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.

After being postponed by the rain and wind brought by Hurricane Ian, on Saturday Friends of Glen Providence Park held our 10th annual plantings for National Public Lands Day. Twenty-six adults and teens volunteered for a combined 94 hours digging, planting, mulching, installing deer fencing, and watering, all to improve wildlife habitat in Glen Providence!

This was Phase Four of our Kirk Lane project, which we started on National Public Lands Days in 2015, 2016 and 2019. We expanded on previous plantings with an additional 17 native trees and shrubs, and 13 native woodland plants – the complete list is below. The plants benefit wildlife by providing seeds, nuts, fruits, and nectar for mammals, birds, butterflies, and other pollinators, all while helping to slow down and absorb surface storm water runoff.

In addition, many of the plants provide food for humans – adding to the food forest we have started by the Kirk Lane entrance in previous years.

Thank you to the 26 volunteers who worked diligently all morning (and some into the afternoon!), and all who made this project possible:

Delaware County Parks & Recreation provided the funding for the plants and delivered a new bench and the mulch. Delaware County Conservation District delivered their Conservation Planting Trailer full of all of the tools we could need! Garden Influence and Redbud Native Plant Nursery provided invaluable expertise, Taylor Memorial Arboretum donated additional woodland plants, and Friends of Glen Providence Park donors funded the deer fencing and posts, snacks, two special trees, and other supplies for this project.

Additional groups of volunteers from Penncrest High School and Springton Lake Middle School provided invaluable manpower, and neighbors of the park allowed us to run a hose from their house to water the plantings. Cafe Isla donated coffee to fuel our volunteers, and Pinocchio’s Restaurant donated pizza for lunch. We are grateful to all of these people for making the plantings possible!

Here’s our native plant list from October 15, 2022.

And check out our photos (and video!) below:

This year was our 10th National Public Lands Day volunteering in Glen Providence Park! On Saturday, October 2, 27 lovely adults and kids volunteered a combined 101 hours removing and reusing deer fencing, installing tree guards, weeding, digging, planting, mulching, and watering. In addition, eight volunteers worked on site more than 20 combined hours the Friday before, preparing the site and carrying supplies down the hill.

Over the past ten years, we had planted over 222 native trees and shrubs in the glen. At this year’s event, we prioritized the maintenance of the existing plantings – we removed deer fencing from trees and shrubs that outgrew them, replacing a number of them with tree guards. We reused most of that fencing on new native trees and shrubs! We worked in the area of our 2017 Wildlife Habitat Plantings below the sledding hill fence, and our 2012 and 2014 Streamside Buffer Plantings below the pavilion and along the streambank. We also removed 21(!) contractor bags of invasive Japanese Stiltgrass from around the plantings!

The native trees, shrubs, and woodland plants help to restore the forest, protect the stream, and stabilize the hillside and streambank. In addition to helping control erosion, the plants benefit wildlife by providing habitat and seeds, nuts, fruits, and nectar for mammals, birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. We planted 27 native trees and shrubs, and 17 woodland plants – the complete list is below.

Thank you! We have so many to thank for their help with this project… starting with all those wonderful volunteers! It is inspiring to work with people who are generous and dedicated enough to our environment to spend a beautiful Saturday morning working to care for and plant trees.

Delaware County Parks & Recreation provided the funding for the plants and delivered the mulch. Delaware County Conservation District delivered their Conservation Planting Trailer full of all of the tools we could need! Friends of Glen Providence Park donors funded the tree guards, pizza, water, and coffee for volunteers, and other supplies for this project. Neighbors of the park allowed us to run a hose downhill from their house to water the plantings. Carol Carmon volunteered her time to video the bustle of activity. Keep Media Green and Media Rotary both helped recruit volunteers!

Garden Influence and Redbud Native Plant Nursery provided invaluable expertise selecting 20 native trees, shrubs, and perennials, Taylor Memorial Arboretum donated nine additional trees and shrubs, Garden Influence donated six additional woodland plants, and Patrick Burke donated five additional trees (and donuts)!

