Mixed Media: Celebrating our local holiday art traditions

By Caroline Roosevelt, Columnist, The Times Welcome back from wherever Thanksgiving took you for the last week. For me, I ventured to Charleston, South Carolina to visit family and enjoy the temperate weather, brightly colored colonial buildings, and the smell of salty sea air. It was a lovely respite, but I welcome the return to the Brandywine Valley and our beautiful holiday traditions. Perhaps...

Being smart about your smile during the holidays

By Dr. Stephanie McGann, DMD FAGD, Columnist, The Times With the rush of the holidays, it can be easy to forget to maintain good dental health — but bad choices now could lead to problems in the new year. Here’s a few fairly simple tips to keep you and your family smiling well into 2018:

Super Six: Holidays edition

By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times Ho Ho Ho! Ready for the Holiday Super Six? Anyone else in “Present Panic Mode” like I am? While online shopping offers many conveniences, the sheer volume of options has me paralyzed, overwhelmed, and unable to get past “add to cart”. I have a tendency to second guess and I worry that what I see on my computer might not be as awesome in person....

Girls Day Out coming in Kennett this week

By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times Happy Thanksgiving! What a spectacular weekend of feasting, family, and fun! After a solid week of eating waaaaay too many calories, I have a plan to burn the bird: Christmas Shopping Cardio. No, it’s not a new class at the Y. Yes, I just made it up…but, I think the concept is sure to go viral. Lucky for us, it’s the ( much anticipated) #GirlsDayOut...

Coatesville Christmas parade — bigger and better than ever — Dec. 2

Mummers and hundreds of other musicians are just a small part of the Coatesville Christmas parade, schedule for Dec. 2. COATESVILLE — Once again this year, Chester County’s largest hometown parade, down the historic Lincoln Highway, takes place on Dec. 2, 2017.  The Coatesville Christmas Parade, a holiday classic, begins at 10:00 a.m. starting at Strode Avenue and Lincoln Highway, and ends...

SuperSix: The holiday rush is officially ON!

By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times Hello November! Once Halloween is over, the insane rush to the holiday season is ON. Since it’s time for my monthly Super Six, I figured we may as well jump on the bandwagon. After all, Walmart has the entire back of the store chock full of faux Christmas trees and inflatable snowmen. No time like the present to focus on some (pretty awesome) presents… Ready? UGG...

On Your Table: Corn pudding for Summer gatherings

By Cathy Branciaroli, Food Correspondent, The Times With July 4th coming up and all kinds of neighborhood gatherings associated with that, I have a suggestion. Whenever I go to one of our neighborhood summer gatherings, I make sure to bring my Indian corn pudding casserole. I always leave with an empty dish. You will too. It’s a crowd pleaser and in fact an easy to make dish that can be baked...

TCHS students bring cheer to families in need

Students, faculty and staff from TCHS Pennock’s Bridge Campus raised over $13,000 to help purchase new items, goods, toys and clothing for economically disadvantaged families. DOWNINGTOWN — Students from all three Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) Technical College High School (TCHS) campuses and the Child and Career Development Center (CCDC) brought an abundance of hope to Chester County...

Gabriel’s Gift: Adopt an older dog and save

Gabriel WEST CHESTER — The Brandywine Valley SPCA has announced a special end of the year Adoption Promotion for harder to place dogs at its West Chester and New Castle locations. An anonymous donor will be subsidizing the adoption fee for any dog over 6 months old. The special will run till the end of the year.  The story behind why this promotion is called Gabriel’s Gift: a grieving dog...

On Your Table: Easy finger foods for the holidays

By Cathy Branciaroli, Food Correspondent, The Times While cheese balls conjure up images of mom and dad’s cocktail parties, they are now much in the rage and so easy to serve or take as gifts to holiday parties. As the height of the holidays approach, many of us will either host or go to festive gatherings which are all about lots of food and drink. And with the mad dash of shopping, decorating...