Holiday Entertainment Guide – ‘The Final Countdown Party,’ Dino Days, and the Calamari Sisters
Looking for something to do this holiday season? WHYY’s Robin Bloom shares her picks on what’s happening in and around Philadelphia, South Jersey and Delaware:
Will the world end this weekend? Explore this fascination at Penn Museum with “MAYA 2012: Lords of Time,” an exhibit that compares predictions of a world-transforming apocalypse with their supposed origins in the ancient Maya civilization, leading visitors on a journey through the Maya’s time-ordered universe, expressed through their intricate calendar systems, and the power wielded by their divine kings, the “lords of time.” The exhibition features more than 100 objects, including artifacts excavated by Penn Museum archaeologists at the site of Copan, Honduras, offering a rare opportunity to view spectacular examples of Classic Maya art—some of which have never before been seen outside Honduras, on view through January 13, 2013. The Young Friends of the Penn Museum celebrate the predicted apocalypse with “The Final Countdown Party” on Friday, December 21. This 21 and over dance party features DJs, acrobats, and Maya-inspired cocktails, 9pm-1am. $40.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art celebrates the holiday season with special events, musical performances, and activities that spotlight work from its collection, including The Christmas Story in Art tour and the All Dressed Up fashion display for children and adults. Special events include Carolling through the Galleries, Winter Concerts, workshops, tours and more, and the Great Stair Hall is lit and decorated for the holidays, Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia. Art After 5 celebrates the holidays with Jingle Bell Jive, Friday, December 21, and New Year’s Eve Pre-Party Mistletoe Hop, December 28, until 8:45pm. Additional Holiday-inspired performances include Nashirah, the Jewish Chorale of Greater Philadelphia, Wednesday, December 26, The Keystone State Boychoir, Thursday, December 27, Upper Darby High School Encore Singers, Friday, December 28, St. Thomas Gospel Choir of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, Saturday, December 29, Singing City, Sunday, December 30, First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, Monday, December 31, The Philadelphia Chorus, Tuesday, January 1, all at 2pm.
Cirque Éloize brings their magical big top extravaganza, “ID,” to the Philadelphia area, blending acrobatic theatre, hip-hop and modern circus arts with video, rock, electronic and poetic music, on Saturday, December 22, 8pm and Sunday, December 23, 3pm at Zoellner Arts Center, 420 E. Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, PA, with free lobby shows on Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 2pm. The group then comes to the Merriam Theater, Wednesday, December 26 through Sunday, December 30, 250 South Broad Street, Philadelphia.
“Moo Shu Jew Show” returns for a 5th year on Christmas Eve, December 24, 6pm, at a new location, Ocean Harbor Restaurant, with comedians Ross Bennett (pictured), Lenny Marcus, and Joel Chasnoff, 1023 Race Street, in Philadelphia’s Chinatown. $69 in advance, $80 at the door.
The Annual Christmas Day Crossing of the Delaware River
236 years ago, at one of the lowest points of the American Revolution, General George Washington and a small army of men crossed the Delaware River on December 25, 1776, and led a successful surprise attack on the Hessian garrison at Trenton, NJ. The Battle of Trenton, a key victory from Washington’s Continental Army, boosted their confidence to persevere and ultimately triumph. Washington Crossing Historic Park, the actual crossing site, hosts the 60th Annual Christmas Crossing Reenactment with historic activities on December 25 with the crossing time at 1pm, Washington Crossing, PA.
The annual “Patriots Week” kicks off Wednesday, December 26, celebrating Trenton’s unique and pivotal role in the American Revolution with dozens of events for all ages through December 31, including an 18th century tea at the William Trent House, colonial pub crawl, and the 1st Battle of Trenton reenactment, in Trenton, NJ.
The Spring Standards at Arden Club
The Spring Standards return to the Arden Gild Hall for their Boxing Day Double show Wednesday, December 26, 7pm and 9:30pm, in support of their double EP set, “Yellow/Gold,” The Highway, Arden, DE. $18 per show, $30 for both. Discounts available for members.