As a bonus, John Wenderoth donated three American Chestnuts, back-crossed with Chinese Chestnut pollen, which were grown at Mount Cuba’s nursery in Delaware. These were planted by the Kirk Lane entrance with our previous American Chestnut plantings – read more about American Chestnuts in Glen Providence Park and the efforts to restore this magnificent tree!

We are grateful to all of these people for making the plantings possible!

The next time you are in Glen Providence Park, look for these native plants, and check out the photos below – just click on any for a closer look or to scroll through them. Carol Carmon’s video on YouTube of our planting gives an excellent overview of the morning’s purpose and activity!

Trees:

• White Spruce, Picea glauca – 4
• Arborvitae, Thuja sp. – 1
• American Persimmon, Diospyros virginiana – 2
• Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis – 1
• Paw Paw, Asimina triloba – 3
• Washington Hawthorne, Crataegus phaenopyrum – 1
• Fringetree, Chionanthus virginicus – 1
• (At Kirk Lane) Hybrid American Chestnuts, Castanea dentata – 3

Shrubs:

• Virginia sweetspire ‘Merlot’, Itea virginica – 3
• Black Chokeberry ‘Viking’, Aronia melanocarpa – 1
• Black Chokeberry ‘Low Scape’,  Aronia melanocarpa – 1
• Blueberry ‘Jersey’, ‘Elizabeth’, & ‘Patriot’ Vaccinium corymbosum – 6

Woodland plants:

• Dixie Wood Fern, Dryopteris australis – 2
• Royal Fern, Osmunda regalis – 2
• Blue Mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum – 3
• Hairy alum root ‘Autumn Bride’ Heuchera villosa – 3
• Wild Geranium ‘Espresso’, Geranium maculatum – 3
• Northern Sea Oats,  Chasmanthium latifolium – 3
• Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense – 1

Photos by George Tate, Stephanie Gaboriault, and Carol Carmon. Video by Carol Carmon.

You have likely noticed the seemingly whimsical stacks of rocks along the stream in Glen Providence Park. People have also been moving rocks in the stream to dam and redirect sections, and presumably to make it easier to cross on foot. We believe these activities are well-intentioned, but moving rocks in and around the stream has unintended negative consequences. 

First, it is harmful to wildlife

To quote Ben Lorson, of the PA Fish and Boat Commission’s Habitat Division, “A stream’s bottom — the substrate — has its own micro-habitats. The substrate provides the base of the aquatic food chain — from algae to macro-invertebrates all the way up to game fish. The surfaces of the rocks and the cracks and crevices between them are very important as habitat…”  

And from ausableriver.org: “Salamanders and crayfish also make their homes under rocks, and rock moving can destroy their homes, and even lead to direct mortality of these creatures. Every single rock is potentially a home to the larval stages of aquatic insects, including dragonflies, damselflies, mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies, and many others. They cling to rocks and capture drifting food particles. By moving and stacking rocks, the insects that are attached to or living on the rocks can be desiccated and burned by the sun.”

It is also causing erosion

Much of the rock-moving that has occurred has directed water outwards towards the streambanks, where it is worsening the already severe erosion. Large trees have been undercut by the stream and fallen. Over the years, our Friday morning Conservation Crew has worked to remove log jams in the stream — this is important to direct water away from the streambanks. Constructing dams, redirections, and crossings in the stream has the opposite, negative effect — it directs water to the sides, towards the already-severely-eroded streambanks. 

The County is looking at long-term solutions for the pond and stream to address the ongoing erosion and other issues, but it will take several years before large-scale solutions can be implemented. Until then, it is especially important that the water flow towards the center of the stream and away from the streambanks to minimize the already severe erosion.

We discourage any moving of rocks in or around the stream, without first consulting with Delaware County Parks & Recreation and/or the Delaware County Conservation District. 

We were saddened to cancel our annual native tree planting for National Public Lands Day this fall due to COVID-19, as it is one of our favorite events! However, in 2019 and 2020, volunteers have planted 32 native trees and shrubs – and dozens of woodland plants – by the Kirk Lane entrance to Glen Providence Park.

