Oh the weather outside is frightful…not! We have, for better or worse, been experiencing pretty decent weather for this time of year. Why not take advantage of it and get yourself outdoors? Last week we went north to Bucks County, this week we’re headed southeast to Kennett Square in ye olde Chester County.
There are a multitude of things to do in the vibrant historic town which was named “Best Suburban Shopping Destination 2019” by Philadelphia Magazine. There are plenty of shops and restaurants open, including a great farmer’s market (you might even see Santa drive by in a local fire truck), or travel just 10 minutes down the road to the beautiful Brandywine River Museum, famous for its O-gauge model trains running on a thousand feet of track through a small village, a drive-in movie theater and even a carnival. This year they’ve added two new sets with layouts once owned by Nicky and Jamie Wyeth, sons of Andrew Wyeth, and the return of artist and composer Ann Wyeth McCoy’s dollhouse, which features six rooms filled with three-dozen dolls and hundreds of miniature objects.
Drive two minutes more and you’ll be at the historic Winterthur Museum, recently featured on one of my favorite shows, “CBS Sunday Morning.” Despite the pandemic, Winterthur is pulling out the stops to celebrate the holidays. There’s a special concert by the Choir School of Delaware this Sunday and a Holiday Ornament Workshop on the 17th. Sadly the Yuletide Jazz & Wine concert series is sold out, but there are still spots open for WinterFest, a Christmas Day celebration with performances representing traditions from around the globe, crafts and games that explore seasonal traditions near and far and a special take-home meal.
But you don’t have to go to Winterthur for a special event, as the place is decked out every day in its holiday finery, and if it gets chilly, stop by the cafe for a s’mores kit to take to the open fire pit.
Of course one of the top reasons to visit K-Square this time of year is the world famous and award-winning Longwood Gardens Christmas Display. Just this year, Longwood is in the top 10 for USA TODAY’s Best 2020 Botanical Garden Holiday Lights. It is truly a holiday treat for all the senses. The sights, the sounds, and the holiday scents surround you as you walk several acres of grounds decorated in a dazzling display of lights. I have to watch where I’m going because I get so caught up looking up!
Longwood boasts both indoor and outdoor displays. Get warm as you wind your way through the 4-acre conservatory, a perfect place to get some ideas to steal for your own displays (check out the flamingo flower tree), or stroll the grounds outside and marvel at the miles and miles of lights turning trees and flora into a wonderland. One of my favorite memories is taking my nephew and standing by the fountain until our toes got numb as he giggled non-stop at the music and colorful lights. There are workshops and restaurants and much more going on. This week, we spoke to Nick D’Addezio, the marketing director from Longwood to find out about his connection to the place and what makes it special for him.
I know a lot about Longwood, but tell me a little about Nick D. Are you a PA person?
I am, I was actually born and raised in Chester County not far from here, so I’ve been in the area…my whole family has been in the area for quite some time. It’s a great place to be!
Big family? Small?
I am one of four kids, I’m sort of in the middle, my dad is first generation here from Italy and my mom is second generation. I have an uncle who is a priest in Philly, a niece and a bunch of nephews, so we’re a close knit, big Italian Catholic Pennsylvanian family.
How did you express your creative side when you were a kid?
I’ve always loved to garden. My grandmother was a big gardener and she lived right across the street from us. She was always outside trimming her roses, and tending her plants and I loved being out there with her and learning all about gardening and how to create that way. I’ve always also had an interest in art. When I was younger I was always taking art classes, pastel drawing, water colors, anything where I could doodle and draw or sketch was all right with me. It was something I loved to do.
What was the piece that your mom kept on her refrigerator? The handprint or the requisite ashtray we all had to make.
Right? Actually, there is a painting I did of an arrangement of Peonies that she was very proud of and still has hanging in her house.
Cool. What other things were you into?
Well, I have a brother who is a year and a half older so we’ve always been very close, but he was the athlete and I was the nerdy type, more on the academic side. I always liked to read and as I said, I was into art and gardening, I liked to cook, so even at a young age I was always playing around in the kitchen begging my mom to let me help with baking a cake or something like that.
I imagine Christmas is a big thing in a large Italian Catholic family. What’s a favorite holiday tradition or memory?
For us, like a lot of other Italian families, the Feast of the Seven Fishes was always a big deal. My grandfather owned a business, a beer store, so as you can imagine Christmas Eve was always very busy [for him], so in our house we always did it the Sunday before Christmas. My grandmother would cook the big fish meal. As I got older I was able to help which I loved to do, and it was a tradition that I think we did before a lot of other people heard of it or caught on. I’d tell people and they’d be like, “You did what and ate what?” So it was different, but a great memory and now my husband and I carry on the tradition. On Christmas Eve we host my family. Some of the nieces and nephews will even come over a little early and help to cook though most of the time when they see the fish with the faces on, they don’t really want to touch it, but it’s always fun and it’s great to know that we’re creating memories for them.
As someone who wasn’t raised Catholic, is it just what it sounds like, a meal with lots of fish?
Yes. Catholics used to fast and not eat meat before major holidays so that’s why we would have a celebration with fish. There’s debate about why it’s seven, it could be from the seven sacraments, but I don’t know for sure.
And do you have to have 7 different kinds of fish?
