Announcing… Friends of Glen Providence Park’s 2023 free summer concerts right in Media, PA! For our eleventh year of performances we offer musical variety with a Classical Flute Ensemble; New and Used Vintage Blues; Sacred Sounds; and Roots Music Panorama!

Enjoy an afternoon performance on the lawn in front of the historical concert stage, then walk two blocks into town for dinner and shopping on State Street. Check out our full poster below!

Thank you:

This summer’s Arts in the Park was made possible by funding from Program Stream, a grant initiative of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts that is regionally administered by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. 

Thank you to our Summer Series Sponsors Media Recreation Board ; Performance Sponsors Sterling Pig Brewery, Seven Stones Gallery, State Street Pub, and Shere-e-Punjab; and to Delaware County Parks & Recreation, without whose support these concerts would not be possible. 

General Logistics:

• Free and family-friendly!
• Performances are at the Glen Providence Park Stage, downhill from the main entrance on State Street in Media.
• Rain dates are the Sunday after each scheduled performance. If the rain date is used, the decision will be posted by 2:00pm Saturday on our website and Facebook. Updated to 2:00 as of our July concert.
• Seating is on the lawn – bring your blanket or chair!
• There is a parking lot at the State Street entrance and along State Street and West Street.
• We encourage you to walk or take public transportation: the main entrance is just 2 blocks from the end of the Media trolley line, or less than a .6 mile walk from the Media train station.

More details on each performance coming soon!

• See our Calendar for individual event listings.
• Read about the decades of concerts in the park, from 1937 to the 1970’s.
• Read recaps and see photos from our past concerts.
• Read about our September 2011 project to restore the concert stage.

We postponed our 2020 Arts in the Park until 2021 due to COVID, so we’re reminiscing about past summers, and looking hopefully towards next summer. We had an incredible lineup of performers this year, who have agreed to perform in 2021:

Classical Guitar with the Kossler Duo
Reggae & Jazz with Paul Downie & Friends
“Soul Pop” with Danie Ocean
African Drumming & Dance with Malidelphia

Our performers and sponsors have been wonderful to work with, and we will be posting more about them on Facebook over the next month.

You can look back at past years’ concerts, theatre, storytelling, and ballet(!) in a 5-minute compilation video, in our Facebook “Arts in the Park” album, and on our website – we’ll be filling in more past performances.

Thank you to our Arts in the Park Sponsors Media Recreation Board and West End Flats; Performance Sponsors Seven Stones Gallery, Sterling Pig Brewery, Shere-e-Punjab, and Diego’s Cantina; to Delaware County Parks & Recreation; and to Project Stream, a grant initiative of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts that is regionally administered by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. 

Looking forward to Summer 2021’s Arts in the Park…

As an audience-in-the-making wound its way towards prime viewing locations and settled into a wide variety of portable seating, lounging and picnic dining options, the historic stage area of Glen Providence Park graced them with its serene, sultry, late summer best – an environment that proved to be the perfect setting for the smooth, heartfelt musical stylings of Bill Ricchini of Summer Fiction.

Mr. Ricchini, solo, with his acoustic guitar, delivered a list of original tunes, among them his hits Dirty Blonde, Passion, and Higher Than Heaven with a spare simplicity that served to highlight his signature lyrical intensity. He prefaced each song with a behind-the-scenes glimpse into his inspiration, and, in one interlude, introduced family members who took this opportunity to catch him in this rare local performance.

Bill closed the performance with Tell Me Once, a gently introspective musing that offered a fitting close to the 8th season of concerts produced by the Friends of Glen Providence Park.

Editor’s note: Check out a wonderful video of his performance of Kids in Catalina posted on Facebook by audience member Carol Tendall Carmon!

Many thanks to all who made this concert possible: Delaware County Parks & Recreation; a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; Concert Series Sponsors Media Recreation Board, West End Flats, and Media Open Streets; Concert Sponsor Diego’s Cantina; our volunteer Concert Committee; Marcia Tate for her artful decoration of the stage; and of course Bill Ricchini!