In October 2019, we completed Phase Three of our Wildlife Habitat Plantings at the entrance and along the Scouts Loop trail. In both April 2019 and November 2020, our PA State Representative Chris Quinn planted a tree for Arbor Day. And in July 2020, volunteers planted three hybrid American Chestnut trees. All of these native plantings will benefit future generations of humans and wildlife!

National Public Lands Day
Saturday, October 5, 2019

Last Fall, 40 lovely adults, teens, and kids volunteered a combined 107 hours digging, planting, mulching, installing deer fencing, raking, and watering, all to improve wildlife habitat in Glen Providence!

This was Phase Three of our Kirk Lane project, which we started on National Public Lands Days in 2015 and 2016. We expanded on previous plantings with an additional 27 native trees and shrubs, and 50 native woodland plants – the complete list is below. The plants benefit wildlife by providing seeds, nuts, fruits, and nectar for mammals, birds, butterflies, and other pollinators, in addition to helping to slow down and absorb surface storm water runoff.

This project demonstrated the wonderful range of community groups and volunteers who come together to help in Glen Providence Park:

Delaware County Parks & Recreation provided the funding for the plants and delivered the mulch. Delaware County Conservation District delivered their Conservation Planting Trailer full of all of the tools we could need! Garden Influence and Redbud Native Plant Nursery provided invaluable expertise, Taylor Memorial Arboretum and Garden Influence donated additional woodland plants, and Friends of Glen Providence Park donors funded the deer fencing, posts, and other supplies for this project.

Additional groups of volunteers from Media Rotary and Springton Lake Middle School provided invaluable manpower, and neighbors of the park allowed us to run a hose from their house to water the plantings. Cafe Isla donated coffee to fuel our volunteers, and our PA State Rep. Chris Quinn both helped with the planting, and paid for and picked up pizza for lunch. We are grateful to all of these people for making the plantings possible!

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Plantings by PA State Representative Chris Quinn
Arbor Day 2019 & November 2020

Chris Quinn has planted two other native trees in the park by Kirk Lane – a Willow Oak for Arbor Day in 2019, and a magnificent “Green Gable” Black Tupelo today! He purchased both trees and planted them with us. We are grateful for his generosity, and that he chose Glen Providence Park for Arbor Day plantings!

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Trees from the American Chestnut Foundation
July 2020

Ron Brzowski and Pat Burke planted three hybrid American Chestnut saplings near two hybrids we planted with Ron in 2016. We were able to re-use deer fencing from some of our previous plantings. The trees were donated by Tyler Arboretum’s American Chestnut Nursery via The American Chestnut Foundation, and they were grown at the Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Delaware. It’s all part of a decades-long effort to restore the majestic American Chestnuts that once dominated our eastern woods, but were decimated by a blight in the early 1900’s.

To learn more, visit the American Chestnut Foundation website or read about the chestnut’s local history and the two surviving pure American Chestnuts we found in Glen Providence. Thank you to Ron and Pat for planting and tending to the Chestnut trees in Glen Providence!

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Here’s our native plant list from National Public Lands Day in October 2019. And check out our photos from our planting days!

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George and Eleanor Butler donated the land for Glen Providence Park in the summer of 1935, and work started on October 31, 1935 – making Halloween Glen Providence Park’s birthday! Coincidentally(?), some spooky-strange tales from local folklore take place in and around the park, and it has hosted some spook-tacular Halloween events.

It was the local ghost and witch stories recounted in the early 1900’s by Dr. Anna E. Broomall that led us to discover the rich pre-park history of Glen Providence, from the time it was called Scroggie Valley!  Dr. Broomall was the daughter of Judge John M. Broomall, who had owned the land that is now Glen Providence Park from about 1864 until his death in 1894.  

“Back in the early days of this region before civilization had turned too strong a light on things occult, the neighborhood was peopled with its full quota of goblins and ghosts and witches…” You can read the rest of Dr. Broomall’s telling of the 1700’s story of newlywed ghosts haunting the park, and the 1800’s story of three witch sisters tormenting the local miller, and of their Witches’ Ride in the park.  Both stories are annotated with our historical research and maps.

In the 1980’s, Delaware County Parks & Recreation held frightening Halloween Hauntings in Glen Providence, with Freddy Kruger, a chain saw man, Dracula, and even water creatures in the pond! My favorite newspaper description stated, “After completing the eerie walk, visitors will receive a cup of cider and the director’s assurance that no one will follow them home.” 

