A DOZEN DAYS, A DOZEN AUTUMNAL ADVENTURES IN PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia And Pennsylvania Dutch Country Prove To Be A Perfect Pair For Fall

Philadelphia, May 17, 2004 — With its bounty of harvest festivals, Halloween-themed events and tree-lined country roads painted with fall’s colors, Pennsylvania is a natural choice for those who have fallen in love with autumn. No drive is more picturesque than the journey between Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, where breathtaking foliage blurs into a vibrant spread of red, yellow, orange and brown.

Love chrysanthemums? Longwood Garden’s Chrysanthemum Festival features more than 15,000 mums. Up for some spooky Halloween fun? Nothing beats a jaunt through Eastern State Penitentiary’s creepy haunted house during Terror Behind the Walls. Have festival fever? There is plenty to choose from in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, but no festival in the state is bigger than the Ephrata Fair, a September tradition that keeps the town’s main street shut down for five days. Looking for another ideal fall outing? Here are a dozen glorious ways to celebrate the season:

Philadelphia and Its Countryside

• A river runs through the bucolic Brandywine Valley, and several outfitters provide canoes, kayaks and inner tubes for slow-paced paddles on the Brandywine River, which meanders alongside tall willows and rolling meadows – the landscape painted by Andrew Wyeth. Brandywine Outfitters, (800) CANOES-8; www.canoepa.com; Northbrook Canoe Company, (800) 898-2279, www.northbrookcanoe.com
   

• The abandoned cellblocks and twisting tunnels of Philadelphia’s hulking Eastern State Penitentiary set the perfect stage for Terror Behind the Walls, a Halloween haunted house with ghoulish guards, rattling cell doors and enough fear factor to be included in Fox TV’s Scariest Places on Earth. October 3-November 2, 2004. 2124 Fairmount Avenue, (215) 236-3300, www.easternstate.org
   

• Fall’s palette of amber, scarlet and burnt orange paints the landscape of Longwood Gardens, a 1,050-acre horticultural showplace created by Pierre S. du Pont. The Autumn’s Colors festival (October 9-29, 2004) showcases the gardens’ thousands of trees; the indoor Chrysanthemum Festival (October 30-November 21, 2004) features more than 15,000 mums, from single-stemmed varieties to elaborate "thousand blooms." Route 1, Kennett Square, (610) 388-1000, www.longwoodgardens.org
   

• At Lahaska’s 18^th-century-style Peddler’s Village, autumn is accented with a trio of festivals: A Scarecrow Competition & Display (September 13–October 31, 2004); an Apple Festival (November 6-7, 2004) with pie-eating contests, craftspeople, live music and apple butter, cider and fritters; and a Gingerbread House Competition & Display (November 19, 2004-January 6, 2005). Routes 263 & 202, (215) 794-4000, www.peddlersvillage.com
   

• Philadelphia’s rowing tradition, immortalized by painter Thomas Eakins, continues during the annual Thomas Eakins Head of the Schuylkill Regatta, the largest one-day regatta in the world. On October 30, 2004, oarsmen from around the nation compete on a 2.6-mile course on the Schuylkill River as it winds through Fairmount Park at the peak of the fall foliage. Along Kelly Drive, (866) 546-7573, www.hosr.org
   

• In the northwest corner of the 9,100-acre Fairmount Park is the Wissahickon Valley Park, a 6.5-mile gorge carved out by the Wissahickon Creek; its towering trees and cliffs, most lovely in autumn, were once home to the Lenni-Lenape Indians. Today, wilderness trails and a gravel path attract hikers, bikers and horseback riders. (215) 685-0000, www.phila.gov/fairpark

Pennsylvania Dutch Country

• The Seven Sweets & Sours Festival (September 17-18, 2004) at Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse is a tribute to the Pennsylvania Dutch custom of preserving vegetables with a vinegar and sugar dressing. The weekend event celebrates these condiments and relishes with demonstrations, tastings, unique cornhusk creatures, ragtime music and scarecrow making. Route 340, (800) 732-3538, www.kitchenkettle.com 
   

• More than 80 costumed demonstrators will be weaving, threshing and tinsmithing, making apple butter and cooking over an open hearth during Harvest Days festival (October 9-10, 2004) at Lancaster’s Landis Valley Museum, an open-air living history complex showing the life of the Pennsylvania Germans. 2451 Kissel Hill Road, (717) 569-0401, www.landisvalleymuseum.org
   

• On Labor Day weekend, Long’s Park Art & Craft Festival launches the fall season with 200 exhibitors of fine arts and contemporary crafts, food and entertainment in a show that’s been named one of the top two on the East Coast. Harrisburg Pike & Route 30 Bypass, (717) 295-7054, www.longspark.org
   

• The Ephrata Fair, Pennsylvania’s largest street fair, closes down Main and State Streets from September 21-25, 2004, with exhibits ranging from sunflowers to homemade wine to antique farm machinery. Family fun includes a tug of war and many other exciting games that occur every night along with animal exhibitions and judging, a 4-H livestock sale and, of course, the midway with games and rides. (717) 733-4451, www.ephratafair.org

State-wide

• The Bucks County countryside shelters a rapidly disappearing American treasure: 12 covered bridges, built between 1832 and 1875. The Bucks County Biking Guide points the way – along tree-lined country roads, past historic inns and wineries – to these romantic passages known as “kissing” or “wishing” bridges. (800) 836-BUCKS, www.experiencebuckscounty.com. Nearly 30 historic covered bridges dot the landscape in picturesque Lancaster County. Bike or drive through scenic back roads to see these charming “kissing bridges” and experience the beauty of the Amish countryside. (800) PA-DUTCH, www.padutchcountry.com
   

• Hot-air balloons gently float over the treetops of the Lancaster and Philadelphia countryside from launch sites all over the region; sunrise, sunset or midday rides promise breathtaking views. Ben Franklin would be envious: Although he witnessed the world’s first hot air balloon flight in Paris, he died before he got a chance to soar. Lollipop Balloons, (877) 827-1610, www.lollipopballoons.net; United States Hot Air Balloon Team, (800) 76-FLY-US; www.ushotairballoon.com; Wings of Gold Balloon Rides, (800) 758-7408, www.wingsofgold.biz

For travel package information, visitors should consult their AAA travel counselor or visit www.gophila.com/AAA or www.padutchcountry.com/AAA. 

The AAA state cooperative campaign is a multi-year program designed to encourage automobile travel in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Collaborating with the Pennsylvania Tourism Office are the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB) and the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau.

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The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), Philadelphia’s regional tourism marketing agency, is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to building the region’s economy and positive image through tourism and destination marketing. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, call the new Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676, or visit www.gophila.com.

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit the photo gallery of www.gophila.com/pressroom

May 2004

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