Press Release

Woodmere Art Museum Lights Up the Holidays with Family Workshops, Movies, Exhibitions, Live Music, Shopping and More

Month-long celebration for art-lovers of all ages begins with Tree Lighting Ceremony, November 23; wraps up with ornament-making workshop, December 22

PHILADELPHIA— During November and December, Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia’s historic Chestnut Hill becomes a one-stop destination for holiday celebrations, from hands-on kids’ workshops and heartwarming winter movies to holiday-themed special exhibitions, live music and gift shopping at the eclectic and unique Holiday Store (expanded for the season starting November 9).

The season kicks off on November 23 with the Chestnut Hill Circle of Trees Lighting. This is the first year Woodmere is hosting this annual community tradition, which invites the community to witness the lighting of several trees decorated by local schools as well as house lights on Woodmere’s Victorian-era main building. Santa will make an appearance as guests enjoy festive activities to celebrate the season.

Kids and kids at heart will find plenty of holiday cheer with Woodmere’s Family Happenings, including workshops on how to make ornaments, snowflakes, wrapping paper and more. Lovers of live music and film will also find a place at Woodmere, where holiday classics like White Christmas are part of Tuesday Nights at the Movies and local musicians celebrate Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald’s Christmas songs during Friday Night Jazz. [A full schedule is included below.]

Woodmere is presenting two special exhibitions for the season (on view Nov. 23-Jan. 5), starting with an Open House on December 7: A Christmas Past in the Pennsylvania German Tradition, a display of children’s toys and holiday decorations from and inspired by 19th-century German settlements in Philadelphia, courtesy the Germantown Historical Society; and Chestnut Hill Past: Photographs from the Chestnut Hill Historical Society, featuring images of ice-skating, winter walks on the Wissahickon and family, confirming that the special magic of the holidays was as important in 19th-century Chestnut Hill as it is today.In addition, visitors can view the special exhibitions Wild Flowers: Paintings and Drawings by Peter Paone(through Jan. 19) and On Paper: The Gift of Ann and Don McPhail (Nov. 16-Feb. 15), plus children’s artworks in Kids Care 20: Wild About Nature(Nov. 3-Dec. 15).

Woodmere Art Museum is located at 9201 Germantown Ave. Admission to special exhibitions is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, and FREE for students, children and Museum members; exhibitions in the Founder’s Gallery and Helen Millard Children’s Gallery are FREE. Tickets for Friday Night Jazz and Classic Sundays are $22 general admission, $12 for members and FREE for children under 12. Museum hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.-8:45 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. For more information, visit woodmereartmuseum.org or call 215-247-0476.

Schedule of Holiday Events

Holiday Store Opening
Saturday, November 9, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Chestnut Hill Circle of Trees Lighting
Saturday, November 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Holiday Exhibitions Opening
Saturday, November 23
Two Woodmere holiday exhibitions open on November 23: A Christmas Past of the Pennsylvania German Tradition and Chestnut Hill Past: Photographs from the Chestnut Hill Historical Society.

Holiday Open House
Saturday, December 7, 1-3 p.m.

Family Happening: Make Your Own Wrapping Paper
Saturday, December 7, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
Studio | $10 ($5 for members)
Get ready for holiday gift-giving by making one-of-a-kind wrapping paper. Make your own designs with paint, stamps and texture film.

Film: Laurel & Hardy in Big Business (short) | The Shop Around the Corner
Tuesday, December 10, 7-9 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)
Kuch Gallery | $5 suggested donation

The Shop Around the Corner (1940, 99 min.) is an American romantic comedy starring James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan and Frank Morgan. Two employees at a gift shop in Budapest can barely stand each other, not realizing they’ve fallen in love as anonymous correspondents through their letters. This was remade as a 1949 musical In The Good Old Summertime and the inspiration for the 1998 film You’ve Got Mail.

Family Happening: Animal Masks Inspired by The Mitten
Saturday, December 14, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
Studio | $10 ($5 members)
After reading Jan Brett’s classic story The Mitten, children will create masks of their favorite animals.

Family Happening: Victorian Card Family Workshop
Saturday, December 14, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Kuch | FREE
Discover the beauty of Victorian holiday cards. Enjoy creating your own unique designs and holiday messages.

