The Berwyn Beat, Holiday Edition

By Nate Feldman 

Snow on the Ground at Frank Johnson Park, Berwyn

Snow Returns to the Philadelphia Area 

There was light snowfall in the Philadelphia area in the late afternoon and throughout the evening on Friday, December 20.  According to weather reports, somewhere between 1-3 inches of snow fell depending on where you were living.  Berwyn saw what appeared to be at least an inch of snow, leaving a white blanket covering the area by Saturday morning.  

More precipitation arrived on Christmas Eve with a wintry mix of snow and ice falling during the mid-morning hours.  However, this tapered off by the afternoon, leaving the area with only a semi-white Christmas.  

Kipper the Dog Enjoying the Snow

Brownie the Cat Getting Warm while It Snows

Young Artists Display Work at Philadelphia's Woodmere Museum 

On Saturday, December 14, the Woodmere Museum in Philadelphia hosted its 31st annual KIDS CARE event, in which young artists from local schools draw pictures based on a theme and have their pictures displayed at the museum's Helen Millard Children's Gallery.  This year, the theme was My Favorite Place.  

The museum's website says the children's artwork are "holiday gifts for people with chronic illnesses," and that after the exhibition, the art is sent to the people accompanied by a holiday meal.  

This year, 30 artworks from Berwyn's T/E Middle School were selected for the event.  The students did a collage, and Sara Feldman's work was used as the cover for the event's program packet and exhibition postcard.

Sara Feldman's Collage at the Woodmere Museum

Frozen Jr. at the Upper Mainline YMCA

The Upper Mainline YMCA's youth theatre program performed Frozen Jr., an adaptation of the Disney classic, at Great Valley High School on December 5, 6, and 7.  There were evening shows all days, as well as an afternoon matinee on the 7th.  Both the cast and the audience had a delightful time performing and watching the show.  

Berwyn, PA Lights the Christmas Tree 

More and more holiday lights are glowing throughout the area as we get closer to Christmas and Hannukah.  On Sunday, December 8, Santa Claus arrived in Berwyn, PA via the local fire company to light up the tree at the town's train station.  A large crowd gathered to enjoy the festivities, which was accompanied by dance performances.  

Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade

Thursday, November 28, was the American Thanksgiving holiday, and the city of Philadelphia held its 105th annual Thanksgiving day Parade, the oldest in the country.  There were floats of different kinds, marching bands, people dressed in costumes, and of course Santa Claus marching through the rain on the streets of the city.  The parade begins in Center City and proceeds along Benjamin Franklin Parkway before reaching the steps at the Philadelphia Art Museum.  

In spite of the cold, dreary weather, people came out to celebrate the holiday and enjoy the festivities. 

Cold Weather and Shopping 

Saturday, November 30, was a cold, snowy day throughout many parts of Upstate New York.  For that reason, many people were doing indoor activities, like doing shopping at the Destiny USA mall in Syracuse.  With the holiday season upon is, more and more people will be spending their free time this way.  

The Berwyn Beat, December 16-21, 2024

 By Nate Feldman

Snow on the Ground at Frank Johnson Park, Berwyn

There was light snowfall in the Philadelphia area in the late afternoon and throughout the evening on Friday, December 20.  According to weather reports, somewhere between 1-3 inches of snow fell depending on where you were living.  Berwyn saw what appeared to be at least an inch of snow, leaving a white blanket covering the area by Saturday morning.  

Kipper the Dog Enjoying the Snow

Brownie the Cat Getting Warm while It Snows

The Berwyn Beat, December 9-15, 2024

By Nate Feldman

Young Artists Display Work at Philadelphia's Woodmere Museum 

On Saturday, December 14, the Woodmere Museum in Philadelphia hosted its 31st annual KIDS CARE event, in which young artists from local schools draw pictures based on a theme and have their pictures displayed at the museum's Helen Millard Children's Gallery.  This year, the theme was My Favorite Place.  

The museum's website says the children's artwork are "holiday gifts for people with chronic illnesses," and that after the exhibition, the art is sent to the people accompanied by a holiday meal.  

This year, 30 artworks from Berwyn's T/E Middle School were selected for the event.  The students did a collage, and Sara Feldman's work was used as the cover for the event's program packet and exhibition postcard.

Sara Feldman's Collage at the Woodmere Museum

This Week in Review, December 1-8, 2024

By Nate Feldman

Frozen Jr. at the Upper Mainline YMCA

The Upper Mainline YMCA's youth theatre program performed Frozen Jr., an adaptation of the Disney classic, at Great Valley High School on December 5, 6, and 7.  There were evening shows all days, as well as an afternoon matinee on the 7th.  Both the cast and the audience had a delightful time performing and watching the show.  

Berwyn, PA Lights the Christmas Tree 

More and more holiday lights are glowing throughout the area as we get closer to Christmas and Hannukah.  On Sunday, December 8, Santa Claus arrived in Berwyn, PA via the local fire company to light up the tree at the town's train station.  A large crowd gathered to enjoy the festivities, which was accompanied by dance performances.  

The Institute by Stephen King.  A Mini-Book Review.

This weekend, I finished reading The Institute by Stephen King.  The 2019 novel tells the story of a sinister government agency that abducts children with both telekinetic and telepathic abilities and performs horrible experiments on them until they die.  It was a very suspenseful tale with memorable characters and great action.  I highly recommend it! 

Being Alone on the Holidays

 By Nate Feldman

What’s it like to be alone at the holidays?  Well, it’s hard to say the least.  This is especially true because the holiday season is constantly promoted as a time of family and gathering with friends.  But, what if you have neither of those? 

There was once that song by Simon and Garfunkel called, “A Most Peculiar Man,” which talked about a guy who lived by himself who eventually gassed himself to death.  That’s an old song now, but there are many people in that exact situation.  They are alone with no connection to the outside world. 

Many people would argue that those people need to get out of their shell and make efforts to connect to the outside world.  That may be true in some cases.  There are people who end up alone simply because they won’t try to meet others. 

However, this is easier said than done.  Some people have certain social anxieties or conditions (I refuse to call them disorders) which make it very, very difficult to build relationships the way that those with better social skills can.  I know there are people who have made great efforts to build relationships with others only to find themselves alone. 

So, going back to the topic at hand, what should someone who is alone at the holiday season do to solve this problem?  I will say something radical here.  If they want to find people, then attend a public social group through something like the Meetup App or go to a religious service of some kind.  Even if they don’t find lifelong friends, they’ll make a connection.  But, that’s not the radical part.  The radical part is to embrace it.  By it, I mean being on your own.