Last weekend I read a profile of Tom Hanks in the New York Times that made my heart explode. Sure he’s a gifted actor, and I’ve always loved his movies, but I had no clue just how kind and decent he is. Quick example: While shooting a movie in Rome, he learned a bride and her father could not navigate around the film set to get to the church. Hanks stopped filming and personally escorted them to the altar.
As we enter this season of gratitude, let’s think of an act of kindness that touched our own lives. I’ll go first: When I brought my second child home from the hospital, it took me about five minutes to realize I was in over my head. My two-year-old despised her new sister and wanted her returned to the hospital like, yesterday, and I was so, so tired. Friends reached out but I was too overwhelmed to respond. If I had responded, it would have consisted of two words— “I’m dying”—which no one really wants to hear. Finally a good friend managed to get me on the phone. Sensing the exhaustion in my voice, she ordered me to bring my two-year-old to her house. When I showed up, she led my daughter inside and told me not come back until bedtime. “Sleep, watch TV, do whatever you need to do, but GO!” she said. “I’ve got this.” I walked back to my car and burst into tears. I’m not even sure if my friend remembers this day, but I’ll never forget it.
But that’s the thing about kindness. It works best when we don’t expect it.
PS A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Hanks as Mister Rodgers is out now! Plus, a great podcast about kindness!
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| Kindly,
Kate
We are off next week and will return in December.
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!
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WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR OUR AMAZING ADVERTISER SUPPORT!
Club LaMaison, Julian Krinsky Camps & Programs, People's Light, Dilworth's Custom Design,
Baldwin School, Friends' Central School,
Woodlynde School, Lancaster County Farmer's Market, Peddler's Village, Academy of Notre Dame,
Stoga Theater, RTC, Bryn Mawr Film Institute
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| HEY SANTA
Santa Is Coming!
Sunday, December 1st
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Goshen Fire Company, West Chester
Enjoy holiday treats, drinks, crafts and tours of the station’s fire trucks and ambulances. Make a $10 donation to the fire company and get a family portrait with Santa.
Details
Santa Parade and Visit: Wayne Old-Fashioned Christmas
Saturday, December 7th
Wayne Hotel
Wide-eyed children and their families will gather on the Hotel’s veranda to visit with Santa, while enjoying fresh baked cookies. Visit with Santa on Saturday until 11:30 a.m. on the Veranda of the Wayne Hotel.
Details
Santa Parade & Fun Run
Sunday, December 1st
2:30 PM – 6:00 PM
State & Front Streets, Downtown Media
Block party on Veterans Square, live music, giveaways, one-mile fun run/walk with costume contest at 4:15 PM and Santa Parade at 5:00 PM.
Details
Pet Photos with Santa
Sunday, November 24th
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Nordstrom Court at King of Prussia Mall
190 N. Gulph Rd., King of Prussia
Bring your furry friend for photos with Santa!
Details
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| CHUGGING ALONG
Opt Outside Gravel Ride
Friday, November 29th
9:45 AM
Trek Bicycle West Chester
Turner Square Shopping Center, West Chester
#optoutside the day after Thanksgiving! Join the shop crew for a 28-mile ride on the beautiful gravel and paved roads of Chester County. The ride will be at a social pace, with rolling hills.
Details
Home for the Holidays Frosty 5K
Saturday, December 7th
8:30 AM
Swarthmore Presbyterian Church Parking Lot
727 Harvard Ave., Swarthmore
Dressing up to run in festive gear/apparel is 100% encouraged. Not dressing up is extremely frowned upon. This race is the kick-off for Swarthmore’s Home for the Holidays event, featuring special performances, carriage rides, caroling and the lighting of Augustine Village.
Details
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| Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk
Thursday, November 28th
8:00 AM
Great American Pub
4 West Wayne Ave., Wayne
Proceeds will benefit Main Line Health's Women's Emotional Wellness Center, the Radnor Township Police K-9 Unit and For Pete's Sake Cancer Respite Foundation. Come to the post-race celebration at the Great American Pub which will be open for Turkey Trot participants and guests. The Turkey Trot is open to all ages, jogging strollers and dogs on leashes are welcome.
