What To Do: 44th annual Strawberry Festival rocks

Also: Downingtown Fine Arts Fest, Bonsai at Brandywine River Museum

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times

One of the best signs that summer is just around the corner is the annual Brandywine Health Foundation’s Strawberry Festival. This weekend, the 44^th Annual Strawberry Festival will take place on the grounds of the Brandywine Hospital (201 Reeceville Road, Coatesville, 610-380-9080, www.brandywinestrawberryfestival.com).

The free event, which is running now through May 31, features amusement rides, live entertainment, an arts-and-crafts show, a variety of food vendors, a run and a family fun walk, jugglers, children’s games and, of course, strawberry shortcake.

The list of attractions also includes “Strawberryland,” an international food fair, a “Craft, Artist and Business Vendor Fair,” a used book sale and raffle drawings.

“Strawberryland” features a wide array of activities for young kids, including a Moon Bounce, an inflatable obstacle course, inflatable slides, carnival games and the “Strawberry Train.”This area is recommended for kids 7 and younger and features an all-inclusive price of $10 a day.

Other popular attractions at the festival include performances by Jonathan the Juggler, magician Chris Capehart and “Hoopster — the 8-foot-tall Stilt-walking Ref,” Merrily the Clown, pony rides, zip line rides, laser tag, a free throw shootout and mechanical bull rides.

The entertainment schedule features West Chester’s Nicole Zell, 74/75 Band, and Sidney & the Organic Reverb on May 29, Nicole Ehinger , Helixx and The Punk Junkies on May 30 and Kindredd Cross  on May 31.

The festival also features a spectacular fireworks display on May 29 at 9:45 p.m.

This weekend, the Downingtown Fine Arts Festival (610-864-3500, http://www.downingtownfinearts.com) will be held in the 100 Block of East Lancaster Avenue from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on May 30 and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on May 31.

The free festival is being presented by David Oleski Events and the Downingtown Main Street Association, in partnership with Victory Brewing Company and the Borough of Downingtown.

The two-day event features artists with their work on display, Victory Beer’s Brewpub on Wheels, food concessionaires and informational vendors in the 100 Block of E. Lancaster Avenue.

Some of this year’s featured artists are Cat Tesla, Christina Oddo, Rommel Ricaurte, Ron Prybycien, Robert Lott, David Oleski, Chris Costa, Toby Slawsky, John Harris and Brian Eppley.

It’s nice that the Brandywine Valley has a large number of museums and tourist sites that provide residents and tourists ideal opportunities to spend leisure time.

It can be even nicer if you take advantage of the 2015 Brandywine Treasure Trail Passport. The cost is $45 for an individual pass and $95 for a family pass (for up to five family members).

A family pass, which includes one-day admission to each of 11 sites, can bring a savings of over $200 for the holders — especially since many of the participating institutions have regular admission fees in double figures.

The list of locations covered by the Brandywine Treasure Trail Passport includes Longwood Gardens, Delaware Museum of Natural History, Brandywine River Museum, Delaware Art Museum, Hagley Museum and Library, Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, Nemours Mansion & Gardens, Read House and Garden,Mt. Cuba Center, Rockwood Museum and Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.

For more information, call (800) 489-6664 or visit www.visitwilmingtonde.com/bmga/.

On May 30 and 31, it will be time once again for the Annual Bonsai Show at the Brandywine River Museum (Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, 610-388-2700, www.brandywinemuseum.org).

An outstanding selection of bonsai (ornamental trees and shrubs whose growth is trained using an ancient Japanese craft) will be on display in the Courtyard. Members of the Brandywine Bonsai Society will be present to demonstrate handling techniques and answer questions regarding special care of the trees.

The special event is free for members and included in Museum admission. Admission prices are: Adults, $15; seniors (65 and older), $10; $6, students with ID and children ages 6-12.

As a special attraction at the Brandywine River Museum, admission is free on Sunday mornings from 9:30 a.m. until noon.

Much of the world’s tastiest cuisine comes from Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Turkey and especially Greece. Two of the area’s top Greek festivals are on the schedule for the next week.

The Grecian Food Festival at St. Sophia Church Grecian Festival (900 South Trooper Road, Jeffersonville, 610-650-8960, www.stsophiavf.org) is running now through May 31. Then, the 2015 Greek Festival at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (808 North Broom Street, Wilmington, 302-654-4446, www.holytrinitywilmington.org) opens on June 2 and runs through June 6.

The free, family-oriented festivals both feature amusement rides and games but they are side attractions. Without question, the main attraction is the food.

The list of main dish items at St. Sofia’s festival has a wide variety of meat and vegetable items. Chicken Oreganato is Grecian-style chicken roasted with a mixture of lemon, oil and oregano, while souvlaki is grilled pork tenderloin marinated with special herbs.

Gyros are pita sandwiches featuring a spice-infused ground beef-and-lamb mixture that is grilled, sliced fresh and served with tzatziki (cucumber and yogurt sauce), tomatoes, onions and olives.

Pastitsio is a macaroni dish with braised ground lamb and beef that is topped with béchamel sauce and baked. A similar entrée is mousaka, which features layers of eggplant, potato, ground lamb and beef, that is baked and then topped with a light béchamel sauce.

Saganaki is a dish with seared vlahotiri cheese that is flamed with brandy and lemon and served fresh. Greek Salad, which is always a favorite, includes lettuce, feta cheese, tomatoes, Greek olives, oregano, salt, onion, cucumbers tossed in a light olive oil dressing.

Other selections that can either be a main meal or a side dish are tyropita, which is a Greek-style cheese pie in a crispy phyllo crust; spanakopita, which is a tyropita that has spinach added; and Dolmades, which are rice and meat wrapped in grape leaves.