Jekyll & Hyde at Forrest Theatre
The Kimmel Center’s Broadway season continues with “Jekyll & Hyde,” Wednesday, December 26 through Sunday, December 30, starring Constantine Maroulis and Deborah Cox, a new production directed by Jeff Calhoun at the Forrest Theatre, 1114 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.
Meshuggah Nuns! At Hedgerow Theatre
You don’t have to be Catholic or Jewish to enjoy “Meshuggah Nuns!” coming to Hedgerow Theatre Thursday, December 27, by Dan Goggins and directed By Micki Sharpe. Nunsense hits the high seas as the Little Sisters of Hoboken go on a “Faith of All Nations” cruise. The captain enlists their aid when seasickness strikes everyone in the cast of Fiddler on the Roof except the actor playing Tevye. The nuns come to the rescue and join him to put on the show, adding their own hilarious, ecumenical touches to the classic musical through January 27 at 64 Rose Valley Road, Media, PA. Enjoy a champagne New Year’s Toast, Saturday, December 29 at intermission. Onstage now – the 20th annual production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” directed by Penelope Reed, through December 24.
Dino Days at Delaware Museum of Natural History
Dino Days arrives at the Delaware Museum of Natural History Thursday, December 27 and Friday, December 28. Families can visit the “Rainforest Adventure” special exhibit while exploring the museum to learn more about dinosaurs. Visitors can uncover a Mauasaura skeleton at the fossil dig, hunt for excavation tools around the museum, view live animals from the Philadelphia Zoo, and even search for a real fossil to take home, 4840 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE, $10 for adults, $8 for children ages 3-17, $9 for seniors.
All-Star Week at Academy of Natural Sciences
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University hosts “All-Star Week,” featuring Dinosaur Day, Animal Day, Bug Day, Weird-Thing-in-A-Jar Day, Thursday, December 27 through Sunday, December 30, celebrating its most popular attractions with live animal shows, museum specimens, craft making, and storytelling. Free with museum admission.
Craig Elkins at the Grape Room
Craig Elkins, formerly of the band Huffamoose, returns to his hometown, Philadelphia, to play a solo show promoting his new album, “i love you.” Thursday, December 27, 8pm, Grape Room, 105 Grape Street, Manayunk, PA. $5.
Vox Populi Winter Guest Artist exhibit
On display at Vox Populi is the Winter Guest Artist exhibition featuring Taylor Baldwin, Caroline Wells Chandler, Derek Larson, and Chandler Wigton. Taylor Baldwin’s “Disinterred” uses sculpture to make unified wholes out of fragments, expressing a sense of both making and unmaking. “Myth Maker” (pictured) by Caroline Wells Chandler explores mythological narratives in the everyday using crafts and found items. Derek Larson comments on literature, popular culture, and technology in “Leveling the Genres” and Chandler Wigton’s “The Foliage Beyond Imagining” plays with vibrant colors and simple form to explore ideas of inner and outer space, through December 30, 319 North 11th Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia.
Jeremy Deller: Joy in People at ICA
“Jeremy Deller: Joy in People” is on display at the Institute of Contemporary Art, an exhibit surveying the career of the British contemporary artist and his fascination with sub and folk cultures. Deller has never stayed fixed in a single medium, working as a publisher, filmmaker, curator, parade organizer, and cultural archivist in order to push the boundaries between art and social interaction. “Joy in People” features most of Deller’s major works, as well as a section titled “My Failures,” showcasing the artist’s unrealized projects, through December 30, 118 South 36th Street, Philadelphia. Free.
