Rehoboth Beach Film Society presents the intimate family drama “Little Sparrows” as part of its Around the World series Jan. 2 at Movies at Midway. “Little Sparrows” takes the audience to Australia to meet a family at a crossroads. There are three sisters. Nina is widowed with two young children. Anna is an aspiring actress unhappily married to a filmmaker. Christine is a med student who has yet to fully come to terms with her sexuality. When their mother Susan’s breast cancer returns, the family—including the women’s feckless father, a professional actor—is faced with the reality of their last Christmas together. As each daughter confronts a change, Susan guides them by revealing a secret of her own. As part of its Read a Movie series, the society will present “The Last Time I Saw Paris” on Jan. 9 at the Rehoboth Beach Public Library. The 1954 classic stars Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson and Donna Reed in a tale inspired by the F. Scott Fitzgerald story “Babylon Revisited.” The story’s protagonist returns long after the Jazz Era has gone and tries to prove to his in-laws that he is fit to reclaim his daughter. The story reflects the real-life highs and lows of Fitzgerald’s ill-fated marriage to Zelda Sayre. Timeless. 645-9095, rehobothfilm.com
Celebrate the Season—for a Few More Days
One of the things we love most about the holidays is visiting the Brandywine River Museum. First, there’s the model railroad. Second, there are the critter ornaments, handmade by local volunteers for sale to support the museum and programs. They adorn seven trees on the first and third floors, and charming critter scenes will surround the base of the trees and fill display cases. Then there’s “Pop-Up! Illustration in 3-D,” a display of books that range from late 19th-century examples to sophisticated constructions designed by contemporary paper engineers working with noted artists. Finally “Donald Pywell: Golden Impressions of Andrew Wyeth” features exquisitely crafted jewelry by Pywell and inspired by Wyeth’s paintings. Everything is on display through Jan. 6. 610-388-2700, brandywinemuseum.org
Themed A Feast for the Eyes, Yuletide at Winterthur is designed to tempt visitors with visions of holidays past and spark ideas for their own celebrations. Guests can explore how Americans have celebrated the winter social season from the 1800s to the present during the Yuletide at Winterthur tour through Jan. 6. A highlight: a lavish Victorian-era setting focuses on festive trappings, a glittering tree and a table arrayed with towers of gifts. 888-4600, winterthur.org
Christmas at Hagley cultivates sharing and giving. This year’s theme is Holiday Entertaining at Home. The morning room of Eleutherian Mills is set for the New Year’s Day calling, the dining room celebrates Twelfth Night, and the terrace is ready for Christmas lunch. Visitors are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy or clothing item for donation to the Sunday Breakfast Mission. The event continues until Jan. 9 658-2400, hagley.org
Rockwood Museum is decorated with a musical theme though Jan. 7. rockwood.org
Finally, A Longwood Christmas is always a highlight of the season. Inside Longwood’s 4-acre Conservatory, trees shimmer with star-inspired ornaments. In the Exhibition Hall, twinkling lights hang from the vaulted glass ceiling over a 64-foot-long table dressed for a holiday gathering. Living wreaths, floral displays, and trees as tall as 22 feet bring the magic of the season to life. Outdoors, more than 500,000 lights brighten the night. Fountains dance to holiday music in the Open Air Theatre (weather permitting). And the outdoor train display travels past miniature Longwood landmarks lit for the season. Music includes sing-alongs on Longwood’s majestic 10,010-pipe Aeolian organ, and evening choral and bell choir performances by area groups. In the Chimes Tower, a 62-bell carillon plays holiday music every half hour. Strolling performances fill the gardens with music on weekends. See it through Jan. 6. longwoodgardens.org
Simply Beautiful
Now at the Delaware Art Museum, “So Beautifully Illustrated” shows the work of Katharine Richardson Wireman, who studied with Howard Pyle before embarking on a 50-year career as an illustrator. Her illustrations, which often featured domestic scenes, ranged from advertisements and fashion features to children’s books to covers of magazines such as The Country Gentleman. “So Beautifully Illustrated” continues the series of exhibitions focused on the Golden Age of Illustration and the students of Howard Pyle. See it through Jan. 6. 571-9590, delart.org
The Moment is Now
“The Aesthetic Moment: The Art of Still Life” at Delaware Art Museum features 11 regional painters with different styles, but a common love for the genre. The still life arrangements are uniquely perceived and rendered by the artists, then perceived uniquely again by the viewer. The guest curator is Paul DuSold of Philadelphia, who has shown his work widely across the United States over the last 30 years, concentrating on still life. His unerring eye reveals a range of still life subjects, themes and styles that will astound you. See it though Jan. 6. 571-9590, delart.org
It’s All About Us
In 1962, the interstate highway system was just getting traction, the Delaware Memorial Bridge had only one span, and the Cape May-Lewes Ferry had not yet set sail. Fifty years later, the state is a much different place, and through it all, Delaware Today has been there to document the changes. See how in “Delaware Yesterday, Delaware Today: 1962-2012” at the Delaware History Center in Wilmington. The exhibit shows how the magazine has evolved from a small black-and-white publication with regular features like the quaint Flo Knows Fashion into the glossy, full-color publication you read today for the latest on great restaurants, the arts, emerging lifestyle trends, home design, interesting personalities and more. Objects from the collection of the Delaware Historical Society round out the story. “Delaware Yesterday, Delaware Today: 1962-2012” is informative, entertaining and nostalgic, and we humbly submit that you’ll find it as interesting as we here at DT do. hsd.org
Young at Art
Don’t miss “Young Country,” a traveling show of art that speaks of place. Organized by DCCA, it hit UArts in Philadelphia and Salisbury University in Maryland before its exhibition in Delaware. “Young Country” examines how artists living in fringe art centers are re-defining ideas of fine art, class, and “country” in America. The exhibition features artists who use rural images and subjects such as horseracing, honkytonks, and homesteading to address how the visual culture of a region shapes perception and identity. The show features works by artists from Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Houston, Seattle, New York, Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, and other areas. The show grows as it travels. 656-6466, thedcca.org