Our 2019 Arts in the Park was made possible by funding from Project Stream, a grant initiative of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts that is regionally administered by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. 

With our 2020 Arts in the Park postponed to 2021 due to COVID, we’re wistfully looking back at 2019… The Bickel Brothers Band performed on August 17:

In addition to their loyal local fans and regional followers, the Bickel Brothers Band brought their performing “A game” to the historical Glen Providence stage on a prototypical Media midsummer Saturday evening.

Friends of Glen Providence Park concert committee member Paul Schlenker introduced the band, and, from their first notes, it was a single solid set of their signature mashup of Blues, Funk, and soulful Jazz.

Among their offerings of fabulous original tunes and incredibly tight covers was their standout interpretation of the Stevie Wonder smash hit Living For The City. With pure musical mastery, the five “Brothers” took this tune into the stratosphere and then guided it back to earth for a finale that brought the crowd to its feet. Had he been there, Mr. Wonder would have been cheering along with them.

Many thanks to all who made this concert possible: Delaware County Parks & Recreation; a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; Concert Series Sponsors Media Recreation Board, West End Flats, and Media Open Streets; Concert Sponsor Sterling Pig Brewery; our volunteer Concert Committee; Marcia Tate for her artful decoration of the stage; the hundreds of people who attended; and of course the Bickel Brothers Band!

Our 2019 Arts in the Park was made possible by funding from Project Stream, a grant initiative of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts that is regionally administered by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. 

Click on any photo for a closer look, or scroll through to see what it was like! Photos by George Tate.

Under a cloudless evening sky on July 13, with a zero percent chance of precipitation, an audience-in-the-making filtered down State Street into the freshly-mown Glen anticipating a 100 percent chance of excellent live musical entertainment. And self-described “melodic songstress” Birdie Busch delivered – well beyond expectation.

While folks on blankets, folding chairs, and a few inflatable “couches” packed the lawn as usual, sit-down style picnic feasts — some simple, some deliciously elaborate — are making more frequent appearances on the tables placed throughout the audience.

Birdie opened her performance with the exquisite ballad Secret Hour and from that first moment, she held the crowd in thrall to her introspective lyrics and soft, clear voice.

Her performance-burnished Kay acoustic/electric guitar laid a vintage filter over her all-original set including the toe-tappers Go Go Gadget Heart and Keys to The Car and heartfelt nostalgia of Heel to Toe and Sing Song Girl.

Ms. Busch spoke directly to the audience frequently throughout her performance, detailing the life experiences that inspired her pieces and, in turn, commenting on the look and feel of the Park itself. Before closing her set with the tender reminiscence Gigi, Birdie commented, “If I could walk to a setting like this in my neighborhood and get free live music, I would be thrilled! Media, you’re really lucky to have this”.

Agreed Birdie, we certainly are.

Editor’s note: Check out the delightful photos by George Tate below, and you can also see a wonderful 1-minute video from the performance posted on Facebook by audience member Carol Tendall Carmon!

Many thanks to all who made this concert possible: Delaware County Parks & Recreation; a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; Concert Series Sponsors Media Recreation Board, West End Flats, and Media Open Streets; Concert Sponsor Seven Stones Gallery; our volunteer Concert Committee; Marcia Tate for her artful decoration of the stage; the hundreds of people who attended; and of course Birdie Busch!

This summer’s Arts in the Park was made possible by funding from Project Stream, a grant initiative of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts that is regionally administered by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. 

Click on any photo for a closer look, or scroll through to see what it was like!

Saturday was the inaugural day for the Borough’s newest event, Media Open Streets! After yet another rainy week at the end of an incredibly rainy summer, it was a gorgeous, clear morning, and families came out in numbers to ride and walk along the streets – which were closed to vehicle traffic – and to enjoy activities along the way! The route spanned from Jackson Street & Providence Road on one end to Glen Providence Park at the other. 