Details
Elves for the Shelves
Saturday, December 7th
7:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Radnor Library
114 West Wayne Avenue, Wayne
Family friendly 5K and fun run through Wayne benefits Radnor Library. Don’t miss #elfies!
Details
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| Chester County Turkey Trot
Thursday, November 28th
8:00 AM
Downingtown West High School
445 Manor Ave., Downingtown
Raising funds supporting childhood cancer research, this flat course 5K (walk/run) and 2k (walk) also features a kids fun run. Jump start your holiday morning and join around 3,000 registered runners at Downingtown West High School.
Details
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| 2019 T&E CARE HOLIDAY DRIVE
NOVEMBER 15 - DECEMBER 7
Once again the holidays are looming and some neighbors right in our communities struggle to afford gifts for the kids or the food needed for a special holiday meal. Tredyffrin & Easttown Care is a local non-profit that helps local families throughout the year with emergency situations, as well as offering assistance at the holidays.
Over 110 local families are on the list this year, hoping for a little holiday cheer. Donations of gifts, food baskets, cleaning supplies, gift cards, and other items are needed. Drop-offs should come to St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Devon on either December 8 (Sunday) or 9 (Monday). Help is also needed with wrapping and sorting Dec 10-11.
Please check tecare.org to see if there is anything you could offer in terms of time or donations. This is truly a neighbor helping neighbor event! Questions should be directed to holidays@tecare.org.
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| BRIGHT LIGHTS & BIG NIGHTS
Holiday Village
Saturday, December 7th
12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Upper Merion Township Building
175 West Valley Forge Rd., King of Prussia
Bring the whole family to meet Santa, enjoy festive performances, shop local holiday vendors and artisans, visit the Gingerbread Village and take part in the annual tree lighting ceremony. Bring a donation of winter clothing, canned food and/or toys for needy families in Upper Merion.
Details
Holiday Candlelight Tours
Sunday, December 8th
Tours at 3:00 PM & 4:00 PM
Waynesborough Historic House
2049 Waynesborough Rd., Paoli
Wander by candlelight through the halls of an 18th century country manor house and learn about holiday traditions of days gone by. This tour will take you through rooms once inhabited by celebrated Revolutionary War General Anthony Wayne and the seven generations of the Wayne family who occupied Historic Waynesborough for more than 200 years.
Details
Potts Meadow Holiday Tree Lighting
Saturday, November 23rd
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Chadds Ford Village & Barn Shops
1609 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford
Enjoy holiday music, a pop-up artisan shop, a special visit from Santa Claus, the lighting of the Potts Meadow holiday tree and more. Hot chocolate, food, local wine by Paradocx Vineyard and local beer by Braeloch Brewing all available for purchase. BYO lawn chairs to relax around the bonfires.
Details
Garrett Hill Tree Lighting Celebration
Sunday, December 1st
5:30 PM
Clem Macrone Park
810 Conestoga Rd., Bryn Mawr
Bring an ornament to decorate the tree and your singing voice for carols! There will also be winter coat and canned goods collections for veterans. After the tree lighting, all are invited to an Open House with hot chocolate and snacks at All Season Produce & Flowers.
Details
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| HOMETOWN HOLIDAYS
Wayne Old-Fashioned Christmas
Friday, December 6th & Saturday, December 7th
On Friday evening, enjoy festive caroling by the Valley Forge Military Academy Chorale, a joyful cheer by the Radnor High School cheerleaders, horse-drawn carriage rides along South Wayne and Runnymede Avenues and face painting and ornament decorating at the Radnor Fire House. The magical evening culminates with an exhilarating countdown of the lighting of the Christmas Tree at the Wayne Train Station and Santa’s arrival by firetruck. Santa returns on Saturday at 10:00 AM for parade down Lancaster Avenue.
Details
Phoenixville Annual Holiday Parade, Tree Lighting & Winter Shopping Market
Friday, December 6th
5:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Downtown Phoenixville
Winter shopping market begins at 5:00 PM, followed by the holiday parade at 7:00 PM. The evening concludes with the annual tree lighting.
Details
Christmas on King
Sunday, December 7th
12:00 PM – 8:00 PM
King St., Downtown Malvern
Street performances, Mistletoe Market, kids’ activities, trolley rides, a Christmas Cheer Cocktail Lounge, extended shopping hours and more. Santa will arrive by parade at 5:00 PM, followed by the town tree lighting.
