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On Saturday, August 16, LCA will host the Balkan dance band, the West Philadelphia Orchestra, in an evening of unbridled enthusiasm and merry revelry! This obstreperous village band, made up of some of Philly’s most daring and talented musicians, will make their first Bucks County appearance at the Langhorne Heritage Farm where they promise to create “a ruckus for your tuckus.” Dancing is not mandatory, but often can’t be helped! WPO has been delighting audiences with their “overflowing joy” at such Philly hot spots as the Kimmel Center, World Cafe Live, North Star Bar, the Tritone, and the Rotunda.

This FREE concert is LCA’s gift to the community, guaranteed to delight concert-goers of all ages. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, and dancing shoes! Come as early as 4 PM to tour the artists’ studios on the Farm and enjoy light refreshments The concert will begin at 6 PM. This event will be cancelled in the event of rain, but don’t let heat keep you away! It’s always cool to be at the Farm! You won’t want to sit this one out!

Sounds of South America filled the air and floated around town on July 19 as LCA proudly presented the Latin band Eco del Sur in concert at the Langhorne Heritage Farm.  It may have been hot at home, but in the shade of the barn the breezes made the evening most delightful.  A crowd of nearly 100 turned out to enjoy authentic music and instrumentation from Peru, Columbia, Brazil, Argentina, and other Latin American countries.  This Yardley-based band enchanted the audience with the haunting tones of bamboo pan pipes ranging in size from several inches to nearly five feet, accompanied by a mandolin-type instrument made from an armadillo shell and the sounds of rain produced by a ring of goats’ nails. Concert-goers also enjoyed a tour of the Farm’s unique studio spaces and entering the “Artists’ Autograph” drawing.

They say "good things come to those who wait," and that certainly proved to be the case on June 1 with the glorious weather had for our Arts in the Garden Tour, after being rained out the day before!

Many thanks to all of you for helping to make this event a most enjoyable experience for our "Garden Tourists" who truly appreciated the generosity and abundant talents of our gardeners, artists, and musicians. The feedback was 100% enthusiastic, and many saw Langhorne in a new and very favorable light. Due to the unavoidable change in plans, a few of our artists and musicians could not attend, but Larry Zetterberg helped to fill the void with his woodworking presentation, Mary Walsh very graciously set up her artwork even though she couldn't stay, and the rest of the artists and musicians who did participate in this "rain date" event put on a wonderful show! For those of you who didn't get around to see all of the gardens, here's just a bit of what was going on around town:

At the Farm -- 5 artists had their studios spruced up and opened for tour. Those of us who aren't artists may enjoy viewing art in museums, galleries, and art shows, but it is a rare opportunity for us to see inside a studio -- especially one in a calving barn! Here our garden tourists viewed paintings by Sharon Spraw, Connie McHugh, and Michael Bykov, the lush photography of Tonia Sabitini, and even got to try their hand at stone carving with our newest Artist at the Farm, Nelson Evans. As folks toured the studios they were treated to a spectacular performance by Rise Kagan on handbells. The bells rang out so beautifully in that bucolic setting and toward the end of the tour, a group of weary but happy tourists sat and listened to a most enjoyable concert, the perfect way to unwind after their mile hike around town.

In Gigi and Scott Cowan's secret garden, our tourists found one country garden delight after another, which showcased Mary Walsh's floral paintings beautifully. Larry entertained visitors with an informative presentation on woodworking while Carol Deaver sang lovely folk songs with her guitar -- a perfect accompaniment to the gardens around her.

At Linda and Tom Grier's, our tourists found the inviting patio and refreshments to be the perfect place for a mid-tour rest, as they listened to Mary Bryson's beautiful music on harp, at times accompanied by her son, Gordon. Mary's paintings were also on display in the garden greenery that surrounds a charming old barn and includes a hammock tucked in the shade that was hard to resist.