At the Glen Providence entrance, we were lucky to have as neighbors: plein air painters with Media Arts Council, light bike repairs with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, wool spinning with the Media Historical Society, and frisbee-throwing robots!

In the park were yoga with First United Methodist Church of Media, salsa and more yoga with Salsa in the Suburbs Dance Studio, and performances by the Media Theatre!

Thank you to Transition Town Media and other volunteers for all of their hard work organizing this event!

Here are a few photos from the event – click on any for a closer look!

Photos by author

As we post details for each month, we will link to that event with information and logistics.  All events are free, family-friendly, and open to the public – we hope to see you in the park!

Friends of Glen Providence Park
2017 Schedule of Events

Schedule subject to change – please check back to confirm times, details, and meeting locations.

Citizen Science: Winter Tree Mapping with Shannon Davidson & Marcia Tate
Saturday, January 28, 2-4:00pm
Meet at 3rd & Kirk entrance
Rain/snow date Sunday, January 29

Winter Naturalist Walk & Talk with Chris McNichol
Saturday, February 11, 10:00-12:00 noon
Meet at State Street entrance
Rain, snow, or shine

Early Spring Clean-up – snow date!
Saturday, March 25, 9:30-11:00am
Meet at State Street entrance
Rain/snow date Sunday, March 26

CRC Streams Clean-up – on Earth Day!
Saturday, April 22, 9-11:00
Meet at State Street entrance
Rain or shine

Spring Bird Walk with Tom Bush
Saturday, May 6, 7:30-9:30am
Meet at 3rd & Kirk entrance
Rain or shine

Arts in the Park: Master Storyteller Odds Bodkin
Saturday, June 3, 5:00-6:30
Rain date Sunday, June 4

Arts in the Park: Splintered Sunlight
Saturday, July 8, 5:00-6:30
Rain date Sunday, July 9

Arts in the Park: Jeffrey Gaines
Saturday, August 12, 5:00-6:30
Rain date Sunday, August 13

Arts in the Park: Eco del Sur
Saturday, September 9, 5:00-6:30
Rain date Sunday, September 10

National Public Lands Day
Saturday, September 30, 9–12:00 noon
Rain date Sunday, October 1

Kids Nature Walk with Holly Hoffmann & Aura Lester
Saturday, October 7, 10:30-12:00 noon
Meet at State Street entrance
Rain date Sunday, October 8, 10:30-12:00 noon

History & Nature Walk with Stephanie Gaboriault & Marcia Tate
Saturday, November 4, 2:00-4:00pm
Meet at State Street entrance
Rain date Sunday, November 5

Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, December 16, 8-10:00am
Meet at 3rd & West Street entrance
Rain, snow, or shine

And don’t forget the Great Media Easter Egg Hunt held by Media Lions & McCarrin Chiropractic – it’s the park’s longest-running event, held annually since 1954!  This year’s date is Saturday, April 8 at 11:00am (sharp!), with a rain date of Sunday, April 9 at 1:00pm.

2014-2015 Biennial Report

Friends of Glen Providence Park first met on July 14, 2011 at Seven Stones Café in Media. We organized in response to the threat to the north end of the park by the reconstruction of Broomall’s Dam, and we continue to advocate to minimize damage to the park’s wetlands, wildlife and plants. Our activities quickly expanded to nature walks, citizen science, plantings and more, and we’ve tallied some of our accomplishments from the past 5 years…

Friends of Glen Providence Park by the numbers:

• Monthly nature walks and volunteer events since September 2011, including:
  • 12 park cleanups
  • Annual planting days since 2012, with 150 native trees, shrubs, and perennials planted
• Invasive plant removal: over 250 bags cleared from along the trails
• Citizen Science: over 200 plant and wildlife species documented, including 19 reptiles & amphibians, 126 birds, and 54 trees
• Extensive historical research: compiled in 27 articles on our website, and counting!
• Concerts: After clearing the historical concert stage at our first volunteer event, we have presented 12  free community concerts since 2012 – with 3 more performances scheduled this summer
• Photography: over 900 wildlife, plant, scenery, historical, and event photographs on Facebook, and hundreds on our website – including a seasonal photojournal since August 2011
• Communications: regular outreach and education about the park on our website, and to our 750 facebook fans and 380 newsletter subscribers
• Countless volunteer hours!

