Sunday, October 29, 2017

WEST CHESTER: New technology

Bill Haaf of Chester County Citizens for Climate Protection (www.chescocooler.org) asked me to mention his group's upcoming lecture, "The Current State of Carbon Capture Techniques," at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, at West Chester Borough Hall, 401 E. Gay St. Princeton professor Michael Celia will be discussing ways to capture carbon dioxide in order to reduce greenhouse gases while still burning fossil fuels. The captured carbon dioxide can then be used to make chemicals or can be stored deep underground.

DINNER: Locavores

Our Sunday supper was a memorable one: we had roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots, both just harvested from the garden, marinated with cider from Barnard's Orchards. Easy and delicious.

LONDON GROVE: Draining the swamp

I spotted some excellent product placement the other day. The pest-control company called Mosquito Joe has placed a sign at the corner of Route 926 and, you guessed it, Mosquito Lane.


Excellent product placement!

A waggish friend wondered what an appropriate sign would be on Tapeworm Road.

UHS: The Prince of Denmark

For the Fall Play, the ever-ambitious UHS students have decided to put on "Hamlet," and we have every confidence they will do their usual close-to-professional job. The curtain goes up at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9, Friday, Nov. 10, and Saturday, Nov. 11. Tickets are available at the door.

UNIONVILLE: The Mum Tour

About 40 antique automobile enthusiasts gathered at Primitive Hall on a warm, sunny autumn morning for a tour of the 1738 Pennock homestead, followed by a drive through the Unionville countryside. The "mum tour" was sponsored by the local Model T club and was organized by Lou Mandich and Charlie Brosius.
Standing on the mounting block at Primitive Hall, Charlie gave a brief history of the beautiful area that the motorists would be driving through. He explained how Lammot du Pont bought up 4,000 acres of land to form the Buck & Doe Run Valley Farms, where he raised cattle, hogs and horses. (Coincidentally, Mr. du Pont's nephew, Irénée du Pont, and wife Barbara were part of the mum tour.)
After World War II W. Plunket Stewart, founder of the Cheshire Hunt, persuaded Robert Kleberg of Texas to purchase the land, plus another thousand acres, to serve as grazing land for his King Ranch cattle. In the 1980s the Brandywine Conservancy was established to save the land from being sold for development; instead, the acreage was subdivided into parcels no smaller than 30 acres.
"The efforts of the Brandywine Conservancy and other private, county, and state conservation programs today have resulted in over 25,000 contiguous acres of preserved land, the area we will travel through today," Charlie said.
Just a few of the antique cars that rallied at Primitive Hall on Oct. 21. Photo courtesy of Lou Mandich.

The itinerary took the motorists, driving everything from Model T's to Corvettes, along Route 841 to Greenlawn Road, St. Malachi Road, Springdell Road, Route 82, Covered Bridge Road, Doe Run Church Road, Fairview Road, Brandywine Creek Road, Green Valley Road, Powell Road, Scott Road, Route 162 and back onto Route 82. The tour ended with lunch at Hood's BBQ.

RIP: A gentleman and a soldier

The word "gentleman" comes to mind immediately when I think of F. Michael Donohue, who died on Oct. 24. He was smart, courteous, funny, worldly, well-informed and well-dressed, with a military bearing (after all, he had been an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps).
Whenever I was invited to an event at the beautiful Kennett Township home he shared with his wife, Audrey, and an assortment of dogs, I would accept immediately, because I knew the company, the conversation and the food and drink would be top-notch. I think my favorite image of Mike was him standing at the doorway greeting his guests, with his hand out and a broad smile of welcome. It would be hard to imagine a more gracious host.
Quite simply, "F. Michael" was one of the best. We are holding our dear friend Audrey in the light.



KENNETT: Scout spaghetti dinner

Boy Scout Troop 24 had a full house for their spaghetti dinner at Kennett Friends Meeting on Saturday. The food, as always, was delicious: I look forward to chowing down on the meatballs, the homemade sauce, and the mushrooms over linguini. The dessert table had a Halloween theme: I chose a cupcake with a skeletal arm emerging from the chocolate icing.
The polite boys, in their Scout uniforms, did a good job fetching drinks and bussing tables. As a bonus we got to watch a video of the youths in action over the summer, setting up tents, cooking over a campfire and plunging into a river.
One veteran helper told us that this year's fundraising dinner was an unusually popular one, with many takeout orders: usually there's a lull in the action in the middle of the afternoon, she said, but not this year. And we had a nice chat with a fellow diner about the value of Scouting and the importance of supporting local community events like this, even if our families aren't directly involved.