“Adventures in Color” at Art of the Avenue
Art on the Avenue Gallery presents “Adventures in Color,” a solo exhibition of Emil Baumann’s painting and ceramics. Baumann’s use of vivid colors, abstract forms, and his lack of titles give the viewer a chance to interpret his work. The artist’s travels, including an exhibition in Nairobi, Kenya, and dreams are important sources of inspiration, allowing him to use colors to communicate emotion, on view through January 4, 3808 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Calligraphers’ Society’s “Artful Letter”
The Year Long Celebration of Charles Dickens’ 200th Birthday is coming to a close and the Free Library of Philadelphia hosts the Philadelphia Calligraphers’ Society’s “Artful Letter” exhibit, using the author as the theme, encouraging visitors to embrace the season with the quotations and words of wisdom written by Dickens, through January 8, 1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia.
“Portrait of Place” Paintings, Drawings and Prints of NJ
Morven Museum & Garden presents “Portrait of Place: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints of New Jersey, 1761-1898, from the collection of collector and bibliographer Joseph J. Felcone, offering a visual iconography of the state, beginning with a pre-Revolutionary landscape and ending with a depiction of a growing city on the eve of the 20th century over a 150 year period, through January 13, 55 Stockton Street, Princeton, NJ. Included in the exhibit is a copy of “Washington Crossing the Delaware,” by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Also, “Squan Beach, NJ – The place where the Packet Ship John Minturn was wrecked,” by George Robert Bonfield, 1846 (pictured). Also, this holiday season, enjoy “Festival of Trees,” as the museum’s thirteen galleries are decorated with festive trees.
“Cooking with the Calamari Sisters” at Society Hill Playhouse
“Cooking with the Calamari Sisters” is onstage at the Society Hill Playhouse, a live “broadcast” of a public access cable cooking show hosted by two larger-than-life Italian sisters who sing and dance to beloved Italian favorites, with performances Thursdays through Sundays through March 10, 507 South 8th Street, between Lombard and South Street, Philadelphia.
Holiday events in Philly:
The Rotunda hosts a Winter Solstice Celebration, an “end of Mayan calendar jam,” Friday, December 21, 12pm-midnight, with performances and activities all day, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. $10
Piffaro performs “Fröhliche Weihnachten!,” well-known chorales, hymns, motets and party music of the season by composers in Renaissance Germany including Johann Walther, Jakob Regnart, Isaac Posch, Johann Eccard, Adam Gumpelzhaimer, and Michael Praetorius, Friday, December 21, 8pm, Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Saturday, December 22, 8pm, Trinity Center for Urban Life, 22nd & Spruce Streets, Philadelphia, and Sunday, December 23, 3pm, Sts. Andrew & Matthew Church, 719 Shipley Street, Wilmington, DE.
The Old City Winter Wonderland is Saturday, December 22 and Sunday, December 23, noon-5pm, as TRUST is transformed into a holiday hub with activities including, music, arts and crafts, food, drinks, pictures with Santa and more, 249 Arch Street, Old City Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Orchestra celebrates the season with “The Glorious Sound of Christmas,” through December 22, with timeless holiday favorites and Handel’s “Messiah,” Sunday, December 23, 2pm; Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Philadelphia.
Flashpoint Theatre Company brings back the David Sedaris holiday comedy, “The Santaland Diaries” through December 23. Barrymore Award nominee Keith Conallen plays the role of Crumpet, with a new take on the curmudgeonly Macy’s Elf. This production runs in rep with “Chlamydia for Christmas and Herpes for Hanukkah: More Sex-Ed Burlesque for the Holidays,” written and performed by Gigi Naglak and Meghann Williams at Off-Broad Street Theatre,1636 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA. $15-$22.
Historic Philadelphia offers holiday cheer with Santa visits at Franklin Square, Saturdays and Sundays, through December 24, noon-3pm, free, 6th and Race Streets, Philadelphia.
“Being Jewish at Christmas,” the National Museum of American Jewish History’s annual day of family fun is this Tuesday, December 25, from 10am-5pm, featuring live music, family activities including a project with the Clay Studio, comedy by The Great Holtzie, and more, 101 South Independence Mall East, Philadelphia. Included with museum admission.
