By John Chambless
Staff Writer

There are countless people – business owners, residents and visitors – who believe strongly in Kennett Square, and they will come together on Dec. 13 to celebrate the season and help out the Kennett Flash, the borough's performance venue.

This historic home at 216 N. Union St. will be open as part of the 'Merry Moveable Feast' on Dec. 13.

 “A Merry Moveable Feast” is a five-course progressive evening along North Union Street. Participants will sample foods and beverages from local businesses while visiting the decorated historic buildings along the street. There will be two groups of 24 ticket holders taking part in the event, with one grouping from 4 to 6:30 p.m., and one from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Lynn Sinclair, who is opening her home as part of this weekend's event, said, “For six years, I organized the Candlelight Holiday Home Tour for the Kennett Square Historical Commission. One of the things the HC did with the proceeds from the tour was to give an 'Excellence in History Award' to a Kennett High School graduate. The Historical Commission was replaced by the Historical Architectural Review Board in October, leaving no one to put on the Candlelight Tour.

“Having just finished researching my neighbor's property on North Union Street, I came up with the idea to put on a different kind of holiday tour,” Sinclair said.

The strip of homes on North Union Street is a rare example of intact historic architecture. “In 1839, Hiram Hall sold 10 lots out of his 12-acre parcel,” Sinclair said. “These houses were built within a five-year period, from 1839 to 1844. All followed the same, basic Penn plan and had almost identical features of brick dental cornice work, an attic dormer and a fanlight over the front door.

“I emailed the other homeowners on North Union to see if they would participate. No one hesitated!” Sinclair said. “It was decided that the Flash would be the recipient of the proceeds of this event, instead of a KHS scholarship.”

As the host of the evening's wrap-up, Sinclair said, “It's a funny situation for me. I moved in October, but I had furniture that didn't fit in my new house. I had planned on having a tag sale so I just left it in the house. Because dessert is being served at my house, we expect people to linger there a bit longer than at the other stops. There will be plenty of room to socialize and enjoy the music!”

Sinclair also thanked Liz Marden, who has served as the liaison with the food providers for the event.

In a posting on its website, the management of the Kennett Flash wrote, “This event is a very important year-end fundraiser for The Kennett Flash. We have had one of our best months in well over a year this past November, and are on planning some amazing events over the next couple of months, but as most of you know, we did go through some transitions this year and the small interruption in regular programming has lead to an increased need for fundraising.”

The evening begins with hors d'oeuvres and cocktails at 200 N. Union St., hosted by Amanda and Dan Gannon. The food will come from Byrsa Bistro. Then there will be appetizers and champagne at 204 N. Union St., hosted by Anita D'Amico and Michael Berlin. The food will come from La Verona. The main course and wine will be served at 206 N. Union St., hosted by Donna and Dennis Melton, with food from Portobellos. An “Intermezzo” will follow at 208 N. Union St., hosted by Catherine and Peter Patellis, with food from La Michoacana. Dessert and coffee will be served at 216 N. Union St., hosted by Lynn Synclair. The coffee and treats will come from Philter and Y'or So Sweet.

Along the way, live music will be performed in several homes by Billy Penn Burger, Kenny Thompson, Mark Oppenlander of One Alternative, and others.

Advance tickets are available online as well as at The Mushroom Cap and Sunrise Cafe, both in Kennett. Tickets are $100 per person and are all-inclusive. Seatings are limited to 24 people per seating, and there are two seatings. A portion of each ticket purchase will be tax-deductible. For a link to ticket purchasing, visit www.kennettflash.org.

To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email [email protected].