We do! But any kind of seafood counts, in fact the family was from a poor part of Italy, and they couldn’t afford anything fancy so it wasn’t lobster, but they’d have calamari, squid was always popular, and bacalao, which is salted codfish, but we interpret it differently now because there were some things the family didn’t love. But we still try to incorporate 7.
Are you a big cook now?
I am. The one nice thing about the pandemic and spending lots of time at home is that I’ve been able to sneak away between calls and cook even more than usual. I love all things food related, I was watching cooking shows on PBS when that was the only option. I read cookbooks like they’re novels, so yeah, it’s something I love to do.
So if I was coming for dinner, what would be your signature dish?
Well, even when I try for it not to be Italian, it always ends up with some kind of Italian slant to it, so I love to make pasta and incorporate some kind of seafood. On Christmas Eve I like to make spaghetti and crabs. It’s homey and comforting and always a big hit.
What did you study in college?
I went for marketing, I always imagined myself in the business world and marketing was a way to do it with a creative angle.
How long have you been at Longwood?
Six years; it’s hard to believe because it’s gone so fast.
I imagine you went there as a kid since you lived so close.
Yes, I remember going and there was this Wizard of Oz topiary display, somewhere out there are pictures of me there that still exist. And one of the first dates with my husband was at Longwood.
Could you give me your job description in a nutshell?
I’m the director of marketing, so I am focused on bringing people to the gardens year round. That includes visitors who come for the Christmas display and those who come for the displays throughout the year. I manage a team who handles the website, our social media, our email marketing, advertising, coordinating the different groups and segments including our members, who are very important to us, and we also think about tourism and ways to encourage people from all over to visit. People think of Longwood as the gardens but our mission is also about education and the arts. So we have performing arts concerts and fireworks shows that we promote; we have a ton of continuing education and online classes. There are internships and programs for professional horticultural fellows. We’re training the next generation of leaders in public horticulture.
My favorite Christmas at Longwood was the year they had Olympic level skaters performing on a rink that was in a clearing in the woods, it was magical. What was one of your favorite moments?
It was actually from before I started working here. My husband and I brought his mother to Longwood on Christmas Eve. We were walking around the gardens and we stopped to see the fountain show and as we were standing there, it started to snow. We were standing in a winter wonderland on Christmas Eve and it was such a perfect moment, I’ll always treasure it.
Longwood is such an oasis during the pandemic because it’s primarily an outdoor experience, but what have you done to increase safety?
We’ve really stepped up the game for the holidays. We’ve limited capacity, so a heads up, we’ve been selling out quite a bit, we’re requiring masks everywhere inside and outside where you’re not able to maintain social distancing. We have signage in place to make sure people are spaced out and sanitation stations throughout, all the restrooms, etc. are cleaned frequently, and in the conservatory, we’re pulsing people through, so be prepared for there to be a line there. It’s one way, and we have staff members there to remind people to wear their masks properly. The precautions are ingrained in everything we’re doing.
Is there a theme?
This year we’re doing a traditional Longwood Christmas, so lots of flower trees and plants. There’s a ribbon of poinsettias, outside there are lots of newer features like the popular tunnel of light in the meadow and the open air theater fountains, the main fountains aren’t active this time of year but there’s a beautiful light display set to music in its place.
You mentioned that part of your mission is education, I noticed that Longwood has a big online presence.
Yes, we’ve always done a lot and now it’s even bigger. We’ve transitioned a lot of education programs online and there are cool demos on how to make things for the holidays.
Back to you, how was coming out?
Like many people, the fear was worse than the actual experience. I was 25 and I hadn’t planned on coming out. Surprisingly, though I hated sports, I was on a softball team, mostly for the social aspect of it. We’d had a game and for whatever reason, I couldn’t sleep that night. In the middle of the night I suddenly thought, this is crazy, if something were to happen to me, I would die and nobody would ever know who I really am. So I woke up the next morning, called the one friend on the team that I’d come out to, to tell her my plans. I figured if I announced what I was doing to someone, I’d have to go forward. I wanted to tell my immediate family before word spread to everyone, so I went to my parents house and told them first. I was a mess, crying so hard, trying to say the words that I think they thought I was dying. Finally got it out and they were great, very positive, so I walked over to the family business I mentioned before, because my siblings were there, and I told them, so I knocked it all out in one night. Again I was terrified and thought the worst but it was a non issue with them too. I thought it would spread from there once I told the core, but it felt like other family members weren’t getting the memo so I had to keep coming out over and over!
What is your sign?
I’m a Scorpio, I don’t know much about it but my husband is also a Scorpio and people always comment on that. I guess it’s supposed to be a bad thing, but it works for us.
What does your handsome hubby do?
Mike is a college professor. He teaches Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State Brandywine.
Something of his that you’d love to get rid of?
Right now he’s in a Covid state and he’s developing a little bit of a mullet, so I wouldn’t mind getting rid of a few inches in the back.
What was an early sign that you were gay?
I was very stereotypically gay when I was young. I hated sports and loved cooking and gardening. My sister said the early sign for her was that I used to walk on my tip-toes.
Did you have a nickname as a kid?
My family called me Nicky, they still do.
What do you do in the summers?
My family has a house at the shore that I’ve gone to since I was a kid. I love being at the beach, even though I’m not the best swimmer!
Did you have a favorite toy?
I had a stuffed Kermit the Frog doll that I loved, I used to dress it up, which was probably another sign that I was gay. I still have it!