The National Constitution Center’s Holiday Week Celebration is December 26-31. Visitors are encouraged to tour the “American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition” exhibit and experience special holiday-inspired activities that celebrate the New Year by exploring the history of the holiday, how it is celebrated around the world, and the origins of annual traditions, like Philadelphia’s own Mummers Parade. Create crafts, join interactive shows, and sing during a special holiday karaoke, 525 Arch Street, Philadelphia. Included with museum admission.
Johnson House Historic Site hosts a Kwanzaa Family Celebration, Thursday, December 27, 6pm-8pm, with a journey through African Storytelling, African drumming, arts and crafts and historic cultural foods, 6306 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia. The Johnson House is Philadelphia’s only accessible and intact stop on the Underground Railroad and was home to three generations of a Quaker family who worked with European Americans and African Americans, freed and enslaved, to abolish slavery and improve living conditions for freed African Americans.
Walnut Street Theatre offers holiday productions including “Plaid Tidings,” a mix of holiday songs and 1950s crooning, with the popular “Forever Plaid” singing group returning for more humor and harmonies including “Let It Snow,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and more, through December 30 in Independence Studio on 3, 825 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.
New City Stage Company presents the Philadelphia premiere of “Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge,” written by Christopher Durang and directed by Michael K. Brophy, a farcical take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, through December 23 at the Adrienne Theater, 2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. Tickets: $10-$35.
BCKSEET Productions offers the World Premiere of “ELFuego,” a comedic new holiday musical and satiric social commentary tackling the mounting problem of unemployment with a witty and unexpected glimpse at the world of the North Pole. Written by Artistic Director Kate Brennan, directed by Brandon King McShaffrey, and featuring Sarah Doherty leading the cast as Scab the elf, the production runs through December 29 at the Skybox and the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. Tickets: $28, $21 for students, veterans, and seniors.
The Pennsylvania Ballet celebrates 25 years of “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker,” through December 30, featuring the Philadelphia Boy’s Choir and dozens of local dance students performing at the Academy of Music, Broad Street, Philadelphia. Tickets start at $20. Programming includes “Tea with the Sugarplum Fairy,” Saturday, December 22, noon.
11th Hour Theatre Company kicks off their main stage season with the return of the four best friends, Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy and Suzy in the Philadelphia premiere of Roger Bean’s “Winter Wonderettes,” directed by Megan Nicole O’Brien, sure to put you in the holiday spirit with a score featuring some of the greatest holiday hits, through December 30 at Theatre Horizon’s brand new theatre, 401 Dekalb Street, Norristown, PA.
The 5th annual Christmas Village in Philadelphia returns to LOVE Park in Center City through Christmas eve, an outdoor holiday market with vendors in more than 90 wooden booths offering international seasonal arts and crafts, gifts, ornaments, food and more as well as a life-size Advent calendar and a stage with daily live performances of local choirs, orchestras and bands. Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11am-7pm, Friday and Saturday 11am-8pm, and Thanksgiving and Christmas 11am-5pm. Free admission.
Storybook Musical Theatre performs “Alice in Wonderland,” through December 30 at the Mitchell Performing Arts Center, 800 Tomlinson Road, Bryn Athyn, PA and continues at St. Joseph’s University, January 8-12 at Bluett Theater, 56th & Overbrook Avenue, Philadelphia. $14 for adults, $12 for children.
B. Someday Productions presents its adult holiday show, “The Burlesque Adventures of Santa Claus: A Christmas Tale for Grownups.” Based on a rare story by L. Frank Baum, this particular production shows Santa’s bawdy upbringing: abandoned as an infant, found by a woodsman, suckled by a lioness, and raised by Nymphs, onstage through December 31 with a special New Year’s Eve Show, Walking Fish Theatre, 2509 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia. $18.