Across the street at the Anna Mary Williamson Library, unfortunately, our artist and musical quartet were unable to attend but, fortunately, representatives from Historic Langhorne Association were on hand to acquaint our tourists with the building's charming Victorian architecture and wonderful collection of historic artifacts that they have so carefully preserved and displayed. We are delighted that HLA participated in the tour this year, and that they have offered to display the work of local artists throughout the summer months!

Further down Maple Avenue in the garden surrounding Jolane and Bob Golembiowski's "house with the purple shutters," visitors found a lovely patio, beautiful plantings, and even a whimsical secret garden with a frog band. The biggest surprise, however, was the "babbling brook" pond that runs the entire length of the house. Rick Hasney set up a display of his work in this area and also his easel. Our tourists enjoyed watching him paint this lovely scene.

The gardens at the Richardson House are beautifully tended by the Four Lanes End Garden Club, and they just seem to get prettier every year. Mike McAllister had scoped out a spot for his easel and, despite a bit of spongy ground from the rains the day before, created a beautiful painting of one of the garden centerpieces. All the while, Jim Bryson strolled the gardens as he played his bagpipes, at times accompanied by his daughter, Frances. The music was a delight to our garden tourists, and I'm sure was also a pleasant surprise for motorists waiting at that busy intersection. Our thanks to Bill Macht for making this park available to us for the tour this year.

The studios, gorgeous gardens, and beautiful ponds of Nina and Michael Wommack were a big hit last year, and the same was true this year. Over and over, comments were heard: "I never knew this was back here" and "I can't believe we're on Maple Avenue!" Michael's studio walls were covered with his dreamlike studies of Levittown that are, at the same time, both dark and glowing. Everyone was fascinated by Nina's tile work and enjoyed learning about the process she uses to create them. Music was provided by a CD of the West Philadelphia Orchestra Balkan band, who will be performing in our summer world music concert series at the Farm on August 16.

By the time they reached the corner of Bellevue and Winchester, the garden tourists were ready for the punchbowl of lemonade and platter of homemade cookies that Joan Douglas provided. Her garden is gorgeous, with paths lined with roses plus a wide variety of blooms and greenery that I couldn't begin to identify, but which create one beautiful view after another. Watercolorist Flo Schadler found a cool and shady spot next to a pond where she painted an arbor scene from the garden. At least one garden tourist, a gentleman who would like to paint, enjoyed a long chat with Flo as she shared techniques and inspired him to "get out those brushes and paint!" I have a strong hunch that he will.

The last stop on the tour was at the historic home and gardens of Terri and Ward Doerschuck. This peaceful, shady garden across from the golf course features ponds, a stream with a stone bridge, and a lovely patio that was decorated with vases of roses. Photographer Gina Waltersdorff set up her display in a cool, shady location across the stream. This historic location was the perfecting setting for her beautiful, naturally-lit still lifes of antique glassware, tinware, and linens, and for her latest work of art -- a lovely photo collage of "The Doors of Langhorne" which she created just for the Arts in the Garden Tour! Music at this location was provided by a CD of Eco Del Sur, a Latin band who will perform in our world music series at the Farm on July 19.

At each garden, our tourists were welcomed by our wonderful group of greeters, including Carol Zetterburg, Beth Delaney, Susan Schiff, Bernadette West, Sally Marrington, Sylvia Tach, Rachael & Aaron Truchil, Diane Prokop, Debbie Miele, Cheryl Fryer, Chris Jump, Lance Mervine, and Barry Truchil and many of our garden hosts, their family, and friends. Diane Prokop created the informative tour brochure.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Langhorne Council for the Arts, my thanks go to each of you who played a part in making this event a success. Thanks, too, to Pat Carr, Jim Kokinda, and Jessi & Raleigh Morris for having the Farm in tip-top shape. In one lovely afternoon, we were able to raise over $1000 for our scholarship fund, and showed well over 100 garden tourists the beauty, history, and artistry of Langhorne. I think we'd all agree, this year's Arts in the Garden Tour was worth the wait!