Those hauntings were apparently scary enough to help inspire Penncrest grad Gary Dauberman, the horror screenwriter of the 2017 adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “It”! He spoke about it in interviews, telling the Delaware County Daily Times, “I remember going on haunted walks at Glen Providence Park in Media every Halloween, which helped to foster my love of horror at a very young age. So did driving by the Heilbron Mansion on the school bus every day…”

To honor the 80th Anniversary of Glen Providence Park in 2015, we held a Halloween Birthday celebration at the stage, with Hedgerow Theatre enacting Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, and the park’s Ghost and Witch Stories! It was an enchanting evening, with the audience dressed in costumes, ready to head off for trick-or-treating immediately following the performance. 

Halloween events are just some of the park’s wonderful array of activities and events since it opened in 1935. That tradition of community events, and the elegance of the park’s design and structures built by the Works Progress Administration, are why Glen Providence Park was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places!  What a marvelous history it has had…

Happy 85th Birthday, Glen Providence Park!

And, Happy Halloween!

Click on the links in the article above for photos and much more information!

For National Public Lands Day*, the Friends of Glen Providence Park will again plant native trees and shrubs in the glen. This is our 8th annual planting project, working to improve wildlife habitat, reduce erosion, and beautify the park! 

Native Tree & Shrub Planting!

Saturday, October 5
rain date Sunday, October 6
9:00-12:00noon
Glen Providence Park – Kirk Lane entrance
Kirk Lane & Third Street, Upper Providence, PA

Our planting day is one of our most popular and fun events! We are incredibly grateful to Delaware County Parks & Recreation for providing funds for this project, and to the Delaware County Conservation District for the use of its Conservation Planting Trailer and supplies.

To help us plan our time effectively, and to plan for refreshments, we ask that you RSVP for this event at FriendsoftheGlen [AT] gmail.com – please let us know the number of volunteers in your party.

Volunteering details:

We will update this description as we identify other relevant details for volunteers. Please contact us to register.

Estimated time: 9:00am-12:00pm
Lunch and drinks will be provided for registered volunteers.

Activities will include:

• digging holes for the trees and shrubs
• spreading woodchips
• installing deer protection around trees and shrubs
• watering
• Squashing any invasive Spotted Lanternflies…

More logistics:

• We will provide the equipment, including shovels, spades, rakes, and wheelbarrows – but if you have favorite tools, feel free to bring them! If you do bring your own tools, please label them with your name.
• Bring work gloves if you have them.

Rain plan:
Our rain date is Sunday, October 6 at 9:00 am. If the weather is not clear, we will post here and on our facebook wall by 8:45 am Saturday advising whether we will use the rain date.

Thank you, we hope to see you on National Public Lands Day!

* National Public Lands Day is on Saturday, September 28, but we’re celebrating it one week later. 

For the third performance in our free and family-friendly 2019 Arts in the Park, Friends of Glen Providence Park is delighted to present Funky Soul Music with The Bickel Brothers Band! While the band’s roots remain in Funk, Blues, Soul, Jazz, and Groove, it does not conform to any specific genre, remaining consistently fresh and exciting.

Arts in the Park

Saturday, August 17
5:00-6:30 pm – new time this year!
Glen Providence Park Stage, 550 West State Street, Media
Rain date: Sunday, August 18*

Bring a blanket or chair, and relax on the lawn by the historical stage for a late afternoon concert. After the performance, stroll into Media for dinner and shopping, just two blocks away on State Street!

More on the Bickel Brothers: “A truly versatile group of musicians. In short, the Bickel Brothers Band boasts a unique blend of musical influences which all come together into a sonic jambalaya every time they hit the stage.” Check out this video of their performance at Ardmore Music Hall last fall!

