May Antiques Festival Celebrates History Of United States Centennial Exhibition
Published April 27th, 2008
David Groverman, proprietor of the Centennial CafÈ at historic Ohio House in West Fairmount Park, (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), has announced establishment of The Centennia, a festival of antiques and arts to benefit the Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust.
More than 100 vendors will set up shop in the rolling landscape of the Georges Hill area surrounding Ohio House for three days starting Friday, May 16. They will exhibit and sell a vetted assortment of Victorian antiques as well as those of earlier eras. Outdoor garden ornamentation and related services will also be part of the eclectic mix.
The Centennia aims to revive the spirit of 1876 when nearly 10 million people visited Fairmount Park to experience what was officially known as the “International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine.” Ohio House is one of two remaining structures in Fairmount Park from this first world’s fair; held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and to showcase the growing industrial power and natural resources of the United States. Twenty different quarries from Pennsylvania’s neighbor to the west contributed stone for the sturdy masonry construction of Ohio House.
General admission on Saturday and Sunday is $6 per person with children under 12 free when accompanied by an adult. Hours are 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday and until 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Nearby Memorial Hall is the other Centennial structure in the park and visitors to The Centennia will have an opportunity to learn more about the Please Touch Museum and its anticipated October opening in that building. Food and music are an integral part of any festival and offerings at The Centennia will include refreshment that debuted at the Centennial Exhibition. (Look for root beer and shoofly pie to complement the Centennial CafÈ’s contemporary signature brisket sandwich.) And for music, Centennia-goers can expect to hear the work of legendary composer and John Philip Sousa who played in the first violin section of the Centennial Orchestra. The Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust (www.fairmountparktrust.org) supports the development of resources to restore the significant historic buildings within Philadelphia’s jewel of a public park. Ohio House is the recent recipient of a 2008 Grand Jury Award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. The Centennial CafÈ at historic Ohio House opens at 7:00 a.m. daily for beverages and light fare and brings life to the frequently passed but often overlooked crossroads of Belmont Avenue and Montgomery Drive.
For more information, visit www.thecentennia.com, or call (215) 877-4327.
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