By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of Courtney Apple Photography

Bug Fest is Back!

As far as 200th birthdays go, Lorenzo Langstroth doesn’t usually spring to mind like, say, Charles Darwin does. But come August 14th and 15th, the Philadelphia native’s name will be rolling off the tongues of 10-year-olds as easily as T. rex. That’s because Langstroth’s beloved bees will be the center of attention at the Academy of Natural Sciences’ third annual Bug Fest. “It’s such a fun weekend to celebrate all things ‘buggy.’ And, it’s a great opportunity for the kids and the parents to connect with the experts and our Academy scientists. Its always fun to see a world expert at Bug Fest nose-to-nose with a young child having a great conversation,” enthused Barbara Ceiga, the Academy’s vice president for public operations.

“Bees” is the theme of this year’s popular festival, which also celebrates insects of all kinds—yes, even roaches. Langstroth (1810-1895), a clergyman and teacher dubbed the father of American beekeeping, revolutionized the beekeeping industry by determining the amount of space a bee needs to survive and then inventing the movable frame beehive. The Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild is raising funds to place a historical marker at his birthplace at 106 South Front St.
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By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of Belle Vie Photography
Click here to view our slideshow on our AML Facebook Fan Page

Gorgeous table linens provided by our good friend Cindy Bene of Select Event Rentals. Beautiful floral arrangements courtesy of Paoli’s Flowers by Priscilla.

AroundMainLine.com welcomed over 300 Main Liners and local foodies at Susanna Foo’s Gourmet Kitchen in Radnor on Thursday evening July 22nd for the official launch party of Main Line Restaurant Week. Dozens of local restaurant owners and local chefs attended the magical evening—including many of our participating restaurants.

Special AML VIP guests included Michael Klein of the Philadelphia Inquirer and philly.com, Mickael Decoker, manager of Blackfish BYO in Conshohocken, Ronna Bonds of Chesterbrook’s popular EBar at the Embassy Suites, Prudential Fox Roach realtor Joan Hindin, CEO of Wayne’s popular women’s boutique Fresh Ayer Liz Ayerle, Brian Pieri of Conshohocken’s The Stone Rose, Dr. Catherine Foote of Foote Orthodontics, and AML photographers Heather Berkenstock and Courtney Apple. Read the full story

By AML Publisher
Photography courtesy of Courtney Apple Photography
Click here to view our Facebook slideshow and more photos

What did Cleopatra look like? After her death, the Roman emperor Octavian ordered all images of her destroyed. Of the countless images created of the queen during her lifetime, only a handful of coins and sculptures remain.

Main Liners can walk like an Egyptian with the world premiere of “Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt” at the Franklin Institute now through January 2, 2011.

The world of Cleopatra VII, which has been lost to the sea and sand for nearly 2,000 years, surfaced on June 5th when the incredible exhibit opened its doors to the world for the first time. The new exhibition features nearly 150 artifacts from Cleopatra’s time and takes visitors inside the present-day search for the elusive queen, which extends from the sands of Egypt to the depths of the Bay of Aboukir near Alexandria. The exhibition is organized by National Geographic and Arts and Exhibitions International, with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM). It features statuary, jewelry, daily items, coins and religious tokens that archaeologists have uncovered from the time surrounding Cleopatra’s rule, all of which are visiting the U.S. for the first time.

Naos of the Decades (387-361 B.C.) This naos-the inner shrine that held the temple god-may be the world’s first astrological chart. The year is divided into 36 decades, or 10-day periods. It is the first U.S. tour of artifacts from two ongoing searches into the life and times of Egypt’s legendary Queen.