Film: Popeye the Sailor in Season’s Greetinks (short) | White Christmas
Tuesday, December 17, 7-9 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)
Kuch Gallery | $5 suggested donation
White Christmas (1954, 120 min.) is an American musical classic starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen, and featuring songs of Irving Berlin. A successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save a failing Vermont inn owned by their former commanding general.

Friday Night Jazz: The Holidays with Duke and Ella
Friday, December 20, 6-8 p.m.
Rotunda | $22 ($12 for members, free for children under 12)
Deck the halls with holiday favorites done in a jazzy style as we celebrate with Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald. Pianist Adam Faulk and vocalist Suzette Burgess will put us in the spirit. Wine served.

Family Happening: Celebrate the Winter Solstice
Saturday, December 21, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
Studio | $10 ($5 members)
Create unique snowflakes from paper and tin. Yours will be as distinctive as every snowflake that falls from the sky.

Family Happening: Toy-Making Fun — Tops, Jumping Jacks and More
Saturday, December 21, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Kuch | FREE
Discover the art and joy of old-fashioned toys. Using all kinds of fun materials, we’ll be making Jumping Jacks, tops and puzzles to keep or give as presents.

Family Happening: Make Your Own Ornaments
Sunday, December 22, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
Studio | $10 ($5 members)
Using a variety of patterned and metallic papers, tin, fabric, glitter, paint, markers, jewels, and more, create special ornaments for your holidays.

Classic Sundays: Christmas Caroling with the Main Line Opera Guild
Sunday, December 22, 3-4:30 pm.
Rotunda | $22 ($12 for members, free for children under 12)
The Main Line Opera Guild will perform holiday favorites and invite audience participation.

About the client:

Housed in a 19th-century stone Victorian mansion on six acres in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Woodmere first opened its doors to the public in 1940. The building, grounds and the nucleus of the Permanent Collection are the benefactions of Charles Knox Smith (1845 – 1916), who wished “to awaken the spirit of, the appreciation of, and the knowledge of art … in the City of Philadelphia and surrounding territory.” Today, the Permanent Collection consists of more than 3,000 works of art, celebrating the art and artists of Philadelphia.

Woodmere’s core collection includes important paintings by renowned artists such as Edward Redfield, Daniel Garber, Walter E. Schofield, Benjamin West, Frederic Edwin Church, Violet Oakley, Arthur B. Carles and many more. Woodmere’s nine galleries and salons, including a grand rotunda and a uniquely designated Helen Millard Children’s Gallery, provide space for exhibitions and programs that serve the entire family. In the George D. Widener Studio, a converted carriage house, a year-round roster of classes provides outstanding art training to children and adults. The recent addition of the Children’s Garden provides participants of Woodmere’s Summer Arts Community Program with outdoor space to display and enjoy works of art. The Helen Millard Children’s Gallery also showcases exhibitions of student artwork from local schools.

Visitor Information

Woodmere Art Museum
9201 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118
Corner of Germantown Avenue and Bells Mill Road in Chestnut Hill

Museum Hours:

Beginning Sept. 8, Woodmere offers free admission on Sundays, including all special exhibitions, but excluding special events such as Classic Sundays music series.

Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Friday, 10 a.m.-8:45 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Admission: Special exhibitions are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, FREE for students, children and members. Related programs and events are FREE, unless otherwise noted.

Information: (215) 247-0476 or visit www.woodmereartmuseum.org

Accessible by public transportation: From Center City Philadelphia, take the R8 Chestnut Hill West regional rail train to the end of the line. Turn left on Germantown Avenue and walk for .8 miles to Woodmere. For detailed driving directions, click HERE.

Downloads

	Special Holiday Events at Woodmere Art Museum	255.53 KB
	Landscape, courtesy of the Chestnut Hill Historical Society	196.13 KB
	Woodmere Art Museum store, photo by Nick Feldman	4.09 MB

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Press Release

Woodmere Art Museum Lights Up the Holidays with Family Workshops, Movies, Exhibitions, Live Music, Shopping and More

Month-long celebration for art-lovers of all ages begins with Tree Lighting Ceremony, November 23; wraps up with ornament-making workshop, December 22

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