Friday, October 27, 2017

KENNETT: Body and soul

There's an extremely friendly and animated older woman who's a regular at the Kennett Y. She talks to everyone, young and old, male and female, whether they speak English or not (I've even heard her try Italian). She obviously likes people and enjoys making connections.
I find her amusing and refreshing. The other day she came up to me and shared her secret for a happy life: she swims every day and prays the Rosary.
Speaking of the Kennett Y, they'll be hosting a huge swim meet, the "Dragon Fest Invitational," on Saturday, Nov. 4, and Sunday, Nov. 5. I've learned to steer clear of the Y on swim meet weekends because many of the exercise classes are cancelled; the building is packed with swimmers, siblings and parents; and every parking space/patch of grass/square of macadam is filled for blocks around.

TRAVEL: Security experts

I lead a largely quiet, simple life here in West Marlborough: naps, knitting, and Wawa soft pretzels are high up on my list of pleasures. So I was startled to receive a pamphlet from a company that, for $334 a year, wants to provide me with "crisis consultation and coordinated in-country response services" should I be the victim of kidnapping, blackmail and extortion, or wrongful detention in foreign countries.
I had to chuckle about the kidnapping part. Right: Good luck with getting my friends and family to pony up any ransom money!

ON HOLD: Hula dancers in paradise

I was on hold the other day with the death certificate office in the state's Department of Vital Statistics. The on-hold music was, of all things, luau music.
After a half-hour, I'd finally worked my way down from ten callers ahead of me to only one -- when a recorded message abruptly told me that the call volume was too busy and I should call back later.
Sigh.
I did so that afternoon, and this time the on-hold music was a easy-listening version of "Here Comes the Sun."
Someone in state government has a sense of humor.
 

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

GUN CONTROL: Let's avoid stereotypes

An invitation to a Gun Sense Chester County meeting in Oxford came across my desk the other day. It gave the time and place and stated the group's purpose: "This is an educational event on the current status of gun legislation. We invite gun owners and non-gun owners to come, listen and engage in thoughtful dialogue, because we as a group feel that common ground is the solution to reducing gun violence."
Then came what I found to be a jarring and ambiguous sentence: "There is a likelihood that in this particular venue that there may be some NRA members, and we hope the dialogue remains respectful."
I was reminded of a never-more-timely quotation from "Faith and Practice," the Quaker book of wisdom: "Much of the misunderstanding, fear, and hatred in the world stems from the common tendency to see ... groups as blocs, forgetting the varied and precious individuals who compose them." 

Sunday, October 22, 2017

WEST GROVE: Chicken dinner

The West Grove-Avondale Rotarians were a model of efficiency on Wednesday evening as they assembled takeout bags of BBQ chicken for their fundraiser at Fred S. Engle Middle School in West Grove. And a tasty meal it was: a half-chicken, a roll, baked beans, pickled mushrooms, coleslaw and chocolate-chip cookies. I took home two dinners and only needed to add some steamed spinach.

KENNETT: A cheerful breakfast

At a fundraising breakfast I attended this past weekend, one of the prominent questions on the obligatory evaluation form warmed my heart: Please rate the quality of the coffee. Clearly, this is a not-for-profit group that has its priorities straight. (The coffee was very good. As were the eggs, potatoes and bacon!)
The event venue was the Red Clay Room, and as usual, I was impressed with how efficiently the staff got all of us fed -- this was a packed room full of people who wanted to socialize.

