Most people who live in Bucks County, PA know and appreciate the rich history of the area. Named by William Penn after his hometown in England, Bucks County became known for its importance during the Revolutionary War.

For those who are new to the area, or are thinking of moving to Yardley, Newtown or any of our wonderful Bucks County towns, there are many opportunities to immerse yourself in our local history.

Here are just a few:

The Old Library in Yardley

Opened in 1878 on land donated by William Yardley’s heirs, the Yardleyville Library is situated on Lake Afton in the town of Yardley. It was used as a library for the community until 1977, and can now be rented out for events. Visit the website of the Yardley Historical Association for more information on the library and other fun Yardley history-related happenings.

Historic Fallsington

The village of Fallsington grew up around the first Falls Friends Meetinghouse built in 1692 it became significant as a social, market and religious center. This 300 year old village is now a Nationally Registered Historic District, and preserved by Historic Fallsington, Inc.  Step back in time and enjoy the restored homes and visit the museum. Visit the Historic Fallsington website for more information on hours and pricing.

Washington Crossing Historic Park

The site where, on Christmas Night, 1776, George Washington and the Continental Army crossed the icy Delaware River. The park also features the 19th-century village of Taylorsville, Thompson Neely House and gristmill, Bowmans Hill Tower, and picnic areas. Visit the park’s website for more information.

Pearl S. Buck House & Historic Site

Pearl Buck spent most of her life in China, and is famous for her book on Chinese peasant life, The Good Earth. Pearl lived in Perkasie, PA with her second husband from approximately 1935 – 1960.  Enjoy a guided tour of the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s circa 1825 farmhouse and intact collection on a picturesque 68-acre estate. A National Historic Landmark with gift shop, cultural center, beautiful gardens and seasonal special exhibits featured. Find out more info at the Pearl S. Buck International website.

Contact me for more information on living in this wonderful area of Bucks County, PA.

Are you looking for a way to honor a special mother this weekend? Three Bucks County wineries are offering events where you can wine, dine and pamper your favorite mom for Mother’s Day:

Wine Tasting for Moms – Crossing Vineyards in Upper Makefield Township

Sat, May 12, 12:00pm – 1:30pm

Treat your favorite Mom to a delicious afternoon of food, wine and fun. Includes a five-course gourmet food & wine pairing. Cost: $55 per person plus tax and gratuity. Reservation necessary. Call 215-493-6500, ext. 19 or buy on-line at http://www.crossingvineyards.com

Real Diamond Mother’s Day Concert – New Hope Winery in New Hope

Saturday, May 12, 8:00pm

Concert by the Real Diamond tribute band. Real Diamond is a professional band dedicated to the faithful re-creation of the live Neil Diamond experience. Menu available for purchase: Ham Strata, Mixed Greens Salad, and Sangria. Visit New Hope Winery for more information and to purchase tickets.

Mother’s Day Brunch – Sand Castle Winery in Erwinna

Sunday May, 13, 2012, 11:00am – 3:00pm

Treat your mom for a fabulous brunch catered by Crystal Rose Catering at Sand Castle Winery. Ticket includes first course buffet, tableside service for entrée, dessert, and a glass of your favorite Sand Castle wine. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Adults: $35.00, Children: $17.50. Visit Sand Castle Winery for menu and to order tickets.

Bucks County is a great place to live! Contact me to learn more about the area, and buying or selling Bucks County real estate.

28 restaurants will be offering some of their popular appetizers, entrees and desserts to diners as three-course prix fixe meals with several selections available for each course. Some eateries are even offering a four-course meal. Two different price options are available to match your budget: $19.95 for casual restaurants and $29.95 for fine dining establishments.

The varied fare is sure to tempt the taste buds of every patron.  Choices range from Corn-Crusted Tofu Wedges at Café Galleria at Lambertville House to Crab Strudel with Seared Scallops at Logan Inn across the bridge in New Hope.

This is not just an event for local area residents. Visitors from out of town and out of state have been known to spend a vacation week in the New Hope/Lambertville region, exploring our community by day and enjoying a different restaurant every evening.

Reservations are recommended. Visit http://www.visitnewhope.com/restaurant-week/ for more information on participating restaurants and their menus. Great food for great prices; it’s an mouth-watering opportunity that you don’t want to miss!

First, you will have a great opportunity to enjoy a  “Lake Afton Holiday” at  the Old Library building (see photo), situated on beautiful Lake Afton in the center of Yardley Boro.  Run by the Yardley Historical Association,  the Library will be open from 2:00 to 6:00 and, for holiday shoppers, there will be an opportunity to purchase a variety of Yardley themed gifts.

For more information about this, please contact the Yardley Historical Society at 215-493-6253 or email yardleyhistory@yahoo.com, or visit the following link, which will direct you to the Historical Association  website.

Hang around town on Saturday, until 3:30 and enjoy the annual Yardley Olde Fashioned Christmas Parade.  The parade will get under way at 3:30, from the American Legion building, which is on the South end of the Boro, and will proceed North on Main Street.  Yardley Boro will be filled with sights and sounds of the holiday season, for sure.

Hope to see a lot of you out for both of these wonderful, holiday events.  The weather is supposed to be crisp and clear, so it will be a really fun afternoon.

This weekend marks one of our favorite fall festivals in the area, the apple festival at Peddler’s Village.  If you have never been to Peddler’s Village, you are missing out on a treat. With unique and unusual country stores, as well as fun activities for kids and adults, Peddler’s Village is a fabulous destination for the entire family.