Also on display is an original papyrus document from Cleopatra’s time containing an inscription that scientists believe was written in Cleopatra’s own hand. After Egypt succumbed to Roman forces and Cleopatra famously took her own life following the suicide of her lover Mark Antony, the Romans attempted to wipe her legacy from the pages of history. Cleopatra thus has remained one of history’s greatest enigmas, and her final resting place is one of Egypt’s unsolved mysteries. The story of her life and time unfolds in a dramatic setting with high-definition multimedia, original soundscapes and a mobile-based social media experience. Additionally each guest receives an audio tour with admission that provides a rich background to the featured artifacts.
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By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of Belle Vie Photography
View our slideshow on Facebook.

Costume from the movie: Dr. Doolittle

Icons of Costume: Hollywood’s Golden Era and Beyond presents over 50 items selected from one of the most extensive collections of movie memorabilia, from Marlene Dietrich’s black velvet evening gown from Shanghai Express (1932) to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s black leather jacket from Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Rare studio publicity stills, lobby cards and film props augment the experience, and an interactive “Screen Test” area allows visitors to act out their favorite scenes to be uploaded to the museum’s channel on YouTube.com.

“Fabric is very fragile. It is a miracle that any of the early costumes survived at all. Also, showing costumes and dressing them, showing them on mannequins can stress the seams. Preservation is a very complicated process with these costumes-especially since many of these we are approaching almost a hundred years in age,” explained Erika Jaeger-Smith, the Museum’s Associate Curator of Exhibitions. Read the full story

By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of Heather Berkenstock, Belle Vie Photography
Click here to view our virtual tour of Susanna Foo’s on AML’s Facebook Fan Page.

"Thank you for organizing such a wonderful event. We are excited to be part of the inaugural Main Line Restaurant Week." Susanna Foo, Susanna Foo's Gourmet Kitchen

AroundMainLine.com is throwing a fantastic launch party for the first ever Main Line Restaurant Week at Susanna Foo’s Gourmet Kitchen in Radnor July 22nd! In what promises to be one of the Main Line’s hottest summer events, guests will be treated to complimentary hors d’oeuvres, amazing drink specials and a festive atmosphere—with the suburbs top chefs and restaurant owners in attendance.

For more than 25 years, Susanna Foo has changed the paradigm of Chinese food melding traditional Chinese foods with classical French techniques. With two cookbooks and two internationally known restaurants, Chef Foo is a two-time James Beard Award winner and is widely recognized as one of America’s top Chinese chefs. Many Asian cuisine aficionados credit Foo with having brought Chinese food into the modern realm. In November 2006, she opened Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen in Radnor—now one of the Main Line’s most successful and respected restaurants. Read the full story

By AML Publisher
Photography courtesy of Mark Garvin

People’s Light and Theatre Company presents The Emperor’s New Clothes, through July 11, 2010. A world premiere production, with a script by Richard Hellesen, it is based on the children’s classic tale by Hans Christian Andersen.

People’s Light & Theatre Company presents The Emperor’s New Clothes, from June 16 – July 11, 2010, on the Main Stage. A world premiere production, with a script by Richard Hellesen, it is based on the children’s classic tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Abigail Adams directs.

The Emperor’s New Clothes is a slapstick, mad cap, puppet-romp version of the classic tale of an Emperor with a passion for fashion. In the Empire of Abalonia, the bratty new Royal demands a trendy new wardrobe. Enter two scamming rogues who are only too happy to help while trying to loot the royal treasury.

Artistic Director Abigail Adams says, “This script pays homage to the Marx Brothers and Abbott and Costello—it is wacky and zany and we’ve assembled a very talented cast and artistic team to help tell this familiar tale in a fresh and funny way.”

People’s Light Mary Elizabeth Scallen plays the Policeman in the play and is a puppeteer. “This production is pulling from a lot of classic comedy traditions from the past and, combined with the puppets, it really offers a unique spin on a classic fairytale. Because it’s a slapstick comedy, the play is very fun and surprising. The characters in the play create a lot of mayhem-sort of like rambunctious kids getting in a lot of trouble so the kids will really love it. And the parents will appreciate the quirky tone of the Marx Brothers. The only person in the town who ‘sees the truth’ in the end is the youngest person in the play and there is a neat message in that,” explained Scallen.

