The Week-in-Preview: Birth of Spring Edition

Posted on | March 7, 2007 | 1 Comment

Pennsylvania is home to two of the greatest weather prognosticating outfits known to man kind: Punxsutawney Phil and Accuweather.

Despite today’s snowfall, both of them are predicting something of an early Spring, which is a fairly obvious stance since the equinox is coming and winter does not last forever. This week, we’re looking at a number of events that won’t be around forever, including the Flower Show and Philadelphia’s pachyderms.

The segues don’t get any better today folks, sorry.

Details after the break.

The Philadelphia Flower Show
March 4-11, Pennsylvania Convention Center

This week, Faye Flam clued us into a the hidden secret love lives of plants, and makes The Philadelphia Flower Show to be the greatest orgy since the Caligula wrap party (Hey-O!) the sexiest place in Delaware Valley this weekend. The show ends this weekend and, by all accounts, is worth seeing.

website (Caution: annoying music alert)

Elephants at The Philadelphia Zoo
Now until very soon

If autotrophic amor doesn’t excite you, perhaps you need to focus your love on something bigger. About 4.3 tons of teary-eyed goodbyes await you in West Philadelphia. After caving to pressure (including death threats, if you’ll recall), The Philadelphia Zoo is shipping their elephants off to greener, larger pastures.

It is all for the best, no doubt, but they will be missed. Especially Petal, who has been a Philadelphian since 1956. (Cue the “we’ll never forget you” headline that we’ll be sure to see when Petal finally shuffles off to Baltimore.)

Baltimore? Ugh.

website (Caution: bad “trunk” pun alert)

Equus Unbound: Fairman Rogers and the Age of the Horse
Now through June 15
Reception and Lecture March 13, 5:30 PM
Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, 3420 Walnut Street

For the second time in as many weeks, we get to use the word “equus” in a post. And, also for the second time, there are no naked teen wizards involved, we’re relieved to report.

Here we have a thoughtful exhibit on the role of horses in the 19th century. A must for fans of dusty old science books.

The Fairman Rogers Collection at the Annenberg Rare Book Library at the University of Pennsylvania reflects Rogers’ interests in horses, and their relationship to engineering, veterinary medicine and science. The collection, originally housed at the New Bolton Center Library of the School of Veterinary Medicine at Penn, contains almost one thousand books, most collected by Rogers himself but some added to the collection after his death during the first decades of the twentieth century. The earliest books date from the sixteenth century, but most are from the nineteenth century. These include a variety of medical guides for horse owners, stud books, and books on shoeing, harnessing, training, riding, driving, racing, keeping a proper stable, horse breeds, and horse breeding. The collection reveals the technical, scientific and social evolution of the nineteenth century horse world.

There’s a lecture on March 13, 5:30 PM, marking the official opening. Free, but they ask that you reserve a spot: 1-800-390-1829

website (Caution: hooved mammals)

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