Big Weekend in Swarthmore
Garnet Weekend at Swarthmore College. Photo courtesy of Swarthmore College.
Mary Schmidt Campbell
It will be an exceptionally busy few days in Swarthmore from October 4-7.
At Swarthmore College, it’s Garnet weekend. Part alumni gathering; part family weekend; mostly open to the larger community, Garnet weekend incorporates lectures, open houses, tours and activities, as well as athletic contests. Two particularly interesting events are the Thomas B. McCabe Lecture, to be delivered Saturday at 1:30 p.m. by Mary Schmidt Campbell, Swarthmore class of 1969 and President of Spelman College. She will discuss the new civil rights battleground that is higher education in the talk at the Pearson-Hall Theater of Lang Performing Arts Center. Stretching the weekend a bit, the same venue hosts venerable educator, activist, poet and commentator Nikki Giovanni, speaking on “Grit, Grace and Glow: Celebrating Black Excellence.” Register in advance at 610-328-8355 for this presentation at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, October 7, at LPAC.
Swarthmore town center is busy day and night, starting with October‘s First Friday Celebration and Quizzo at the Swarthmore Co-op from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. On Saturday, Swarthmore Presbyterian Church puts on its annual fall fair, with food, live music, good cheer, games, shopping for homemade baked goods, pumpkins and mums, and flea market treasures, at 727 Harvard Ave. between 9:30 a.m and 2:30 p.m. Swarthmore’s Farmers Market begins at 9:30 as usual, with Swarthmorean publisher Rob Borgstrom performing antique appraisals (book a time slot here!), and see this week’s event calendar on page 4 for other Farmers Market highlights).
A new exhibition called Group Photography opens with a reception tonight, Friday, from 6 to 8 p.m. in Swarthmore Borough Hall. Check out new works by 18 local photographers in the Swarthmore Friends of the Arts annual photo show, which will hang until November 3. Meet the artists and enjoy refreshments at the free reception at Borough Hall, 121 Park Avenue.
Alex's Garden at the Post Office in August, designed by Ron Ricchezza. Photo courtesy of Swarthmore Horticultural Society.
On Saturday evening, perambulate the streets of the Ville from 5 to 7 p.m. as the Swarthmore Horticultural Society hosts a strolling cocktail party through the downtown gardens of Swarthmore town center. Start your wanderings at Gallery on Park at 104 Park Avenue. SHS members stroll free, and non-members have the opportunity to join the society for $30 a year.
Let your stroll wind up at the Swarthmore Recreation Association‘s Oktoberfest fundraiser from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday night, held outdoors on the Co-op patio and adjacent Lincoln Way. This celebration of fall is an adult event with tickets available in advance for $35 and at the door for $40, all to benefit Swarthmore Recreation Association’s programs.