The Reading Terminal Market Holiday Railroad is on display with almost a third of a mile of track running twelve working train lines through miniature scenery depicting Center City Philadelphia, a Christmas Village, and other seasonal displays, opens daily at 10am through December 31 (closed on Christmas Day), Piano Court in Reading Terminal Market, 12th and Arch Street, Philadelphia, free.
The Morris Arboretum’s popular Holiday Garden Railway Display returns with a quarter mile of track featuring seven loops and tunnels with fifteen different rail lines and two cable cars, nine bridges, and bustling model trains. The display and buildings are all made of natural materials to form a miniature landscape with miniature rivers and buildings that are exact replicas of the original including Independence Hall and other Philadelphia-area landmarks, all decorated for the holidays through December 31 at 100 Northwestern Avenue in Chestnut Hill. Admission: $16 adults, $14 for seniors, students and youth (13-18) $7, children under age three and members free. Open daily from 10am-4pm through December 14 and 10am-5pm, December 15-31 (closed Christmas Eve and day, and New Years day).
Macy’s Grand Court Light Show has shows every hour on the hour, the annual Dickens Village, daily Wanamaker Organ concerts and more, now through December 31, 13th and Market Streets, Philadelphia. Least crowded viewing times: Mondays through Thursday.
The Comcast Holiday Spectacular is on view at the Comcast Center now through New Year’s Day, shown on the state-of-the-art Comcast Experience Video Wall, the largest four-millimeter LED screen in the world, spanning 83.3 feet wide by 25.4 feet high, capturing the essence of the holidays with performances by the Pennsylvania Ballet, Broadway dancers, the Commonwealth Youth Choir’s Keystone State Boychoir, and more. 15 minute shows begin at the top of every hour, 10am-8pm daily (except for weekdays at 5pm), Comcast Center, 1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia. Free.
The Please Touch Museum hosts holiday events including the Enchanted Colonial Village, on display through January 6, depicting holiday scenes of blacksmiths, bakers, toymakers, and more, 4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia.
Holiday events in the region:
The Grand celebrates the season with the 2nd Holiday Light Extravaganza, bright multi-colored lights shining on the building’s façade choreographed to holiday music, December 21, 6:30pm. Light show lasts approximately 15 minutes and is free at 818 North Market Street, Wilmington, DE.
World Café Live at the Queen hosts holiday concerts: Chesapeake Brass Band and A Capella Pops Holiday Celebration, Friday, December 21, 7pm; Mr. Greengenes Farewell Tour, Thursday, December 27, 9pm; Sing-a-Long Sound of Music, Friday, December 28, 8pm; New Year’s Eve with Rusted Root, Monday, December 31, 10pm; 500 North Market Street, Wilmington, DE.
Cape May celebrates the holiday season with the “Old Fashioned Christmas Exhibit” of holiday traditions through the years complete with holiday trains beneath the giant Christmas tree at the Carriage House Gallery, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington Street, on display through January 1; Plus – Christmas lights trolley tours, and much more, throughout December, Cape May, NJ.
Woodmere Art Museum hosts “Friday Night Jazz” concerts and celebrates the holiday season with “Jazzy Good Cheer,” Friday, December 21, 6pm-8pm, as the Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble performs holiday and family favorites such as “Let It Snow,” “The Christmas Song,” “Greensleeves,” more, 9201 Germantown Avenue, Chestnut Hill. $20, $10 members, children under 12 free. Wine is served. Check out “Friday Night Family Happenings” with activities for kids, 6pm-7pm while parents enjoy the music. Free.
Ocean City Theatre Company presents “Yours Truly, Jack Frost,” a fully-staged play featuring a cast of children in 3rd through 8th grade, directed by Donald Toal, Saturday, December 22, 2pm and 7:30pm, Ocean City Music Pier, Moorlyn Terrace and the Boardwalk, Ocean City, NJ. $10.