The Emperor’s New Clothes, part of the TARGET Family Discovery Series, features Resident Company Members Kevin Bergen, Alda Cortese, Marcia Saunders, Mary Elizabeth Scallen and Tom Teti, who join guest artists Pete Pryor, Andrew Kane and Claire Inie-Richards, in addition to over 50 handmade puppets by Martina Plag. Before each show, children are invited to D.Y.O.B. (Decorate Your Own Boxers) for free. The crafts will begin one hour before each performance in the upstairs lobby. Go to www.peopleslight.org for details.

The play opened on Friday, June 18th at 7pm and runs through July 11th. Audiences are encouraged to join the artists after each performance to discuss the production. People’s Light & Theatre Company is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern. For tickets call 610.644.3500 or visit PeoplesLight.org. This project is supported in part by TARGET.

Single tickets start at $20 for youth and $29 for adults, with special discounts available for students and groups of 10 or more. 10am student group performances, discount meal packages, and talk-backs with the artists are also available. For more information or to purchase group tickets, call 610.647.1900, ext. 134 or email group@peopleslight.org. Actors, prices, performances dates and times are subject to change. Additional service charges may apply.

About People’s Light

People’s Light, a professional theatre founded in 1974 in Chester County, Pennsylvania, makes plays drawn from many sources to entertain, inspire, and engage our community. We extend our mission of making and experiencing theatre through arts education programs that excite curiosity about, and deepen understanding of, the world around us. These plays and programs bring people together and provide opportunities for reflection, discovery, and celebration.

By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of Courtney Apple Photography

Nectar executive chef and partner Patrick Feury is hosting a beer dinner with his brother, chef Terence Feury, and Bill Covalescki of Victory Brewery.

The bad news? Philly Beer Week is coming to an end. The good news? If you have not had time to partake in the hundreds of events across the city and suburbs this week, a fantastic finale is planned this Sunday at Bryn Mawr’s popular pan-Asian restaurant, Nectar.

Executive chef and partner Patrick Feury has teamed up with Downingtown’s Victory Brewery and his brother, Fork executive chef Terence Feury, to launch Fists of Feury. Fists is an English pale ale created via the Victory collaboration. It is only available at Nectar, Old City’s Fork and Victory while the batches last. Sunday both Feury brothers and Victory’s Bill Covaleski will host a special four course beer dinner at Nectar, with one seating, starting at 5 p.m.

AroundMainLine.com: Chef Feury, I love that, as one of the Main Line’s most prestigious and respected chefs, you are vested in beer and food pairings. How did this event and relationship between Nectar and Victory come about?

Patrick Feury: I’ve known Bill (Covaleski) for many years and I’ve been home brewing since I was very young. So we decided to do a beer that was ‘chef driven’ and paired well with food. It’s the perfect marriage and it’s been a great learning experience for Terry and me.

AML: What inspired you to brew an English pale ale specifically?

PF: My mom was born in England and my dad is first generation Irish. We really wanted a brew that was similar to our heritage and so Terry and I took English hops and American hops and came up with Fists.

AML: I guess we can let everyone in on the ‘secret weapon’ in Fists of Feury-rosemary.

PF: I use rosemary a lot in my food at Nectar as a background accent that people may not realize is in their food. Even my citrus vinaigrette that I use for my salads has rosemary. I thought rosemary would be fun in the beer!

AML: Count me in for Sunday night! What can the diners expect with this event?

PF: We designed the dinner to be a loose, fun party atmosphere, with stellar food, for everyone on Sunday. Its not so structured as you would think for a four course dinner. We will also be serving Victory’s Summer Love ale-and Bill has never launched two ales at once which I think beer lovers will appreciate. Its really going to be fun.

Fists of Feury Beer Dinner at Nectar

When: Sunday June 13th 5 p.m. Please arrive by 5 p.m. as there is one seating.