NEW GARDEN: Voters will decide on library tax

The Kennett Library (aka the Bayard Taylor Memorial Library) is once again asking New Garden Township residents to approve a library tax referendum. Voters in Kennett Township and East Marlborough Townships approved a similar tax years ago, but so far New Garden residents have rejected it. (When I served on the library board in the 1990s and we ran an unsuccessful referendum, the main objection from New Garden residents seemed to be that most of them live so close to Delaware that they used the Hockessin Library rather than the Kennett one.)
A "yes" vote on the referendum on Tuesday, Nov. 7, would mean increasing New Garden's current 1.62-mill real estate tax by 0.1000 mills. That would mean an annual increase of $20 for a resident whose home is assessed at $200,000, $30 for an assessment of $300,000 and $40 for an assessment of $400,000.
The library board's argument is that a dedicated library tax provides a predictable, stable source of funding. Relying exclusively on fundraising, in contrast, is "costly, uneven, time consuming and puts the operating costs on a small number of givers. That model is rarely sustainable in developed areas like ours and throughout Chester County which uses libraries heavily and expects an extensive and very professional array of services."

HOBBIES: Out of my depth

I love discovering that my friends have unexpected talents. On Saturday, for instance, a friend told me he has won several meatloaf competitions. Who even knew there was such a thing?!
And I learned that my friend Arthur Schless, who recently moved with his wife, Suzanne, from Newlin to Crosslands, creates cryptic crosswords. I solve some pretty challenging crossword puzzles, if I do say so myself, but I can't even touch cryptics. Literally, I cannot figure out a single answer. It's humbling. Arthur, who is a retired psychiatrist, recently contributed a puzzle called "Swirl" to puzzlecrypt.com, which is run by master puzzler John de Cuevas.

SIGNS: Hard-earned money

I was amused by two fiscal signs I spotted along Route 113 on our travels this weekend.
"We meet needs, not quotas," read a sign at a bank, an obvious jab at the recent scandal in which Wells Fargo salespeople opened accounts without customers' permission just so they could meet unrealistic sales targets.
And in front of an accountant's office was a wooden cutout of a figure struggling with the heavy sack slung over his shoulder. Except it wasn't Santa bringing toys, it was Uncle Sam taking away our tax dollars. Ouch.

PHOENIXVILLE: The Year of the Cat

We spent Saturday evening in downtown Phoenixville. We ate at Molly Maguire's Irish Restaurant & Pub, during which we were treated to a wholly unexpected and dazzling fireworks display (it was from a private party). The poor little terrier at the table next to us was terrified. Her owner cuddled her and tried to cover her ears through the lengthy and very loud display.
After dinner we headed over the newly expanded Colonial Theatre to hear Al Stewart perform all of the songs from his classic 1976 "Year of the Cat" album. He didn't play them in the order they are on the record, so toward the end I felt like a card-counter at a blackjack table: "OK, the only songs left are 'One Stage Before' or 'Year of the Cat'."
Al's supporting band was called the Empty Pockets, and I don't think I've ever seen a happier drummer than Danny Rosenthal: though he was working really hard, he kept grinning through pretty much the whole show. He appeared to be just a few years older than the Young Relative and seemed fully aware of his good fortune in getting to tour with such a top-notch performer. And Marc Macisso's sax solo during "Year of the Cat" was thrilling.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

CHATHAM: Revolutionary War speaker

For Primitive Hall's autumn lecture, R. Scott Stephenson will be speaking about the Museum of the American Revolution, which opened in April in Center City Philadelphia. He is the museum's vice president for collections, exhibitions and programming. I haven't yet been to the museum, but I've heard that the exhibits are very well done and quite moving.
Scott's lecture will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the Hall, 830 N. Chatham Rd. (Route 841, between Route 926 and 842), with a reception preceding at 6 p.m. Lecture tickets are $35; email PrimitiveHallTours@gmail.com to order.

SCOUTS: 3 new Eagle Scouts

Congratulations to the three new Eagle Scouts in Boy Scout Troop 53: Jake Kalscheur of Landenberg, Cullen Abelson of Chadds Ford, and Jacob T. Welcher of Landenberg. They received the honor on Sunday, Oct. 22, in a ceremony at St. Gabriel's Church in Avondale.