Details
Berwyn-Devon Tree Lighting Ceremony
Sunday, December 1st
5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Berwyn Train Station
654 E. Lancaster Ave., Berwyn
Cheer on the arrival of Mr. & Mrs. Claus and help spread some holiday cheer! Mrs. Claus arrives in her Maserati around 6:00 PM followed by Santa aboard a Berwyn Ladder Truck.
Details
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| DECK THE HALLS Y’ALL
Gifts from the Garden: A Children’s Workshop
Sunday, December 8th
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens
631 Berwyn Baptist Rd., Devon
In this workshop, children ages 5 – 10 with an adult will create four individual gifts, each utilizing natural materials found in the Arboretum. Dress for mess! $10/child for members; $15/child for non-members. Adults accompanying children are free. Registration required.
Details
Deck the Halls
Sunday, December 8th
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Tyler Arboretum
515 Painter Rd., Media
Use fresh greenery, natural accents, ribbon and more to make a creation that you can enjoy for weeks to come. Suitable for ages 4 and up. $20 members; $27 non-members.
Details
Volunteer: Create Natural Decorations
Tuesday, December 3rd
8:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Stoneleigh: A Natural Garden
1829 East County Line Rd., Villanova
Calling all creative volunteers to craft eye-catching decorations for the Main House at Stoneleigh. We’ll fashion greenery and dried materials into wreaths, garlands, and more to inspire and delight visitors throughout the winter season.
Details
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| NOT YOUR AVERAGE HOLIDAY MOVIE
Cinema Classics Seminar: Die Hard
Thursday, December 12th
6:30 PM to 10:00 PM
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
The notion that a bloody action film about a league of murderous European thugs taking hostages in a Los Angeles commercial tower could become a Christmas classic is a curious illustration of American cultural sensibilities, to say the least. Die Hard’s (1988) status as a Christmas film rests initially in its setting—an office Christmas party—then largely in its score, which turns Beethoven’s 9th symphony into a holiday tune.
But Die Hard’s ultimate success lies in the way it pits the wry humor of a New York cop (Bruce Willis) against the sly cleverness of a brilliant German criminal (Alan Rickman). Yet this battle of wits and weaponry is mere background for the film’s most important relationship: a friendship between two very different police officers—one from the West Coast, the other from the East; one black, the other white—who bond over the airwaves of a handheld radio. This seminar will focus on the “buddy film” as a Hollywood genre, which in the 1980s posited itself as a solution to racial conflict. It will also discuss the history of the American cinema’s representation of heroic masculinity and the domestic anxieties of the 1980s, all of which work together to make Die Hard not only a fabulously fun film, but also an insightful social commentary. Or just come for the film!
Tickets
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| ON STAGE
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Thursday, Nov. 21st - Sunday, Nov. 23rd
Evening performances: 7:00 PM
Sunday Matinee: 2:00 PM
Conestoga High School
200 Irish Rd., Berwyn
A famous radio personality slips and falls while at the home of an industrialist and winds up confined to this home for an extended recovery. Domestic tranquility is tested as the house guest pushes his limits with outrageous behavior.
Details
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| Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
Friday, November 29th – Tuesday, December 24th
Various Times
Hedgerow Theatre Company
64 Rose Valley Rd., Rose Valley
Hedgerow’s production is a moving rendition with music, ghosts, comedy and heartfelt performances and will get you in the spirit of Christmas.
Details
Little Red Robin Hood: A Musical Panto
Now Through January 5th
Various Times
People’s Light
39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern
Fairytales collide when Robin Hood is dead, his merry men are in hiding, and Nottinghamshire is taken over by a greedy villainess. Can a new hero (or heroine) save the day? Set in the ‘40s with a dash of the medieval, a lot of comedy and a musical mashup.
Details
The Perfect Dog
Through Sunday, November 24th
Various Times
Footlighters Theater
58 Main Ave., Berwyn
The Perfect Dog is a family musical adapted from the book written by actor and TV personality John O’Hurley. Show opens with a special talk back session with John O’Hurley himself. The play is part of National Dog Show Month in Philadelphia, leading up to the annual National Dog Show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks.