Sellersville Theater 1894 hosts holiday concerts and shows: Eric Mintel Quartet with the Bethlehem Middle School Chorus’ Northeast Singers, Saturday, December 22, 2pm; The “Anti-Holiday” Holiday Concert with Christine Lavin & Uncle Bonsai, Saturday, December 22, 8pm; New Year’s Eve with Dr. K’s Motown Revue, Monday, December 31, 7pm and 10pm; 24 W. Temple Avenue, Sellersville, PA.
Act II Playhouse celebrates the holiday season with two productions including their first children’s play “Murray the Elf and the Case of the Missing Mistletoe,” written and directed by Act II’s Bill D’Agostino, mixing mystery with comedy for an exciting and fun story for the whole family, and starring Will Dennis as Murray, a shopping mall elf who is summoned to the North Pole by Mrs. Claus to solve a mystery. Andy Shaw plays all of the other characters including Mrs. Claus, Rudy the Reindeer, Chilly the Snowman, and Candy Kane. Designed for children ages 5-12, each performance includes a pre-show sing-along and a post-show Q&A session with the writer/director and cast, through December 23, 56 East Butler Avenue, Ambler, PA. $12 for adults, $10 for subscribers, $8 for children.
Bristol Riverside Theatre celebrates the holidays with “Winter Musicale 2012,” Keith Baker and the BRT band performing carols, classics and more, through December 23 at 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, PA. Tickets $15-$45.
People’s Light & Theatre presents “This Wonderful Life,” through December 30, about a man passionately devoted to Frank Capra’s 1946 classic film, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” on the Steinbright Stage, starring Jerry Richardson and directed by David Bradley, 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA. Tickets: $35-45.
Linvilla Orchards hosts the annual “Christmasland” display with the farm decorated for the holiday and activities for the whole family including crafts, food, Santa visit, petting zoo, Wassailing Caroling Hayrides, and more, through December 24, 137 W. Knowlton Road, Media, PA.
Broadway veteran Graeme Malcolm reprises his role of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” at McCarter Theatre Center, through December 28. Michael Unger directs a cast of 40 in the critically-acclaimed production, in Princeton, NJ.
Onstage at Delaware Theatre Company is “A Christmas Carol,” a world premiere adaptation by Patrick Barlow, creator of the Tony Award winning The 39 Steps, with five actors portraying over 20 characters, exploring new facets of the classic story by Charles Dickens, starring Steve Pacek, Andrew Long, Mark Light-Orr, Jessie Shelton, and Tina Stafford, through December 30 at 200 Water Street, Wilmington, DE. For school age children and up.
Cape May Stage presents the comedy “A Tuna Christmas,” by Ed Howard, Joe Sears and Jaston Williams, a sequel to “Greater Tuna,” through December 30. The production features two actors, twelve days of Christmas, and twenty-four hilarious characters at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse, corner of Bank and Lafayette Streets, Cape May, NJ. Good for ages 12 and up. Tickets: $15-$35.
Rose Tree Park hosts the 30th annual Festival of Lights, over 100,000 holiday lights, hand-painted wooden figures and cutout displays, and more, running nightly, 5:30pm-9:30pm through January 1, 2013 at Rose Tree Park, 1671 N. Providence Road, Upper Providence, PA. Admission is free.
Adventure Aquarium’s Christmas Celebration transforms the space into an underwater winter wonderland with larger than life decorations, twinkling lights, glowing trees and gently falling snow, Christmas characters including “Scuba Santa,” through January 1, 1 Riverside Drive, Camden, NJ. $17.95-$23.95.
Historic Smithville, New Jersey hosts the annual Holiday Light Show, Thursdays through Sundays through January 2, as 120 Christmas trees, decorated with 50,000 lights, float on the lake and blink on and off to holiday music by the Colonial Inn, 615 East Moss Mill Road, Smithville, NJ. Free.
Catch the Gingerbread House Competition & Display at Peddler’s Village, with confections in categories including traditional, authentic reproduction of a significant building, amateur, unusual 3D creation, and more including the holiday lights at night, through January 5, 2013 in the gazebo, Routes 202 and 263, Lahaska, Bucks County, PA. Free admission and free parking.