We are all-volunteer nonprofit organization, and all of our events are free and family-friendly. Our mission is “to preserve and enhance the natural and historical resource of Delaware County’s oldest park, founded in 1935 as a bird sanctuary and arboretum.” Last year, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of Glen Providence Park with the grandchildren of park founders George and Eleanor Butler!

You can find out more about all of our activities by exploring the Menu, Categories, and Tags on our website – including Annual Reports full of photos documenting our activities.

A special thank you to Delaware County Parks & Recreation for their support of our activities and efforts in Glen Providence Park, and for all they do to maintain the 600+ acres of Delaware County parks.

Thank you to all who have followed us through our website, facebook, and newsletter; attended our events; joined our committees; attended Borough meetings; lent their expertise; volunteered; led our nature walks; and even donated to support our efforts.

We are happy to see so much community support for Glen Providence Park!

Stephanie Gaboriault, President
Marcia Tate, Vice President
Holly Hoffmann, Treasurer
Shannon Davidson, Secretary
Dylan Atkins, Board of Directors
Lisa Johnson, Board of Directors
Rick Sleutaris, Board of Directors

Annual Report links:

2012 Annual Report: July 2011 – December 2012
2013 Annual Report
2014-2015 Biennial Report

Also sent as a Letter to the Editor in July 2016.

Many Media-area residents have memories of the decades of July 4th festivities and fireworks displays in Glen Providence Park! Annual July 4th fireworks spanned 35 years, from 1952 to 1986. The fireworks drew crowds in the thousands, with 10,000 estimated in 1958! July 4th celebrations included contests, concerts, Revolutionary battle reenactments(!), and movies. Chester Times and Daily Times articles track the evolution of these festivities in the park.

1950 Centennial Celebration

The first instance we could find of fireworks in Glen Providence was not for July 4th, but for the exuberant week-long Media Borough Centennial celebrations in June 1950, attended by Governor James H. Duff! On Monday, June 5, that day’s “motorcade parade” route ended at Glen Providence, where the US Air Force Band played and the Governor spoke – all followed by the  “brilliant spectacle of aerial fireworks” in the park.

There are at least two other times when Glen Providence Park hosted fireworks for non-July 4th festivities – for “Media Week” in August 1951, and “Pennsylvania Week” in October 1954. There seems to have been a lot of civic pride in the 1950’s!

1955 fireworks in Chester Times

Start of a Tradition

The first July 4th fireworks in the park were in 1952, as part of quite a celebration! After a musical program with singing, dancing, and instrumental and baton twirling competitions(!), “In the evening the entire community will come together in a gigantic evening music festival, which will feature a motion picture and a fireworks display that will equal the aerial beauty of the Media Centennial fireworks.”

It is unclear whether there were fireworks in 1953, but by 1954 an annual tradition had begun, with fireworks held most years until the last fireworks in the park in 1986. Early fireworks were sponsored by the Media Businessmen’s Association, then were abandoned in 1961. In 1962, the tradition was reinitiated by the Media Junior Chamber of Commerce (later called the Media Jaycees), until at least 1974. The Jaycees also ran the Great Media Easter Egg Hunt in Glen Providence Park for over 30 years, from 1954 to around 1989!

Concerts & Kids

Most years, fireworks were preceded by concerts at the historical stage in the Glen Providence Park. Performers included the Media High School Band, Elwyn School Band, Fawns all-girl drum and bugle corps, barbershop quartets, Delco-Aires, Delco-Ordinators, and Haverfordians. In 1970, the Jaycees shook things ups with “a two-hour open-air “rock” band festival preceding the fireworks” featuring The Final Assembly and The Brass Menagerie.