The menu at St. Sophia’s also includes a fried calamari dish with fresh lemon, and patates tiganitres, which are deep-fried potatoes that have been lightly seasoned with Greek herbs and spices and topped with feta cheese.

For dessert, it’s hard to go wrong with any of the traditional Grek pastries. The most well-known Greek dessert baklava, which is made with multiple layers of thin buttered phyllo dough cooked with walnuts, spices and honey syrup. Kataifi features shredded wheat with chopped nuts and honey syrup.

Loukoumades, the Greek version of doughnuts, are deep-fried and dipped in honey with a dash of cinnamon. Floyeres is a baked dessert prepared with thin layers of buttered pastry sheets, almonds, spices, and honey syrup. Galaktoboureko is a custard dessert baked between carefully placed pastry sheets and covered in syrup.

Karidopita is a moist walnut cake with spices and syrup. Kok, which is the Greek version of Boston cream pie, is a chocolate-covered cake that is filled with custard. Diples are crunchy treats featuring crisp folds of thin rolled pastry dough that are deep fried and topped with syrup, cinnamon and nuts.

Greek cuisine also includes a variety of mouth-watering cookies including melomakarona (oval cookie dipped in honey and rolled in nuts), kourabiedes (butter cookie served with confectioner’s sugar), paximadia  (zwieback-type cookie that is baked then sliced and toasted in the oven), koulourakia (butter cookie that is twisted, basted with egg yolk and baked.)

The menu for the festival in Wilmington also features mousaka, pastitsio, tyropita, gyros, Greek salad, souvlaki, spanakopita and dolmades along with arni (baked lamb), chicken and orzo, keftedes (meatballs in tomato sauce), Greek-style string beans, plaki (baked fish) and Greek rice pudding.

Music also plays a big role at Greek Festivals.

Greek-American groups from the Delaware Valley will play popular Greek songs and standards at both festivals. There also will be performances of traditional Greek folk dances. The festivals will also offer tavernas, which are bistro-style sites for dancing and drinking.

Other attractions at the free festivals are Greek grocery stores and sales booths with items such as Greek music, icons, custom-made jewelry, leather goods and fabric. There will also be a variety of children’s activities.

You still have a few days left to catch another of the area’s top festival events — the Devon Horse Show (Lancaster Avenue, Devon, 610-688-2554, www.devonhorseshow.org).

This year’s 119th Annual Devon Horse Show and Country Fair is running now through May 31.

More than just another annual equestrian event, it is a family event that spans generations and traditionally marks the start of summer.

More than 3,000 horses are entered in the Devon Horse Show in over 30 divisions and more than 200 classes with prize money totaling over a quarter of a million dollars. The equestrian competition reaches its peak the final few days with the Devon Grand Prix and the Idle Dice Open Jumper Stake.

The Country Fair has food concessions, a garden café, sales booths featuring antiques, toys, hand-crafted items, Devon Horse Show souvenirs and over 30 other shops with jewelry, art, clothes and equestrian-related items. And, there is the Midway with its huge ferris wheel, old-time carousel and wide array of amusement rides and games.

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children (under 12) and seniors (over 65).

From May 30 through June 6, The Oval (2451 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, http://www.futuresensations.com) will host “Future Sensations,” an interactive exhibition featuring five “ephemeral pavilions.”

Philadelphia is one of just four cities in the world and the only city in North America to host this futuristic exhibition.

The traveling exhibit, which celebrates the 350th anniversary of Philadelphia-based Saint-Gobain, a global building materials company founded in France in 1665.

“Future Sensations,” which is free and open to the public, will occupy the pop-up park on the Parkway with five very large walk-through pavilions that provide visitors with a 3-D digital experience that combines 21st-century technology with storytelling and visual arts.

Video link for “Future Sensations” — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlL03K344CE&feature=player_embedded&list=PLPs1Uqpfv12SnyyZg_s3rNxuvOdyJ6J1S.

The Media Arts Council hosts the eighth annual Media Film Festival on May 29 and 30 at the Media Theatre (104 East State Street, Media, www.mediafilmfestival.org).

The event will present two nights of film in a variety of genres including narrative, documentary, animated and experimental — films from local, national and international filmmakers. The Media Film Festival is an annual celebration of indie films.

The 2015 edition of the popular event will feature 41 films — all of which will be screened at the historic Media Theatre.

The Kelly Miller Circus (http://www.kellymillercircus.com) will be presented on June 2 in Marcus Hook at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. at 11^th Street Field.

Started in 1938 by Obert Miller and his sons, Kelly and Dory, the Al G. Kelly Miller Brothers Circus, now known simply as Kelly Miller, has entertained millions of American and Canadian citizens while establishing itself in the fabric and history of the American Tented Circus.

The Miller Family devoted their lives to their circus and through talent and hard work built it into America’s second-largest big top show. They introduced hundreds of new circus artists to the American public and countless innovations in circus operation. From the very beginning they insisted that their circus maintain high standards and be welcomed back to communities year after year.

The traveling circus features big cats, trapeze acts, aerial artists, a balancing act, animal trainers and a world-acclaimed juggling act.

Tickets are $16 for adults and $8 for children under 12.

For something different, check out Racing on the River Dragon Boat Festival which will be held on May 30 on a course on the Christina River in front of Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park (75 Rosa Parks Drive, Wilmington, Delaware, www.racingontheriverfront.com).

For the first time ever, Dragon Boats will be racing down the Christina River in the Riverfront district of Wilmington. Spectators will be able to view the dragon boat races from the Riverwalk from the Wilmington Youth Rowing Boathouse down to the Market Street Bridge.

The event will include local and regional teams racing on a 350-meter race course on the Christina River. Racing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at approximately 3 p.m.