Celebrate the winter holidays with the Friends of the Wissahickon at Valley Green Inn with Winter in the Wissahickon on December 1 from noon to 4 p.m.

This event offers everyone the opportunity to decorate their own holiday wreath while enjoying chestnuts roasting on an open fire, hot apple cider, lunch, and a Winter Woods Hike led by Trish Fries from the Wissahickon Environmental Center.

Many families have made this event a holiday tradition. Children are invited to make nature crafts that can be left for wildlife to feed on during the winter.

FOW will supply the materials for these crafts as well as balsam fir wreaths and natural ornaments for decorating, such as western juniper with blueberries, variegated holly with red berries, incense-cedar with yellow tips, and assorted pine cones. These evergreens will last a long time and can be ground into mulch or composted after the holidays. 

Proceeds from Winter in the Wissahickon will benefit the Friends of the Wissahickon, a non-profit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to preserving the Wissahickon Valley.

FOW works in partnership with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation to restore historical structures throughout the park, eliminate invasive plant species, monitor watershed management issues, and restore trails throughout the park system with its Sustainable Trails Initiative.

Tickets to Winter in the Wissahickon are $30 for adults and $10 for children, with a special family package of $75 for two adults and two children. Price includes one wreath per adult or family and all food and beverages. This is a rain or shine event and tickets are limited.

Valley Green Inn is located on Forbidden Drive in Wissahickon Valley Park. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 215-247-0417 or visit the Friends of the Wissachickon website.

11/26/2012