Subject: What's New in Greater Wilmington
Contact: Lyn Lewis, Director of Communications
Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Center
(302) 295-2212 LynLewis@VisitWilmingtonDE.com
World Café Live Wilmington at The Queen Theatre
World Café Live Wilmington officially opened on April 2nd in the totally restored Queen Theatre on Market Street in Downtown Wilmington. Built in 1915, the Historic Queen Theatre has been completely restored and will now function as a spectacular musical venue showcasing performers from across the musical spectrum. It is the new home of Philadelphia-based performance venue and restaurant, World Café Live. In addition to its main auditorium which accommodates 400, the Queen Theatre will house a160- restaurant, two separate meeting spaces with flexible seating for 120 attendees and outfitted with complete audio-visual equipment as well as broadcast studios for regional public radio station WXPN.
Paint, Pattern & People: Furniture of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1725-1850
at Winterthur Museum, Gardens & Library, April 2-January 8, 2012
This major exhibit at Winterthur Museum, Gardens & Library (April 2 - January 8, 2012) showcases the stunning and diverse furniture of Southeastern Pennsylvania and delves into the lives of the people who made, owned, inherited or collected it. Paint, Pattern & People explores the area's rich cultural heritage fostered by William Penn's policy of religious tolerance. The exhibit features almost 200 objects-furniture, fraktur, needlework and paintings-and is supported by an interpretive video and special tours of the Pennsylvania rooms in Henry Francis du Pont's grand mansion.
Historic Houses of Odessa Expands Programming and Adds a Restaurant to Brick Hotel
Just 30 minutes south of Wilmington, visit Historic Odessa and discover some of the finest examples of 18th- and 19th-century architecture and lifestyles. Know as Cantwell Bridge until 1855, Odessa developed as a bustling grain port and played a vital role in Delaware's commercial life. Today, this tranquil village with tree-lined streets seems to have remained untouched by time. Five of the town's most unique properties are known collectively as the Historic Houses of Odessa. They are operated by the Historic Odessa Foundation and include the Corbit-Sharp House (c. 1774), the Wilson Warner House (c. 1769), the Collins-Sharp House (c. 1700), the Brick Hotel (c. 1822) and the Odessa Bank (c. 1853). The Cantwell Tavern in the Brick Hotel will open in May. The restaurant will seat 60 plus on its first floor and 50 on the second floor. The outdoor dining patio/bar will seat 50 plus seasonally.
What distinguishes these properties is the accuracy of their period rooms and furnishings many of which were crafted by prominent Delaware 18th- and 19th-century cabinetmakers, silversmiths and artists. The exceptional collection of regional decorative arts on display features many pieces of original family furniture, paintings, prints, textiles, silver and pewter spanning the period from 1760 through 1850.
Visitors are treated to guided house tours, open hearth cooking demonstrations, special exhibits and living history programs. Of particular note is the Foundation's new program-Freedom Seekers: The Odessa Story. This program focuses on the role Odessa and its citizens played in the Underground Railroad. It provides a poignant snapshot of the hardships endured by fugitive slaves, traveling at great risk under the cover of darkness with limited supplies in the hopes of reaching the North and freedom. It includes an opportunity to explore the hiding places and routes used by local abolitionists to conceal and conduct slaves and a visit to the Corbit-Sharp House which the National Park Service recently designated part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
Delaware Children's Museum
The Delaware Children's Museum officially opened its doors to the public last spring. Although the DCM's mission is to inspire children to explore, discover and celebrate the power of their potential, it's also a unique space to hold an adult meeting or event. The 37,000 square foot museum has a large outdoor deck which overlooks the Christina River and the facility comfortably accommodated more than 900 attendees-including Vice President and Mrs. Biden-during a Fund Raising Gala.
DuPont Environmental Education Center
Readily visible from Interstate I-95, the DuPont Environmental Education Center is located at the southern end of the Riverfront in the 212-acre Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge overlooking the Christina River. What was once an industrial wasteland has been transformed into a healthy tidal marsh. More than 200 species of wildlife have been identified including a pair of bald eagles and a family of osprey.
The Center features interactive exhibits, year round programming for individuals, schools and groups and free naturalist-led walks daily.
A dramatic pedestrian fly bridge extends from the riverwalk to the third floor of the four-story building. The 13,500-square-foot, glass enclosed facility features meeting space offering panoramic views of the marshland and can accommodate up to 80 attendees.