On Saturday, July 21, LCA provided a real treat for lovers of Brazilian folk music. The Old Goats Brazilian band performed at Langhorne Heritage Farm on a picture-perfect summer evening where they delighted an audience of over 125 folks from all over Bucks County. In addition to traditional sambas, the band performed songs from various areas of that vast country, including songs from religious processions and celebrations, songs sung by slaves and by mill workers, a song about a village being evicted by the army, and -- so appropriate to the setting -- a song about how good it is to live on a farm. All of the songs were performed in various dialects of Brazilian Portuguese by the 4-member band who also played a variety of string and percussive instruments. The Old Goats band is based in West Philadelphia but has a local connection in percussionist Gregg Mervine, a 2000 Neshaminy grad, who specializes in all kinds of ethnic styles of music.

In addition to the Brazilian folk tunes, the audience enjoyed refreshments from the Bovine Cafe and wandered around Langhorne Heritage Farm where they could view the community gardens, peek into the artists' studios, and learn about the grassroots community efforts that saved and maintain this special place in the heart of Langhorne Borough. Many thanks to the board members and volunteers from Langhorne Council for the Arts and Langhorne Open Space, Inc., who made this event a success!

Our first Arts in the Garden Tour was a great success!

The artists, musicians, gardeners, and LCA made a wonderful impression on the community! The gardens could not have been lovelier, their beauty only enhanced by the artwork so attractively displayed among the landscaping. The natural setting was also perfect for our talented and diverse musicians. It was thrilling to hear the bagpipes and handbells as I walked around town, and to hear and see the softer instruments (harp, violin, cello, guitar) as I strolled through the gardens. People came from all over -- Doylestown, Holland, Levittown, Lower Merion, NJ -- and were unanimous in their enthusiasm for the event ("please do it next year" was the message heard again and again) and it was clear that they left with a new appreciation of the history, natural beauty, and community spirit that makes Langhorne so special.

Obviously, this event took the efforts of many good-hearted souls (including the efforts and understanding of supportive spouses and other family members!), as there were many tasks to be accomplished before and during the tour, especially since this was a new venture for LCA. It would be impossible to list them all and I certainly don't want to miss anyone, so please just let me say a big THANK YOU to EVERYONE for EVERYTHING you did to make LCA's first Arts in the Garden a most enjoyable and successful event.

On a picture perfect spring evening, Langhorne Council for the Arts and Langhorne Open Space, Inc., proudly co-sponsored a most entertaining performance by the Neshaminy High School Jazz Band under the direction of Dan Weiner. The band was joined by Grammy-award winning trumpeter and accordion player, Alex Meixner.

If you were there, you already know that the Arts and Jazz Brunch at Bella Tori was a great success for on so many levels!  Thanks to the gorgeous weather, the art show was set up on the front porch – a beautiful display of work by Nina & Michael Wommack, Ian Acker, Mary Bryson, Florence Schadler, Karen Smith, and Connie McHugh.  This placement attracted a lot of attention and even some sales for our artists!   Many thanks to Nina and Michael for coordinating this display and to all who showed their work and helped with the set up!

Great jazz was provided by Langhorne drummer, Gregg Mervine, and his quartet from West Philly.  Everyone seemed really pleased with their performance, and it looks like they could get a few more gigs as a result.

The brunch buffet was superb and the ambiance was so conducive to relaxing and enjoying all that the day had to offer.  I heard so many positive comments from our guests about every aspect of the event and our organization.  I'm sure this enthusiasm will carry over to the Arts in the Garden Tour and other events we have planned, and hopefully will also attract new members to LCA.  Increased membership and a good turn-out for the Garden Tour will provide us with the funds we need to subsidize other art events, concerts, and children's programs, which is very exciting!  The manager at Bella Tori was equally pleased with today's brunch, so much so that he wants to talk about hosting future events, such as "meet the artists" cocktail parties, so it looks like we've made a good friend in the community.

To everyone who bought tickets and/or sold tickets for the Arts & Jazz Brunch, a great big THANK YOU!!   We had a commitment to sell 100 tickets, which seemed more than a bit daunting at times.  But I'm so pleased (and greatly relieved) to report that we sold a total of 113 tickets! Thank you all.