Rain failed to dampen Home & Garden Festival

Posted 5/10/17

Chestnut Hill resident Audrey Boyle, 5, smiled as she twirled her pink umbrella in the rain on Sunday. (Photos by Sue Ann Rybak) by Sue Ann Rybak Despite sporadic monsoon-like drenching rains, even …

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Rain failed to dampen Home & Garden Festival

Posted

Chestnut Hill resident Audrey Boyle, 5, smiled as she twirled her pink umbrella in the rain on Sunday. (Photos by Sue Ann Rybak)

by Sue Ann Rybak

Despite sporadic monsoon-like drenching rains, even Mother Nature couldn't dampen the spirits of attendees at this year's 21st Annual Chestnut Hill Home & Garden Festival held on Sunday, May 7.

The beaming smile on Chestnut Hill resident Audrey Boyle's face confirmed that she was having fun. The five-year-old proudly modeled her pink butterfly rain jacket and pink rubber galoshes while twirling her pink umbrella.

“We were just in the bouncy house,” said Audrey's mother, Jill Boyle. “Our feet are wet and our hands are wet, but we're having fun.”

And they weren’t the only ones.

Huddled under one of the many white tents that lined the Avenue was Andrea Petrocelli, of Mt. Airy, who came with her two grandchildren. She said they were having “an excellent day.” Thanks to the Handcraft Workshop, both children used the sewing machine with some assistance from a volunteer to make their own fabric flower using felt, a straw and a pipe cleaner.

Arnold Shiffrin, of Bala Cynwyd, enjoyed dancing to the sounds of Soul City Shakedown just one of the many live bands playing at this year event – which featured three stages for live music.

Martha Sharkey, executive director of the Chestnut Hill Business District, said, “Despite the unpredictable weather and chilly temps,” thousands of visitors and residents flocked to the Avenue to celebrate spring and enjoy “the artists, vendors, local shops, great music, kids’ activities and delicious festival foods.”

This year’s festival featured more than 250 vendors. While the majority were local businesses like Robertson’s Flowers and Top of the Hill Markets, several like Kate Brendlen, of Southern Comfort Swings, came from as far away as Franklin, Tennessee.

Both avid plant-lovers and aspiring green thumbs could get expert advice from professional gardeners like Jason Lubar, associate director of Urban Forestry at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, or Susan MacQueen, of Eco-Chic Gardens, LLC. MacQueen was the former director at University City Green whose mission is to promote community urban greening.

For attendees who love the idea of growing tomatoes and other vegetables in their yard but lack the time or skill, there was Backyard Eats, a Chestnut Hill company that designs, installs, and maintains gardens that grow fruits and vegetables.

If you were looking to pick up some hanging plants for Mother’s Day or flowers for the garden such as pansies, bougainvilleas or geraniums, then Brian Pawlowic, of Top of the Hill Markets, or the Chestnut Hill Garden Club had just the thing.

The Chestnut Hill Home & Garden Festival is just one of the reasons why Chestnut Hill is known as a gardener’s paradise.

Sharkey said that this year marks the 20th anniversary of Chestnut Hill as Philadelphia’s Garden District. She encouraged visitors to learn more about “all the events and programs taking place throughout the community during the 20th anniversary celebration by going to chestnuthillpa.com.

This article was edited on May 12 by Sue Ann Rybak.

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