OXFORD: Tish Hinojosa in concert

On Oct. 13 we had the pleasure of seeing an amazing singer-songwriter, Tish Hinojosa, at the Oxford Folk Club at Oxford Friends Meeting. Why she is not better known is beyond me: she has a ravishing voice, her songs are catchy (a week later, I'm still singing "San Antonio Romeo"), and she is lovely, gracious, and friendly. She and Marvin Dykhuis, who accompanied her on guitar and mandolin and sang harmony, put on an entertaining show and proved themselves to be relaxed, seasoned performers. The guitar mike was acting up? Hey, not a problem; we'll deal with it.
Tish's music has a Southwestern, cowboy flavor -- she sings about the Rio Grande and life "in the real West" -- and some of her songs are in Spanish. In fact, she said, her biggest success was a song in Spanish, "Donde Voy," that inexplicably became a huge hit in South Korea in the early 1990s.
A long-time Tish fan from Unionville was kind enough to buy us tickets just so that we could hear Tish, and there were clearly other fans in the audience as well. One man in the front row brought a written list of requests -- it looked like it could have served as an entire set list -- and handed it to Tish after her first song. And a man in the row in front of us jotted down the name of each song she sang on his tablet. 
I'm told that Tish will be returning to the Oxford Folk Club and I'll keep you posted on the date. She is worth seeing. In the meantime, check her out on YouTube.

CHATHAM: Traffic calming

The work on Route 41 in the village of Chatham is proceeding. Crews are widening the highway, one lane at a time, to make room for the central concrete islands that will be installed in an attempt to slow traffic along the busy road. One island will be built north of the village, the other one south of it. For now, motorists have to negotiate a zigzag course while the work is being done.

Sunday, October 15, 2017

NEW GARDEN: A new pizza place

Liliana's Pizza and Grill, 1160 Newark Road, has opened in downtown Toughkenamon, and I'm happy to report that it's very good. We visited on Saturday evening and enjoyed a large white pizza with cheese, basil and tomatoes. The crust was excellent and chewy.
Liliana, the owners' daughter, is a little girl with a big personality. She greeted us when we walked in, announced that the place belonged to her and applauded when we said we'd be eating in.
The place seemed to be doing a good takeout business. The hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. through 9 p.m. on Sunday. Also listed on the menu are finger foods, salads, sandwiches, wraps, subs, burgers, strombolis and calzones.

ELKTON: Preserving the Bee Hive

On Saturday we stopped by the Elk Creeks Preservation Society's annual Apple Butter fest, held at the Bee Hive, a complex of Colonial stone buildings just outside Fair Hill in Maryland. Two vats of apple butter were being boiled over fires and required constant stirring with long paddles.  
I enjoyed reading a photocopy of a 1794 newspaper, "The Maryland Gazette," that was on display at the restored Wallace Tavern. It listed news from Europe, as well as ships' arrivals in America and the cargo they brought. The classified ads listed rewards for escaped slaves, an announcement about an upcoming Jockey Club horse race, and a somewhat cranky posting that, due to "depradations and robberies," the landowner of Strawberry Hill would no longer be allowing hunting or trespassing on his property.
Stirring the apple butter!






KENNETT: Let's do the Time Warp again

Don't dream it, be it! The Kennett Flash is screening the camp classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22 (doors open at 6 p.m.). Performing live during the movie will be "Formal Dress Optional," a Delaware troupe that specializes in dressing up and acting out scenes from the movie. Traditionally audience members dress up, too, so don't be surprised if you see some odd-looking characters in fishnet stockings and corsets lurking in downtown Kennett that evening. "Rocky Horror" is rated R.

PET VALU: Staying in business

Good news for those of you who buy your pet food from Pet Valu on Baltimore Pike: the store is staying open, even though the Sears Hardware next door has closed and is going to be replaced by an Aldi supermarket. I stopped in the other evening to purchase cat food, and the employees assured me they will indeed remain in business.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

UHS: The more things change

A copy of the UHS student newspaper, the "Indian Post," came my way recently, and I'm delighted to see that the young journalists are not shying away from controversy.
The lead story, with an accompanying editorial, was about the administration's unpopular decision to require all seniors to take final exams, a decision that "has prompted an outcry from the student body." I'm hoping there is a follow-up story with quotes from the unhappy students. 
And there was a full-page story about the recent suspensions of "a number of" students (how many?) who are accused of smoking and drinking at a football game. The reporters did their homework, interviewing not only the principal, James Conley, but also the assistant principal, Amy Jenkins, the Student Council president, Ian Quain, and two seniors.
The paper also featured a point-counterpoint about whether the high school team name (the Indians) should be changed, and both the pro and con sides were excellently and cogently argued.
And I see that dress codes remain a hot topic, just like they were in my high school days. 