Thank you:

• Concert Sponsor Sterling Pig Brewery, the exciting restaurant located on the border of Glen Providence Park, just one block from the main entrance!
• Concert Series Sponsor Media Recreation Board does so much for Media – including summer camp for kids, movies in Barrall Field, the Annual July 4th Celebration, and the Great Media Garage Sale Days.
• Concert Series Sponsor West End Flats is the bold, upscale new apartment building, one block from the park’s main entrance.
• Concert Series Sponsor Media Open Streets had an exciting inaugural event in 2018, and will hold its second annual event on Saturday, September 28.
• Delaware County Parks & Recreation has cared for Glen Providence Park since its creation on Halloween, 1935!
• 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.

*RAIN DATE: If the weather is questionable, we will post on Facebook and on our website by 1:00 Saturday whether we will use our Sunday rain date.

For more logistics, and for information on our June, July, and September performances, please see our 2019 Arts in the Park announcement!

On June 1st – an exquisite spring evening – the audience with their blankets, chairs and the occasional basket of picnic treats settled across the hillside as the historic 1937 stage played host to the Academy of International Ballet. This talented troupe of young dance students performed a series of vignettes in a broad range of dance styles from hip-hop bounce and modern interpretive movement to the willow-like elegance of classical ballet.

The early evening light glinted and sparkled from sequins and silk as the performers glided, pranced, rolled, spun, and quite literally flew, against the backdrop of weathered stone and spring foliage. The most dramatic leaps and twirls generated spontaneous bursts of applause from the appreciative audience and a few of the very young among them, in rapt inspiration, did their best to emulate the fluid choreography on offer.

Additionally, an artist-member of the Media Arts Council used this visually dynamic opportunity to create a plein-air interpretation of this first in the four-event 2019 Arts in the Park series.

The captivatingly enthusiastic and dedicated performers and their instructors at the Academy of International Ballet have kicked (and twirled and leapt) the Friend’s eighth year of outdoor entertainment events into high gear.

Editor’s note: Check out the delightful photos by George Tate below, and you can also see an enchanting 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 the Academy of International Ballet!

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!

For the second performance in our free and family-friendly 2019 Arts in the Park, Friends of Glen Providence Park is delighted to present Melodic Songstress Birdie Busch! Her atmospheric folk, which often aches with strains of country-blues, jumps out with a rockabilly swagger and blushes with whimsical telling-you-a-secret lilt that’s all her own.

Arts in the Park

Saturday, July 13
5:00-6:30 pm – new time this year!
Glen Providence Park Stage, 550 West State Street, Media
Rain date: Sunday, July 14*

Bring a blanket or chair, and relax on the lawn by the historical stage for a late afternoon concert. After the performance, stroll into Media for dinner and shopping, just two blocks away on State Street!

Excerpts from some of Birdie’s reviews:

• NPR: Philadelphia singer Birdie Busch is a local favorite. She’s even got something of a fan club in the WXPN studios. Her blend of traditional and contemporary folk, delivered in her powerful alto, exudes emotion and uncanny wit. – for World Cafe Live
• Nashville Scene: Emily “Birdie” Busch marries the folkie aesthetic with something altogether more rhythmic, felt and astringent. She displays the born songwriter’s structural knack and flair for the unobtrusive hook. —Edd Hurt
• iTunes: Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter Birdie Busch has one of those voices that draws you in on the first phrase and breathes you out at the end of the record.

Thank you:

• Concert Sponsor Seven Stones Gallery offers an extensive selection of both traditional and contemporary jewelry, pottery, art and Native American crafts including a large array of Zuni hand carved fetishes. And it’s located just over 2 blocks from the entrance to the park!.
• Concert Series Sponsor Media Recreation Board does so much for Media – including summer camp for kids, movies in Barrall Field, the Annual July 4th Celebration, and the Great Media Garage Sale Days.
• Concert Series Sponsor West End Flats is the bold, upscale new apartment building, one block from the park’s main entrance.
• Concert Series Sponsor Media Open Streets had an exciting inaugural event in 2018, and will hold its second annual event on Saturday, September 28.
• Delaware County Parks & Recreation has cared for Glen Providence Park since its creation on Halloween, 1935!
• 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.

*RAIN DATE: If the weather is questionable, we will post on Facebook and on our website by 1:00 Saturday whether we will use our Sunday rain date.

For more logistics, and for information on our June, August, and September performances, please see our 2019 Arts in the Park announcement!