Things to Do in West Chester
Recommended Things to Do by Groupon Customers
The 8th Annual Harvest Festival will showcase the 2010 vintage grapen goodness of eight distinct wineries along the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail. With barbecues, hayrides, and free license to use words such as oaky, robust, and foozy, the festival is bound to please cork-poppers of all philosophies. Tickle ear hammers with live music on the 26th and 3rd at Black Walnut Winery or at Chaddsford Winery, which is also hosting a festival wine sale. The Kreutz Creek Vineyards are having their second-annual Grape Stomping Competition on the 25th and 2nd, and Stargazers Vineyard is holding a blending workshop (additional $5 fee).
Though Longwood Gardens owes its current incarnation to the tireless efforts of industrialist, philanthropist, and conservationist Pierre du Pont, the property’s history stretches back to precolonial days. The Peirce family purchased the land from William Penn himself in 1700, and by the end of the century the Quakers had already begun developing an arboretum on the premises. In the century that followed, the homestead was purchased by an ambitious 36-year-old du Pont in 1906. Throughout the next 30 years, the man who made General Motors built another legacy, this one rife with extravagant European-style fountains, a picturesque 600-foot garden walk, and 40 indoor and outdoor gardens. Today, visitors experience a bit of du Pont’s passion for the tropical flora of the Americas during jaunts through the property’s 1,077 colorful acres, where they run into everything from flowering trees and delicate hybrids to carnivorous pitcher plants. In addition to cultivating lush flora, the garden’s stewards also encourage growing minds with an ever-changing roster of events, such as internationally acclaimed musical acts and immersive educational experiences.
Arnold's Family Fun Center's 200,000-square foot facility buzzes with flashing lights, bright colors, and adrenaline-fueled activities suitable for all ages. Guests use softball-sized bowling balls to bust birds masquerading as pins during rounds of duckpin bowling, and black-light mini golf plunges putters into the depths of an ocean reef as they fight radiant octopi and pirates. More than 75 go-karts speed around two racetracks, and bumper cars let drivers explore the safer side of road rage. Inside one of the largest arcades in the area, guests try their luck at more than 200 arcade games, including favorites such as Deal or No Deal, Big Buck Hunter Safari, and Guitar Hero. A bounce area keeps young feet busy, and a pizza and salad buffet refuel energy reserves before rigorous games of laser tag.
A pencil peeks out of hole in the lid of a shiny red apple, bits of yellow and black fleck a butterfly's wings, and blue and green glass curves to catch the light from the candle it holds. These are just a few of the projects invented at Busy Bees Pottery and Art Studio, where visitors can paint bisqueware, sculpt clay, or fuse glass to make homes or city-bus windows more beautiful.
Long tables sprawl across the studio's checkered floor, and plates bearing pastel treats and serene landscapes polka-dot the walls for inspiration. A paint bar arrays samples of tiles painted in each color so artists can preview their ceramic's finished looks.
A champagne toast signifies luxury, but Air Ventures provides an even more luxurious amenity—champagne toasts conducted while floating in midair. Customers sip from bottles of bubbly while on one of the company’s hot-air-balloon rides, which float over Chester County’s rolling hills, glistening lakes, and historic estates at either sunrise or sunset. The rainbow-hued balloon’s trips range from one-hour jaunts to flight packages with overnight inn stops. After their airborne adventures, passengers take home a souvenir picture of the balloon, which they can supplement with downloaded shots of their own tour.
On Friday and Saturday evenings, as party songs thump in the background, lasers beam over a row of 24 lanes—each home to a rack of glowing pins—and reflect off their thin layer of oil into the fog. Of course, Playdrome Devon Lanes hosts regular open-bowling hours throughout the rest of the week, when it echoes with the sound of crashing pins and celebratory sirens from the on-site arcade. Though unseen, heard, or smelled, the signal from complimentary WiFi streams through the air as well, allowing players to post their high scores online or to look up the cheat codes that enable the bowling balls' rocket boosters. Playdrome Devon Lanes also allows customers to bring their own food and beverages.
