Area heritage
Henry Antes Plantation: The Goschenhoppen Historians’ 51st annual Authentic Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Festival is held noon to 8 p.m. Aug. 11 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 12 at the historic site at 318 Colonial Road, Upper Frederick. Highlights include food, crafts, farm animals, horse drawn wagon rides, stage programs and tours of the Antes house. This year’s theme is “Handwarricks Gscharr,” or Tools of the Trade. Admission (not including a donation for parking) is $12, $18 for a two-day pass, $3 for children 6-15. Call (215) 234-8953 or visit www.goschenhoppen.org.
Spring City: A Hot Air Balloon Festival is planned for 4 to 9 p.m. Aug. 11 as part of the municipality’s Sesquicentennial Celebration. Foods and entertainment are among the highlights. Hot air balloon rides are available for purchase, for more information check http://springcity150.com/hot-air-balloon-festival/. On Aug. 12 a parade is planned stepping off from Main Street at 10 a.m.
Thrill of the race
Downtown West Chester: Previously known as the Iron Hill Twilight Race Series, the Benchmark Twilight Cycling Classic will take place Aug. 12. It includes a 0.6-mile course over eight city blocks, featuring four 90-degree turns and one short rise. Races include the Iron Hill Twilight Pro Men’s Criterium, Brumbaugh Wealth Management Pro Women’s Criterium, West Chester Dental Arts Kid’s Race, the Tolsdorf Trike Challenge and the Rothman Institute Amateur Trials (which is open to the public). Family festivities include a Community Festival, Kid’s Zone and Market Street Block Party. For more information, call (610) 696-4046 or visit http://greaterwestchester.com.
Celebrate summer
Doylestown Central Park: Check out more than 300 cars, bikes and trucks, plus vendors, food, music and games, with a car show and festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 6 in the park at 425 Wells Road, Doylestown. Proceeds support area soup kitchens and food pantries. Donations of nonperishable food items are encouraged. Admission is free. Learn more at www.4udrew.org.
Museum of the American Revolution: Here’s what’s happening in August at the Museum of the American Revolution, 101 S. Third St., Philadelphia. Free activities on the plaza include “Meet the Revolutionaries,” with costumed historical interpreters, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every weekend in August; musician Robert Mouland performing 18th century music 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays; a Once Upon a Nation Storytelling Bench with the stories of James Forten, a free black 14-year-old who joined a privateer ship, Deborah Sampson, a woman who dressed as a man in order to fight in the Revolutionary War and the Philadelphia beginnings to the relationship between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Other family-friendly activities include an Archaeology Conservation Station from 1 to 3 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the museum’s Patriots Gallery; and a Summer Soldiers & Sailors Discovery Cart and Enlistment Activity 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily during August at a mobile Discovery Cart stationed on the museum plaza or rotunda. On Aug. 12 the museum hosts a happy hour at the Cross Keys Cafe from 5 to 7 p.m., which will include an exclusive tour at 6 p.m. of Hamilton’s First Bank of the United States, which is located directly across Third Street from the museum. The behind-the-scenes tour is free but is first come, first served and is limited to 50 people. Early Access Guided Tours are offered Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 9 a.m. Cost is $50. Guided Highlights Tours are offered daily at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Cost is the price of regular admission plus $12. Extended summer hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. General admission tickets are $19; $17 for seniors, students and active or retired military; $12 for children 6 and up. For more information, visit www.amrevmuseum.org or call (877) 740-1776.
Pennypacker Mills: In the Good Old Summertime runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 5, reviving summertime from the early 1900s. Try on Victorian clothing and pose for a photo. Visit the 1900s History Center, where the General Store will be open for business. Kids can shop using 1900s era pricing and discover what was available to purchase back then. The whole family can also play lawn games and enjoy the rockers on the porch. Visit the Delaware Valley Classic MG Car Club Show, where a wide variety of British vintage cars will be on display. The air conditioned mansion will be open for guided tours. A food vendor will also be on-site. Call (610) 287-9349 or email pennypackermills@montcopa.org. Pennypacker Mills is at 5 Haldeman Road, Perkiomen Township.
Peachy keen
Linvilla Orchards: The Peach Festival is held Aug. 12, and features Makin’ Music, picking peaches, costumed characters, a dunk tank and games such as bean bag toss, balloon relay, egg toss, pony rides and face painting. Linvilla Orchards is at 137 W. Knowlton Road, Media. Visit www.linvilla.com for more information.
