Two Seasons of the Arts in Greater Wilmington: A Preview

No matter when you decide to visit the Brandywine Valley, we’re eagerly planning something special for you. Take a look – We can’t wait to welcome you here! 

May on Market Street 

Visiting Wilmington in the spring offers a multitude of events and experiences, including a burgeoning award-winning restaurant scene and multiple hotel accommodations, including the historic HOTEL DU PONT and The Quoin, a boutique hotel in a landmarked Frank Furness building.  

From any downtown hotel, it’s just a few short blocks to Market Street’s historic Grand Opera House, where there’s always a great concert, play, or event awaiting you. Special this season (May 16-18), The Grand hosts the OperaDelaware in the world premiere of Fearless – a fully staged new opera about trailblazing Chinese American World War II aviator Hazel Ying Lee. Just up the street, a little earlier in the month (May 2-4) the beautiful Playhouse on Rodney Square welcomes the national tour of Hadestown, a great Broadway favorite. 

And if you also love sporting events, here’s one that merges an urban experience with the beautiful Brandywine countryside. The Wilmington Grand Prix, one of the premier criterium-style bike races in the country, returns for its 17th season (also May 16-18). This weekend-long event (one of the country’s ten best road races) attracts top-tier national and international cyclists. On Friday evening there’s the popular Monkey Hill Time Trial and kick-off party. Then on Saturday, after the Major Taylor Community Ride, professional racers begin to wind through the city, and a day-long family friendly street festival enlivens Market Street.  

If you’re a cyclist – professional or avocational – you can finish the weekend participating in two inclusive Sunday events. The Governor’s Ride takes you through the grounds of two of the region’s most beautiful sites, Hagley Museum & Library and Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, both normally closed to cyclists. And that same day, the longer Gran Fondo winds through the gorgeous countryside that’s been likened to riding through Tuscany and Provence.  

Signature Summer Events 

This summer, visitors and residents alike can enjoy one of Wilmington’s gold-star events, the renowned Clifford Brown JazzFest, a gathering of top-tier musicians that honors native son, trumpeter Clifford Brown, held this year from June 19-22. On their website, you can keep tabs on the always-great line-up as it unfolds. The festival is held outdoors in downtown’s beautiful Rodney Square Park, and every concert is free, a gift from the city of Wilmington. But one of its secrets is that pop-up concerts also happen all over town, and you can also follow them on the festival’s website.  

In midsummer every year is one of Delaware’s highly anticipated cultural offerings, the Delaware Shakespeare Summer Festival. Held on the beautiful grounds Rockwood Park & Museum, this popular outdoor event brings hundreds of viewers to visit, picnic, and enjoy the Bard under the stars. From July 16 to August 3, audiences will gather on the great lawn that fronts Rockwood’s beautiful Victorian mansion, as Del Shakes takes you to the mythical kingdom of Illyria for Twelfth Night, O Lo Que Quieras. This is a bilingual musical adaptation (a company first!) of Shakespeare’s poignant comedy that follows twins Sebastian and Violeta, separated in a shipwreck, as they strive to reunite and discover love and homecoming.  

This is just a taste of what awaits you! But to see much more of what Delaware has to offer, here’s our list of 25 Must-Do Experiences in the First State!