The apple festival offers incredible apple treats, including apples dipped in caramel!  There will be live entertainment, and you will totally enjoy this wonderful, traditional, fall celebration. The festival takes place on both Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm, and free (parking is free, too!). Live entertainment and apple pie-eating contests add to the festivities of this traditional autumn celebration.

Peddler’s Village is located at Routes 202 & 263, Lahaska. Need more information? Call (215) 794-4000.

Join the Artists of Yardley on Saturday, October 23^rd from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., as 8 amazing artists invite you to their world. They will open their doors of creativity and imagination, as they open their studio doors, invite you in, and allow you to have a self-guided tour of their own unique spaces where they create amazing works of art.

Over 300 attendees came last year, and were amazed by learning what it is like to become and work as an artist. This is a very enjoyable experience, and appeals to all age groups, from young to old!

An opportunity will also be available to stop at the AOY Art Center at Patterson Farm, where additional artists will be available to discuss their art techniques, answer questions, and more!

Here are a few, great ideas for fall  activities, in and around Yardley.

Harvest day in Yardley. An event not to be missed!

Harvest Day in Yardley

This is one of my favorite activities in the fall.  I remember taking our kids to Harvest Day when they were small.  Used

to be able to rent canoes on the pond!  The event has gotten bigger and better every year.  Definitely don’t miss it.  This year,  which is the 42nd annual Harvest

Day festival,  is next Saturday, September 24th, from 10:00 to 5:00.  It is fun for the entire family.  The streets of Yardley are lined with crafts, music

and fun activities for all ages.  Even after so many years, this continues to be one of my favorite fall events.

Shady Brook Farm Hororfest

Another of our favorite, fall time activities.  There are a number of great, fall activities at Shady Brook farm.  The haunted hayride is really amazing.

It was actually just named one of the top 13 scream parks in the country!  This is another really fun, seasonal event that you won’t want to miss.  Check

the website for dates, times and to buy tickets.  Click here for information.

Ride the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad

This wonderful tourist railroad, was incorporated in 1962.  Hop on board in New Hope, and get ready to see some of the most beautiful countryside,

anywhere in the US, in a unique and special way.  There are all sorts of special trips that you can enjoy, including Friday night fireworks express trains,

haunted halloween trains, brunch trains, and my favorite, the fall foliage trains.  This is also a really fun activity for the whole family.  Check this link for

all the information.  New Hope & Ivyland Railroad.

Peddlers Village Scarecrow Festival

If  you have not been to Peddlers Village, this is a great opportunity to see a most special, fall treat in Bucks County.  Peddlers Village is fun, any time of

the year, but fall is special.  There is an amazing display of the most unusual and creative scarecrows, that you have ever seen.  This Saturday the 17th and

Sunday, the 18th, there is a scarecrow festival.  You can learn how scarecrows are made, while enjoying the unusual assortment of fine country shops

that Peddler Village offers.  Peddlers Village Scarecrow Festival.

Snipes Farm Apple Picking

Snipes Farm is another wonderful, local farm, that offers activities all year long.  From special music events, to farm tours, Snipes is always a fun

place to visit.  They offer opportunities to pick a variety of fruits, throughout the year.  I particularly enjoy apple picking, and this was also an

annual event with our kids.  Take a hayride to the apple orchard, and enjoy picking your own apples.  The link here, will take you to information.

Snipes Farm. 

I know that there are hundreds of other, fall activities in and around Yardley.  Let me know some of your favorites, and I will write about them in future

posts.

Yesterday, McCaffrey’s supermarket, which is located in a strip shopping center in Lower Makefield Township, had their 4th annual, grocers fight cancer day.

In this quick video, Jim McCaffrey is interviewed on a local radio station WBCB, while broadcasting at the site.

This event is really a wonderful community program, that has raised a lot of money for cancer programs at St. Mary’s Medical Center, which is just a few minutes from McCaffrey’s market.

Because we have lived here for so long, and because we love it so much, I thought it would be fun to create a Facebook page that would highlight all the great things to do and see, in and around Yardley.  Thus was born, “365ThingsToDoInandAroundYardley” on Facebook.

We have 3 kids, and so I asked my kids, wife and friends, to come up with a list of things that they love to do in and around Yardley.  I will focus on, and highlight those wonderful events, in my blog and on the Facebook page. 

I also wanted to emphasize, that although I am a very active and full time realtor, I am creating a community Facebook page, not a page to promote myself or real estate.  There will be no real estate sales on this page!  I will have links to other FB pages, websites and my blog, for anyone looking for real estate information.  365ThingstoDoInandAroundYardley, is just to focus on those things that happen in our community, that make it so special.

So, my kids mentioned Harvest Day, feeding ducks on the pond, skating on the pond, the festival on the canal, Shady Brook festival of lights, Shady Brook haunted hayrides, just as a start.  One of my kids mentioned how she absolutely loves the Yardley Ice House as spring arrives. Lower Makefield Township Community Day. I always love the huge, girls softball tournament that happens every year in Lower Makefield Township.  How about the amazing, Yardley Morrisville Soccer program’s Columbus weekend tournament.

Great dinners at the Yardley Inn.  Fun events at the newly renovated Continental Tavern.

It is ok to mention events that are not necessarily right in Yardley or Lower Makefield.  One of the great aspects of living here, is how close we are to everything.  We love the great variety of events at Peddler’s Village, for example.

So, I will start this adventure in trying to create 365 Things to Do in and around Yardley. 

I would welcome and appreciate any thoughts and ideas from the community.  Hope that this page becuase enjoyable and fun, as I know that it will be for me, to create it.