Peddler’s Village: Celebrate National Peach Month in August at the Peddler’s Village Peach Festival and Sidewalk Sale 1- a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 12-13. Enjoy peachy treats, peach pie eating contests, children’s activities in the Family Fun Area, live musical entertainment and artisan displays. Admission is free. The village is on Route 263, off Route 202, Lahaska.
Wine safari
Elmwood Park Zoo: The Wine Safari fundraiser event for ages 21+ returns 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 4. Guests will embark on a virtual tour of wine regions placed throughout the zoo, sampling dozens of selections from area wineries and vineyards, all while enjoying animal encounters. Special food pairings will also be available to sample. After 8, guests will be able to purchase full bottles directly from the vineyards along with food from an expanded menu. Tickets are $75. Go to www.epzwinesafari.com or call (610) 277-3825, ext. 229.
Create
Norristown Farm Park: Nature printing is an ancient tool of science, as well as an art form. A gyotaku (Japanese for “fish printing”) workshop, using both real fish and replicas, begins at 2 p.m. Aug. 6. Create art that is suitable for framing. Make someone a gift or use it to decorate you own walls. Meet in the park’s salt wing of the dairy barn, adjacent to the park office, Barley Sheaf Drive and Germantown Pike, East Norriton. This program is appropriate for adults and children 8 and older. There is a $5 fee per person and pre-registration is required by calling (610) 270-0215.
Crawly critters
Academy of Natural Science of Drexel University: The 10th annual Bug Fest Aug. 12-13 features hundreds of live insects, conversations with academy entomologists, bug tastings and activities museum visitors have picked as their favorites over the years. Eat a cooked bug; examine the scariest and grossest insects up close; commune with a cockroach creating a painting; enjoying a series of live bug shows; or make a buggy craft to take home. The academy is at 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia. For the full list of activities, and to get tickets, visit www.ansp.org.
Weekend of wheels
New Hope Automobile Show: The New Hope-Solebury Community Association is celebrating 60 years of the auto show, with a weekend celebration Aug. 11-13. On Aug. 11 it’s the Whitewall Black Tie Cocktail Party, featuring Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra, at Hotel du Village. Tickets are $125 per person. Aug. 12 is the Vintage & Classic Road Rally, open to all wishing to take their vehicles to the open road for a non-timed adventure. Aug. 13 is the show itself, held on the grounds of the New Hope-Solebury High School, 180 W. Bridge St., New Hope. At 2:30 p.m. winners participate in the Parade of Champions. Call (215) 862-5665 or visit www.newhopeautoshow.com.
’70s cinema
Colonial Theatre: Recently freed from prison thanks to a corrupt business man, Doc McCoy (Steve McQueen) must take part in a daring robbery as payback. After a series of double-crosses, Doc and his wife (Ali MacGraw) must take the money and run. “The Getaway” is shown at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 6. The theater is at 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville. For more information, call (610) 917-1228 or visit www.thecolonialtheatre.com.
Music on stage
Venice Island Performing Arts and Recreation Center: Delaware Valley Opera Company presents Giocomo Puccini’s opera “La Boheme” as the finale of the company’s 2017 Summer Opera Festival. The opera will be sung in Italian at the center at 7 Lock St., Manayunk at 3 p.m. Aug. 5, 9 and 13. Tickets are $25. Call (215) 725-4171 or visit www.dvopera.org.
Kimmel Center: At 3 and 8 p.m. Aug. 12, Broadway Dreams and the Kimmel Center present #COMETOGETHER, with a tribute by young performers to the Broadway legends who came before in the Perelman Theater, 300 S. Broad St., Philadelphia. Tickets range from $21-$101. Call (215) 893-1999 or go to www.kimmelcenter.org.
Bristol Riverside Theater: The summer series closes with an Aug. 10-20 run of “Broadway Then & Now,” featuring hit Broadway show tunes from “Guys and Dolls,” “Oklahoma!,” “My Fair Lady” and more. Tickets start at $30. Call (215) 785-0100 or visit www.brtstage.org. Bristol Riverside Theatre is at 120 Radcliffe St., Bristol.
In concert
Green Lane Park: The WMGK House Band Kategory 5 performs a free show at 7 p.m. Aug. 6 at the Green Lane Park Amphitheater is located at 2298 Green Lane Road near the intersection of Green Lane Road and Hill, Marlborough Township. Bring your own seating.
Great Marsh Farm: The Jamz Music and Arts Festival is held 12:30 to 11 p.m. Aug. 13 to benefit Forever Home Rescue. The site is at 301 Marsh Road, Elverson. For the lineup and ticket information, visit www.thejamzfestival.com.