This Christmas, experience the spectacular both indoors and out at Longwood Gardens with “A Longwood Christmas,” living floral displays, opulent ornaments, stunning trees, a half-million lights, dancing fountains, musical and dance performances including choral groups and choirs, organ sing-alongs, garden railway, and much more, through January 6 on Route 1, Kennett Square, PA. Timed admission tickets.
“Yuletide at Winterthur” returns with “A Feast for the Eyes,” a glimpse at winter holidays past, exploring how Americans have celebrated the winter social season from the 1800s to the present and designed to inspire visitors to create their own celebrations. Signature showpieces include the dried flower tree, a “Winter Wonderland,” and many seasonally themed activities like Yuletide Brunch with Santa, Holiday decoration workshops, music performances, and more, through January 6, 2013, Winterthur, DE. $20 for adult non-members, $18 for seniors and students, $5 for children ages 2-11.
Shady Brook Farm hosts the annual Holiday Light Show, as millions of lights illuminate acres of farmland with familiar characters and whimsical displays, 5pm-10pm nightly through January 6, 931 Stony Hill Road, Yardley, PA. Ride in your car or on a wagon ride. Admission: $12-$50. Coupons available on website.
The Brandywine River Museum’s annual tradition of “A Brandywine Christmas” returns with the O-gauge model train display that this year includes Japanese trains, trees decorated with thousands of “critter” ornaments, and musical performances as well as several exhibits that celebrate the spirit of the holidays: “Pop-Up! Illustration in 3-D” presents pop-up books and their production by authors like Maurice Sendak, Edward Gorey, and more. “Donald Pywell: Golden Impressions of Andrew Wyeth” features jewelry crafted by Pywell while collaborating with painter Andrew Wyeth, each housed in custom settings designed by T. Mark Cole, through January 6, U.S. Route 1, Chadds Ford, PA. Museum admission: $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, students, and children over six.
Hagley Museum and Library hosts the annual “Christmas at Hagley” exhibition through January 6 with a glimpse at nineteenth and twentieth-century holiday traditions in Eleutherian Mills, the ancestral home of the DuPont family along with special events and programs, 201 Hagley Creek Road, Wilmington, DE.
Glencairn Museum hosts “Follow the Star: World Nativities,” an exhibition of dozens of crèches from around the world as well as “Christmas in the Castle,” 45 minute guided tours exploring how Christmas was celebrated in the Romanesque-style castle when it was the private home of the Pitcairn family, through January 6 at 1001 Cathedral Road, Bryn Athyn, PA. Admission: $6-$8.
On display at Rockwood Park & Museum is “Sounds of the Season,” as the museum is decorated in a music theme through January 7, 4651 Washington Street Extension, Wilmington, DE.
Mercer Museum’s exhibit, “Under the Tree: A Century of Holiday Trees and Toys” captures the excitement of Christmas past with vintage toys from the 1860s through the 1960s, on display through January 13, 84 South Pine Street, Doylestown, PA. Also visit nearby Fonthill Castle decked out in Victorian holiday decorations until December 31. Catch Candlelight Holiday Tours, Saturday, December 29, 6:30pm-9pm, East Court Street and Route 313, Doylestown, PA. $15-$20.
Catch the Atlantic City Boardwalk’s “Winter Sweet,” a seven minute 3D light show projected on Historic Boardwalk Hall, and set to an original score nightly every half hour from 6pm-9pm. The show features three magical worlds, “Snow and Ice,” “Winter Village,” and “Illuminations,” at 2301 Boardwalk, between Georgia and Mississippi Avenues at Kennedy Plaza, Atlantic City, NJ.
Brett Rader contributed reporting to this week’s guide.
To submit an event to be considered for the Weekly Entertainment Guide email Robin Bloom at artscalendar@whyy.org.
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