Where: Nectar Restaurant, Bryn Mawr

What: A special four course dinner celebrating the release of Fists of Feury, a limited release English pale ale

Cost: $55 per person, beer included, gratuity is additional

Reservations: Call Nectar for reservations, seating is limited: 610-725-9000

Address: 1091 East Lancaster Avenue, Berwyn

Website: www.tastenectar.com

Facebook Fan Page: Nectar Restaurant and Lounge

By AML Publisher
Photography by Heather Berkenstock

Hats by Katie's most famous hat is the Mini-Topper (tm). This style has been worn by Lisa Singer, Suzy Stafford, Sharon Chesson and Lana Wright in all the many combined driving World Championships they competed in, both here and overseas.

Twenty years ago, having a difficult time finding hats that were attractive and that fit well, Katie Whelan started making hats as a sideline. As her carriage driving career developed, so did the variety of hats she made for family and friends. Eventually the Long Island native, who grew up in Sugarloaf, New York, evolved the interest into a full-time occupation. Hats by Katie launched in 1990 with Whelan utilizing her arts minor from Boston’s Regis College as the basis for beginning a millinery business that is now world-renowned. That success has evolved, most recently, into an appointment-only shop in nearby Paris, Kentucky. “The main reason I started making the hats is because I have a big head and a lot of hair. I could not find any hats that fit me or that I particularly liked,” explained Whelan. A recent highlight of her career was winning the “Best Booth” award at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, Windsor, England.

Katie has been driving for 30 years. She has been pinned Grand Champion at Devon and at Walnut Hill, she represented the US at the 2003 and 2005 Pony World Championships, and she has been both national four-in-hand champion and national single horse champion-so she is well aware of what hats work for the driving community, for both pleasure drivers and combined drivers. As for Devon, Whelan has been a beloved boutique and popular shopping destination for Main Line ladies for over a decade. Her works of art have been worn at the world’s most prestigious equestrian events including the Horse Show, Kentucky Derby, Royal Ascot (one of the world’s most famous race meetings dating back to 1711 and attended by the Queen of England), the Walnut Hill Farm driving show in Pittsford, New York-among others. Hats by Katie has been featured in Southern Living Magazine and O Magazine—in which, in 2006, she outfiitted Oprah and a group of Winfrey’s dearest girlfriends with hats for a garden party shoot, including Oprah’s lifelong friend Maria Shriver. Read the full story

By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of Belle Vie Photography

Spring Comes to the Main Line

Here comes Peter Cottontail hoping down the bunny trail…which means spring is here! And the sunny weather means lots of reasons for fun Main Line events with AML. In the next 6 weeks, we have four fantastic events planned in Wayne that are great opportunities to come out and enjoy the great local businesses that make Wayne an awesome Main Line town. Our two social networking groups, Monday Night Meetup and Wednesday Night Whinos, continue to connect hundreds of Main Liners and locals at great venues across the region.

Here is a quick list of what NOT to miss with AML starting with our second awesome Wednesday Night Whinos event with a very popular Main Line boutique, Beethoven Wraps. Mark your calendars and be sure to RSVP on Facebook for Whinos in Wayne on April 14th.
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By AML Publisher
Photos Courtesy of Amy Wren

The Big Deal Casino Night-Unmask the Possibilities is the Philadelphia Junior League’s fourth annual gala.

When you think of Philadelphia’s most esteemed service organizations, undoubtedly the Junior League comes to mind. For almost a century, the Junior League has been making a positive impact in the Greater Philadelphia area. Over 950 volunteers have contributed more than 75,000 service hours annually.

To celebrate this female organization’s commitment to promoting voluntarism, the League is gearing up for its fourth annual winter gala. This year’s theme is The Big Deal Casino Night—Unmask the Possibilities. The evening is black tie optional, and the hundreds of anticipated party-goers are encouraged to accessorize in keeping with the Mardi Gras theme.
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