What To Do: It’s a scary time, so….Halloween

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times  Bates Motel Halloween candy and costumes have been on the store shelves for more than two months. The cloying smell of pumpkin spice-flavored food and beverage items has been assaulting olfactory senses for a while. Now, the third part of the trifecta has come to life. Halloween oriented events are popping up everywhere. Only a handful of annual events...

What To Do: A look at difficult history at Brandywine River Museum

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times  Brandywine River Museum The Brandywine River Museum of Art (1 Hoffman’s Mill Road, Chadds Ford, www.brandywine.org) has been hosting a pair of special exhibitions since February 1 – “Votes for Women: A Visual History,” and “Witness to History: Selma Photography of Stephen Somerstein.” With regard to the former – if you snooze, you...

What To Do: Altan to perform at Longwood Gardens

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Altan There are always many good reasons to visit Longwood Gardens (Route 1, Kennett Square, 610-388-1000, www.longwoodgardens.org) any time of year. Right now, a major draw is the OrchidExtravaganza — but that is just one of a number of attractions Over the years, Longwood Gardens has presented a wide array of musical acts from around the world...

What To Do: Celebrating Valentine’s Day

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Victorine’s Valentine Day Celebrating Valentine’s Day is always a good way to break up the doldrums of a grey winter. Valentine’s Day Weekend is tough to pin down this year because February 14 is in a Friday. Some activities are this weekend and some are on February 14. Here are a few suggestions on how to celebrate the occasion with your sweetheart....

What To Do: Get a jump on Valentine’s Day with wine & chocolate

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times A February highlight each year is Valentine’s Day and one of the best things about Valentine’s Day is chocolate. Wine-loving chocoholics are celebrating – all month The Chaddsford Winery (632 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, 610-388-6221, http://www.chaddsford.com) will host Wine & Chocolate Pairings every Saturday and Sunday in February (through...

What To Do: Snow? What snow? Orchids are in bloom at Longwood

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Longwood Gardens Every year when January arrives, Longwood Gardens (Route 1, Kennett Square, 610-388-1000, www.longwoodgardens.org) celebrates one of the largest families of plants in the world. If you did a Google search to find out which are the largest families of flowering plants in the world, this is the answer you’d receive – The three largest...

What To Do: Ponds may not freeze over, but lots of great skating options locally

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Power Play Rink Based on what we’ve seen from the area weather so far, skating on frozen ponds around Chester County will only happen in dreams. Fortunately, there are quite a few very good indoor locations for ice skating in the area. One of the best local skating sites is Power Play Rinks (701 Haywood Drive, Exton, 610-458-9160, www.powerplayrinks.com)....

What To Do: Halloween fun all over the area this weekend

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times The Glow This weekend, there are more Halloween events than you could imagine – big and small, near and far, inexpensive and costly, family-friendly and really scary. If you can’t find something you like, then you better erase Halloween from your list of annual holidays to celebrate. One of the most ambitious area Halloween attractions is “The...

What To Do: Kennett Brewfest bubbles up this weekend

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times When an area event has been around for more than two decades, it definitely moves from the “annual event” category to the “Chester County tradition” category. The Kennett Brewfest (http://kennettbrewfest.com) has reached that plateau. The Kennett Brewfest, which will be held on October 14 in downtown Kennett Square, is celebrating its 21st anniversary...

What To Do: First Fridays filled with fun in the area

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Amazingly, it’s already July. And, the start of the month means that it’s time for First Friday events. When the first Friday of the month comes around, it’s a good time to spend the evening in West Chester or Lancaster. On July 5, West Chester will host its version of First Friday (downtown West Chester, http://www.downtownwestchester.com). First...