Details
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| HOLIDAY RAILS
Breakfast with the Trains
Saturdays, December 7th & 14th
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Brandywine River Museum of Art
1 Hoffmans Mill Rd., Chadds Ford
All aboard for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes visit with the Brandywine Railroad. Discover how the extensive layout is created and the complicated multitasking it takes to keep everything running. This before-hours event includes a private tour of the trains in action with Brandywine Railroad engineers, special activities for young train fans and a continental breakfast in the museum’s Millstone Café. $20 members; $25 non-members.
Details
Brandywine Christmas
Friday, November 29th
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Brandywine River Museum
1 Hoffman’s Mill Rd., Chadds Ford
The magic of the holiday season starts at the Brandywine River Museum with its traditional model train exhibit and special exhibition featuring a selection of three beloved fairytales and their evolution through time and different cultures. Towering trees with whimsical critter ornaments add to the holiday feel.
Details
Holiday Garden Railway Seasonal Opening
Friday, November 29th
10:00 AM
Morris Arboretum
100 E. Northwestern Ave., Philadelphia
The holiday tradition continues with uildings and trains are meticulously decorated for the holidays with twinkling lights along the tracks and railway.
Details
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| HOLIDAY SHOPPING
Holy Child Shops
Thursday, Nov. 21st – Friday, Nov. 22nd
Thursday: 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Overbrook Golf Club
Thursday night kicks off the event with a cocktail party including hors d’oeuvres and one drink ticket. More than 25 vendors will showcase their items.
Details
Hilltop Holiday Craft Show
Friday, November 22nd – Sunday, December 8th
10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Hill Top Mansion
570 Beaumont Rd., Devon
Holiday gifts, crafts, ornaments, decorations, wreaths, gourmet foods, jewelry, clothing, woodworking, baby and kids items, quilts for sale along with gourmet foods and confections.
Details
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Start now to ensure water safety next season! Grab 2 FREE Water Safety Lessons at Club La Maison. New Clients only.
clublamaison.com
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Julian Krinsky Camps & Programs
610.265.9401 l jkcp.com
Imagine@jkcp.com
Save 10% off Tuition with Early Registration Discount on all Day & Residential Summer Programs at Villanova University, mustregister before 12/31/19. MLNeighbors get an additional $50 off with code "NEIGHBORS20".
PLUS – JKCP Gift Certificates NOW Available! Buy $100 or more & Receive a JKCP Hooded Sweatshirt.
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Fairytales collide in our brand new holiday panto! This hilarious, musical mashup is perfect for all ages.
People's Light
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The Baldwin School develops bright, talented girls into confident, accomplished women with vision, global understanding and the determination to make enduring contributions to the world.
Baldwin School
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Discover Friends' Central
Wednesday, Dec. 4!
Get an inside look at the Friends' Central experience at our December 4 Parent Information Session. Tours of our bucolic 23-acre Middle and Upper School campus begin at 8:30 am, and tours of our magical 18-acre Lower School campus begin at 9 am.
Register online here
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Your student can achieve lifelong success. Transforming lives for 40+ years, Woodlynde School is one of the nation’s leading K-12 college-prep schools for students with learning differences.
Woodlynde School
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Find gifts in 60 specialty shops. Enjoy fine dining or casual fare. See a magnificent gingerbread house display. And enjoy the company of people you love.
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Since 1856, Notre Dame has
inspired young women to excel
within a college preparatory
curriculum rooted in the Catholic
mission of service to others.
610.971.0498
ndapa.org
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A celebrity dinner guest slips on a patch of ice and is confined to a suburban family's home. Enjoy a hilarious comedy and find out if this arrogant visitor will ever leave!
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RTC presents “Into the Woods”!
Enjoy this family-friendly show over the holidays or give tickets as a gift for someone who has everything!
RTCwc.org
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Now Playing
A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
MARRIAGE STORY
THE IRISHMAN
JOJO RABBIT
PARASITE
BrynMawrFilm.org
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The Haverford Guild of Craftsmen is making preparations for its Holiday Art & Fine Craft Show. We will be featuring over 60 very talented artists this season.
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