Years of firemen’s parades in Media preceded the concerts, and there were other activities and free ice cream for children at the celebrations in Glen Providence. As described in 1971, “The Jaycees will fill a gallon jug with beans… Girls and boys will be asked to judge how many beans are in the jug and during the evening two bicycles will be awarded.”  Member Jaycees would also distribute American flags to children in the park.

Redcoats in the Park?!

The most unique pre-fireworks event in Glen Providence was a mock Revolutionary battle  in 1972! “The Battle Between the Redcoats and the Patriots” was enacted by Moody’s Militia, a Delaware County historical group.  “In Tuesday’s battle, the British will come from the left side of the pond in the park… They will attempt to capture an artillery piece held by American forces. The artillerymen, resplendent in gold braid and yellow all over their coats, will get help from the infantry which will try an encirclement movement, popping from behind trees and brush. Muskets will fire blank charges of black powder, and cries and shouts of the participants will be realistic.”  This was followed by a craft show in the park, then folk singing before the fireworks!   

Paring down the festivities

With all the side events, the fireworks remained the central element of July 4th celebrations. In 1974, the Jaycees reported, “Because we are strapped for money, our annual gala… has been trimmed to the bare essentials.” The “main essential” was the fireworks, “which annually draws 7,000 to 8,000 persons at dusk to Glen Providence Park.” Preserving the patriotic intent of the event, the Jaycees also budgeted for 2,000 free American flags for the crowd. There would, however, be no concert or parade. Sometime after 1974, Media Borough took over the annual fireworks, and aside from music and dancing in 1976 for the Bicentennial, it is unclear whether there were more July 4th concerts.

In a sad chapter in the annual fireworks, there were fights after the fireworks in 1972, 1973 and 1974, with the 1974 fights requiring a response by 50 police officers from eight departments. Fortunately this did not end the annual fireworks, which continued for another twelve years.

The end of a decades-long tradition

In two 1987 articles, the Philadelphia Inquirer documented the decision by Media Borough and Delaware County to cancel the annual fireworks, due to “crowd control problems in 1986,” safety concerns, and liability insurance.

“Media Fire Chief James Jefferies said that as other communities, such as Springfield and Marple Townships, eliminated their firework displays, the crowds in Media increased. ‘Last time people were actually sitting on State Street,’ Jefferies said. ‘There just would not have been a way for the police to get into the park to assist anyone and to get someone out of the park. You could not even form a lane on State Street.’”

There had also been an accident in 1986 where a man sustained second-degree burns to his leg, and was treated at Riddle Memorial Hospital. Delaware County Fire Marshal George T. Lewis Jr. indicated that “The people watching the fireworks at Glen Providence Park were within 50 feet of the display,” while the borough’s insurance required watchers to be seated at least 600 feet from the fireworks display – which would mean the watchers would have had to be seated outside the park, no closer than Lemon Street.

The end of the fireworks “also marked the end of a long tradition involving the Valenti family and Media. John Valenti, who came to Media in 1911, and later his son, Robert, were responsible for many years of fireworks displays in the borough” – John Valenti was listed among members of the fireworks committee in 1954. It was reported that in 1987, Robert Valenti went on to set off fireworks for Lansdowne.

The July 4th fireworks in Glen Providence Park had an amazing run, but  it is hard now to imagine thousands of people in the park, and it is certainly understandable why they ended! As there seems little chance of fireworks returning to the park, the annual July 4th fireworks will remain an exciting chapter in Glen Providence Park’s history.

In all of the articles about fireworks in the park, we only found one photograph from 1955! If you have any photos of the July 4th fireworks and festivities that you are willing to share, please email me at FriendsoftheGlen [at] gmail [dot] com.

