Our campus hosts a variety of community events including film screenings, author talks, guest lectures, and music performances that are open to the public.
Chocolate in the Gilded Age
Wednesday, November 12, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Join renowned author and food historian Becky Libourel Diamond for an irresistible journey back in time to explore Victorian-era chocolate. Discover some of the time period’s most popular chocolate indulgences and learn why this now-ubiquitous treat wasn’t fully integrated into American culture until the late nineteenth century.
You will explore:
- Victorian hot cocoa vs. hot chocolate: Learn the delicious differences between these two comforting beverages.
- Innovative marketing schemes: Discover the clever tactics Victorian food companies used to promote their chocolate products.
- The rise of chocolate cake: Delve into the history of chocolate cake in America and how it skyrocketed in popularity through strategic partnerships between cookbook authors and chocolate companies.
- Victorian chocolate desserts: Hear the stories behind popular Victorian chocolate desserts, including jellies, meringues, macaroons, ice cream, and syrups.
A chocolate sampling from America's oldest continuously operating confectionary, Shane Confectionery, will be provided to each participant, and you will have the opportunity to purchase a signed book from Becky following the program.
Don't miss this chance to satisfy your curiosity and your sweet tooth with a deep dive into the delectable world of Victorian chocolate!
Women in Horticulture
Thursday, March 19, 2026, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Join Jenny Rose Carey as she unveils the forgotten contributions of pioneering women in horticulture.
Women have tended and loved their gardens for millennia, but their contributions are largely forgotten. In this lecture, Jenny Rose Carey takes a small slice of time, 1900 to 1940, and explores the key women who founded gardening organizations including the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women, the Women’s National Farm and Garden Association, and the Garden Club of America. Other women discussed include authors, garden designers, conservationists, dig-in-dirt gardeners, and influential women from Chester County who participated in the horticultural movement during that time.
Jenny Rose Carey is a renowned gardener, educator, historian, and author. She is the former senior director at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Meadowbrook Farm in Jenkintown, and she previously worked at Temple University for over a decade, first as an adjunct professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and then as director of the Ambler Arboretum. Jenny Rose has been lecturing nationally and internationally for many years.Register
Mountainfilm on Tour
Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 7 - 9 p.m.
Enjoy adventure-filled documentaries that inspire audiences through film, art, and ideas.
Join us for an evening of inspiring and captivating films handpicked from the Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, Colorado. Founded in 1979, Mountainfilm is one of America’s longest-running film festivals. The annual festival is held every Memorial Day weekend in Telluride, CO. Mountainfilm is a dynamic nonprofit organization and festival that celebrate adventure, activism, social justice, environment and indomitable spirit.
Mountainfilm on Tour in Malvern, PA will feature a collection of culturally rich, adventure-packed and engaging documentary short films that align with Mountainfilm’s mission to use the power of film, art and ideas to inspire audiences to create a better world. Doors open for the event at 6:30 and the show will kick off at 7 p.m.
