bread, artisinal soap, locally produced cheese, homemade preserves & relishes and a variety of fresh baked goods to satisfy any sweet tooth. Their producers love getting to know their customers and are happy to share details about the products they grow and make. It’s this interaction that makes the market so special.
SUGGESTED ITINERARY
Courtesy of The Discerning TRAVELER
Day One: Start with a visit at the most popular attraction the the Brandywine - the magnificent gardens and conservatories at Longwood Gardens. Note: Brandywine Visitor Center is in front of Longwood Garden. Have lunch at Longwood Gardens, Bistro on the Brandywine, or for some local flavor Hank's Place then go to the Brandywine River Museum to see paintings of three generations of Wyeths as well as other noted Brandywine Valley artists. Take the tour of N. C. Wyeth's studio and/or Kuerner Farm. (Reservations for this tour are needed in advance.)
Day Two: At Winterthur Henry Francis du Pont's 196 room house museum with room settings representing American history from 1640 to 1840, you can take either a 1 or 2 hour (reservations needed) tour. Visit the museum, stroll through the gardens and visit Enchanted Woods, a 3-acre fairy tale garden. Have lunch at Winterthur or at Buckley's Tavern. Other options are a tour and tasting at VaLa Wineries (Hamanassett has made special arrangements for our guests) or at Chaddsford Winery and a tour of the Brandywine Battlefield. You can also purchase a Sip and Stay Passport which allows you wine tastings at seven Brandywine Valley vineyards. Most of the vineyards are near other attractions mentioned in this itinerary so you can do a couple each day. If you don't visit all seven, the passport is good for a year from purchase date so save it and come back.
Day Three: For some backroading to see the idyllic Chester County countryside take a driving tour through The Brandywine Hunt Country. When you arrive at Hamanassett we'll give you complete details.
Day Four: Visit Nemours Mansion and Gardens, a 70-room Louis XVI-style chateau and gardens. Reservations are needed. If possible, arrange to visit Mt. Cuba, a former du Pont family estate with the regions' finest woodland wildflower garden. Reservations needed.
Day Five: Go to New Castle (45 minutes south of Hamanassett) and start with a tour of the Read House. Visit the Amstel House and Dutch House. Have lunch at Jessop's Tavern. You can also visit Fort Delaware, where reenactors tell about life at this fort during the time it was used to hold Civil War prisoners. The boat to the fort leaves from Delaware City, a few miles south of New Castle.
Day Six: If the weather is warm, you may want to go canoeing or tubing on the Brandywine River. Alternatively walk around West Chester or Media for some shopping therapy, hit a few of the antique shops on Route 1 near Longwood Gardens, Other options are a tour of QVC studio, only 25 minutes from Hamanassett or the American Helicopter Museum.
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