UHS: Field hockey seniors

The Unionville High School field hockey team held a ceremony to recognize its 12 seniors on the evening of Oct. 9, just before the game against Coatesville. The underclassmen formed two rows, holding their hockey sticks aloft to form a sort of arch, and each senior walked down the middle with her parents (and sometimes a sibling) as family members in the bleachers cheered and applauded. The announcer shared each girl's favorite hockey memory and future plans.
I thought it was very sweet that the team also recognized the seniors on the Coatesville squad.

UNIONVILLE: German visitors

A group of firefighters from Cologne, Germany, stopped in at the Po-Mar-Lin Fire Co. on their recent tour of fire stations across America. After showing the visitors around the fire house, the volunteers from Station 36 treated them to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Ricky Tuel's house. I'm told that the camaraderie among the firefighters went a long way toward overcoming the language barrier.

GAP: The Cheese Shoppe

We had passed the Town Clock Cheese Shoppe on Route 41 in Gap many times, but either we were in a hurry or it was closed or about to close. But the stars aligned this past Saturday afternoon and we were finally able to stop in.
Unlike the completely empty cheese shop in the famous Monty Python sketch, this one is full of all sorts of very local, domestic and imported cheeses, as well as lots of snacks. The affable owner, Bill Houder, is immensely knowledgeable about his wares, loves to talk about cheese and is happy to provide you with samples and to suggest wine pairings.
On the walls are lots of old photos and news clippings about the shop, and the owner's collection of antique milk bottles is on display.
We made two purchases: Cromwell Double Gloucester cheese with chives and onion and Kerrygold Dubliner, imported from Ireland.
The shop is open on Wednesday from 3 to 6 p.m. and on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Next time I visit I will sample some of the dessert cheeses (sticky toffee cheese was one of them)!

Sunday, October 8, 2017

HARRISBURG: A mini-Lady Liberty

Next time you are heading to State College, don't miss the 25-foot-tall replica of the Statue of Liberty sitting in the middle of the Susquehanna River. It's near the Route 443 exit of Route 322, just north of Harrisburg. It's wholly unexpected and a wonderful sight! I saw it for the first time on Saturday, when we took a day trip to Sunbury.
According to the Weird US website, "A local lawyer and activist-artist named Gene Stilp put together the first statue with some friends for a bit of a lark to celebrate the original Statue of Liberty’s centennial in the 1980s. When the ersatz replica was finished, they displayed it the closest thing they could find to the plinth on Liberty Island—an old railway bridge piling in the middle of the river.
"There it stood for years, raising a smile from motorists, until wind and weather finally carried it off in the 1990s. People missed it so much that Stilp and his team built a more durable replacement of wood, metal, and fiberglass, moved it onto the piling by helicopter, and lashed it securely to the plinth with cables."
 
 
 

UNIONVILLE: The Community Fair

It's been many years since I've seen so many vegetable entries at the Unionville Community Fair (aka the Farm Show). The display table was jammed, and the peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins, herbs and other garden produce looked spectacular. The judges for the competition were students in the Longwood Gardens professional gardener program, and they said they had fun and were delighted at the high quality of the entries.
Another category with standout entries was preserved foods: there were almost 60 entries, everything from pepper jelly to raspberries to grape juice. After tasting some of the spicy salsa entries, the judges were calling urgently for bottles of water!
Anne Nuse and I were the directors of the baked goods competition. Our judges, Randy, Al, and Elaine, had superhuman constitutions, as the judging took almost three sugar-packed hours. Best of show in the adult contest went to a round loaf of white bread with a chewy, beautifully browned crust. Judge Elaine declared that it could have come from a hallowed South Philadelphia bakery. In the youth contest, the top prize went to a spice muffin that the judges deemed superior to most of the adult entries.
I enjoyed seeing my Fair friends -- Terry, Anne, Dave, Debra, Karen, Berta, Bonnie, Ray, Martin, Danielle, and all the rest -- and thank goodness the weather was perfect and dry for a change.
I've been participating in the Fair for almost 30 years, and I'm so glad the community continues to support this 93-year-old event that hearkens back to the time when Unionville was a largely rural area.