Sources:

Chester Times and Delaware County Daily Times  articles researched on the Newspaper Archives of Delaware County Library:

Chester Times:
Centennial Program, June 2, 1950
Media Crowded, June 5, 1950
Media Holds Open House, August 16, 1951
Evening Festival, July 3, 1952
Media Reveals Program for July 4 Affair, May 25, 1954
Media BMA Ups Cost of July 4 Celebration, June 8, 1954
Parade, October 13, 1954
Media’s July 4 Plans Approved, May 24, 1955
Fireworks Sparkle at July 4th Fete, July 5, 1955
7 Fireworks Displays Set, July 3, 1956
Media Plans Gala 4th Celebration; Fireworks to Close Day’s Events, June 26, 1958
10,000 Watch Media Show, July 5, 1958
Media Plans All-Day July 4th Celebration, June 18, 1959

Daily Times:
Parade to Feature Celebration, June 25, 1960
Fancy Fourth Planned, June 30, 1962
County Marks Holiday, July 3, 1963
Fireworks To Be Seen, July 3, 1964
Fireworks Displays, July 3, 1965
Media July 4 Plans Announced, July 1, 1966
Community Fireworks Shows Listed, July 3, 1968
11 Areas Schedule Fireworks, July 3, 1969
County Communities Schedule July 4 Programs, July 3, 1970
Countians to help Nation Mark Birthday, July 3, 1971
Moody’s Militia to Battle in Media, July 1, 1972
Police say 42,000 watched fireworks displays in county, July 5, 1972
Media, July 3, 1974
Street fights follow fireworks in Media, July 5, 1974
4 arrested following Media fights, July 6, 1974
Great weather for fireworks, July 4, 1975
Media to note Bicen Saturday, July 9, 1976
Media, July 1, 1977

Philadelphia Inquirer on Philly.com:
Annual Fireworks Canceled; Problems with ‘86 Crowd Cited, June 21, 1987
Accident Halts Fireworks Displays in Media, July 2, 1987

The Great Media Easter Egg Hunt is Glen Providence Park’s longest-running event… the Egg Hunt has been held on the Sledding Hill annually since 1954!  The pre-hunt anticipation is captured in this 1963 Chester Times photograph, captioned “Anxious hunters prepare to stalk their prey – Easter Eggs – at Media Jaycees’ Annual Hunt”.  As far as we know, the Egg Hunt has run continuously for 58 years!

And Easter has been celebrated in Glen Providence Park even farther back than that: Easter Sunrise Services were held in the park from 1947 through at least 1950… at 6:30 am(!).  The park guard would plant flowers specifically to bloom for Easter Services!

The Media Jaycees, “the United States Junior Chamber”, started the Easter Egg Hunt in 1954, and they continued it to at least 1975.  While there is a gap in newspaper coverage, as far as we know, the Media Jaycees ran the event until about 1989.  Around 1990, the Media Business Authority took over the organization of the Egg Hunt, which they continued for almost 20 years.  In 2008, long-time event sponsor the Media Lions Club took over the event with  McCarrin Chiropractic as the sponsor- this is their 5th year organizing the Egg Hunt.

First Egg Hunt in 4-19-1954 Chester Times

Running this event is no small task- it involves filling and hiding over 4,000 eggs!  Volunteers also clean debris- and of course there is the traditional visit from the Easter Bunny to coordinate.  Articles show that there were once “golden eggs” hidden, with the lucky finders getting special prizes… one long-time resident told us the grand prize was once a bike!

Thank you to the Media Business Authority, the Media Lions Club and McCarrin Chiropractic for their years of work to continue this wonderful community tradition!

Experience it this weekend:

The 2012 Great Media Easter Egg Hunt at Glen Providence Park!
Main entrance on State Street
Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 11:00 am
Rain date: Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 1:00 pm

2013 Update:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 11:00 am
Rain date: Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 1:00 pm 

2014 Update:
Saturday, April 12 at 11:00
Rain date: Sunday, April 13 at 1:00

2015 Update:
Saturday, March 28 at 11:00
Rain date: Sunday, March 29 at 1:00

While it is the longest-running, the Egg Hunt is just one of many events that have been held in the Glen Providence Park through the years- including fireworks, Haunted Woods, and fishing derbies!  Read more in our article 76 years in the park: the Swamp Man, pie eating contests & more!