Lyn Lewis
LynLewis@VisitWilmingtonDE.com
Twitter: @LynLewisGWCVB
100 West 10th Street, Suite 20
Wilmington, DE 19801
P: 302-295-2212
F: 302-652-4726
VisitWilmingtonDE.com
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wilmington, DEL (April 25, 2014) ... Spring Festival Season


The Annual Point-to Point Steeplechase Races at Winterthur Museum, Gardens & Library is a well-established tradition in Wilmington.  On Sunday, May 3, enjoy horse races, an antique carriage parade, kilted bagpipers, pony rides, special demonstrations and lavish tailgate picnics, all in the setting of an American country estate.  www.winterthur.org

The Wilmington Flower Market in Wilmington's Rockford Park is a perennial spring favorite. This three-day event is scheduled for May 8 through May 10.  As always, it will feature flowers and plants, including some from local gardens, food, rides, games, crafts, vendors and plenty of live entertainment.  www.wilmingtonflowermarket.org

The bikes return to Downtown Wilmington on May 16 through May 18 for the Annual Wilmington Grand Prix and Gran Fondo.  The U.S. Cycling Association has designated the Wilmington Grand Prix as one of the country's top 10 criterium races.  The action starts on Friday with the Monkey Hill time trials in Brandywine Park.  It continues on Saturday in Downtown Wilmington with a series of men's and women's criterium races over a one-mile course with multiple laps.  Corporate Challenge Relay Races, Bike Parade and a Street Festival complete with BMX stunt bikers, live music, sidewalk sales and food vendors add to the excitement.  Both amateurs and professionals participate in Sunday's Gran Fondo, Medio Fondo or Governor's Ride over spectacular 62-, 30- or 15-mile courses mapped through the beautiful Brandywine Valley and its chateau country. www.wilmgrandprix.com

A Day in Old New Castle is the nation's oldest, continuously running house and garden tour.  Located off Interstate-95 just minutes south of Wilmington, Historic New Castle exceeds Williamsburg in the number and authenticity of its historic structures, but unlike Williamsburg, it is a fully occupied, vibrant community.  On May 17, residents in this 350-year-old town open their homes and carefully-tended gardens to the public.  It's a unique opportunity to go inside homes that are more than 200 years old and see how they've been adapted for 21st-century living.  There's also a full complement of historical re-enactments, military maneuvers, craft demonstrations, period games, storytelling, colonial dancing and music.  www.dayinoldnewcastle.org/

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church hosts the Annual Wilmington Greek Festival on June 3 through June 7 from 11AM-11PM daily and admission is free.  This five-day event features authentic Greek food with favorites like Pastichio, Moussaka, Dolmades, Spanakopita, Gyros and Souvlaki followed by mouth watering, homemade desserts.  Atlantis, a regionally renowned orchestra, plays live Greek music nightly and the Terpsechorian Youth Folk dance group, dressed in ethnic costumes, provides the entertainment.  www.greekfestde.com

Experience Italian culture at its best during the St. Anthony's Italian Festival held in Wilmington's Little Italy on June 8 through June 15.  This weeklong, family-oriented festival is one of the largest events of its kind on the East Coast.  Enjoy classical music and opera, live Italian and contemporary music, string bands, strolling minstrels and traditional dance.  Artisans from Italy are on hand to display and sell their handicrafts.  Explore your genealogical heritage, take an Italian language lesson or watch weavers and winemakers in action.  There's also a full complement of traditional midway attractions, carnival rides and games of chance and a selection of homemade pasta dinners, Italian specialties and delicious desserts that are not to be missed.  www.stanthonysfestival.com

The Annual DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival returns to Wilmington June 18 through June 21.  Sponsored by the DuPont Company and the City of Wilmington, this free, open air festival is held in Downtown Wilmington's Rodney Square, rain or shine.  The festival brings some of the most exciting jazz entertainers to the stage for a mix of traditional jazz performances punctuated by fusion funk, blues  and rock.  www.CliffordBrownjazzFest.com

The Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau is a non-profit organization founded in 1978, chartered by the Governor of Delaware, the New Castle County Executive and the Mayor of Wilmington. Its mission is to serve as the community's customer-focused destination marketing organization, generating economic growth through leisure travel and meetings development by aggressively marketing attractions, facilities, amenities and services for visitors.

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