Friday, October 6, 2017

AT THE VET: A top-notch practice

I want to express my gratitude to everyone at Brandywine Valley Veterinary Hospital on Strasburg Road for their kind and professional treatment of my dear cat, Tina. She had some dental work done on Monday, and I felt dreadful about depriving her of her breakfast, stuffing her into the cat carrier, and hauling her to the vet. There is no way to convince a feline that it's for her own good, when she just wants to eat her kibble and nap on the windowsill per her usual Monday morning routine.
Everyone at the practice is so nice and compassionate. They go out of their way to create a calm, soothing atmosphere for both scared animals and worried, guilt-ridden humans. Dr. Carol Schafer called me as soon as the surgery was over (all went well) and prepared a folder of x-rays and photographs detailing the work she'd done. She even checked in with me the next morning to see how Tina was doing (healing perfectly).
I was interested to learn that although both European and American vets use the same postop pain pills for cats, the package sold in America contains only three pills, whereas European cats get six. Are American cats tougher?
Thank you from me and lots of affectionate head-butts and purring from the cat.

SKY: Stargazing with Kevin Witman

At 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, my gym friend Kevin Witman of Cochranville will be bringing some of his high-powered telescopes to the parking lot of the Londonderry Township building, 103 Daleville Rd., for an astronomy presentation. The rain date is the following evening. Kevin's enthusiasm for stars and planets is contagious and he is great with kids.

QUAKERS: A talk at Marlborough Meeting

Chip Thomas of Marlborough Friends Meeting reports that Henry Jason will be speaking about the principles and beliefs of early Quakers at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21 at the Marlborough meetinghouse, which was built in 1801. It is located at the northwest corner of Marlborough and Marlborough Spring Roads in East Marlborough Township. For more information about this small Quaker congregation and its peaceful, historic meetinghouse, you can visit their website or their Facebook page.

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

WEST MARLBOROUGH: A new road grader?

West Marlborough residents may soon be saying goodbye to the township's venerable road grader, fondly nicknamed "Sisyphus."
Township roads supervisor Hugh Lofting Jr. believes he has found a suitable replacement for the early-1970s Caterpillar grader online, but because state funds will be used in the purchase, the township supervisors must go through a specified bidding process. At their Oct. 3 meeting, they approved publishing a request for bids, which will be opened later this month. 
If all goes as expected, Sisyphus (so named by Rob Mastrippolito of the Newlin Township road crew) will be sold.

Sisyphus, West Marlborough's workhouse road grader.

Also at the Oct. 3 meeting:
-- Township secretary/treasurer Shirley Walton reported that at the end of the third quarter of 2017, the township had received 79% of its budgeted income but had spent only 68% of its budgeted expenditures. (Mrs. Walton was quick to point out, however, that many one-time expenses arise in the final quarter of each year.)
-- The township's zoning and building officer reported in September that he issued two permits for building renovations, one at 1013 Old Hilton Road and the other at 135 Springdell Road.
-- Township roadmaster Hugh Lofting Sr. reported that work to shore up a steep slope alongside Rokeby Road is awaiting only a final approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
-- The Southern Chester County Sportsmen's and Farmers' Association, better known to locals as simply "the gun club," wants to tear down several dilapidated sheds on its Sportsmen's Lane property and replace them with a pole barn for storing tools, equipment and machinery. The club already received approval for the barn from the township zoning hearing board, but the plan now needs to be reviewed by the township planning commission and the supervisors. A discussion of the plan is expected at the township's next meeting, on Monday, Nov. 6.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

TIME TRAVEL: The Renaissance Faire

I have a low tolerance for role-playing and similar tomfoolery, but I have to admit I had an absolutely wonderful time on Sunday at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire in Manheim. The costumes were amazing: people were dressed as wenches, monks, steampunks, pirates, wizards, elves, wood sprites, fairies, butterflies, knights, lords and ladies (Tudor AND Renaissance), and minstrels -- and those were just our fellow visitors. Shops sold costumes, jewelry, leatherware, candles, and all sorts of fantasy knickknacks. We watched a jousting tournament and a falconry display, ate pork sandwiches and ice cream (we skipped the turkey "legges" and boot-shaped glasses of beer), listened to singers and musicians, and just enjoyed the people-watching on a beautiful autumn afternoon. Where else can you hear a father tell his young son, "Get that sword out of your mouth!"
The Faire is open through the end of October and is an easy drive up Route 283. If you buy your tickets online and print them out at home, they are much less expensive.