Arrive - September/October 2013

CITY GUIDE:WILMINGTON

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Through the Eyes of Love

There’s a story behind the collection of 18th- and 19th-century eye portraits featured in “The Look of Love: Eye Miniatures from the Skier Collection,” which opens at the Winterthur Sept. 21. It’s a romantic one, too, with the work it inspired serving as an unusual but wholly intimate expression of love.

At its center was George, Prince of
Wales and the future King George
IV, who in 1784 had fallen for the
commoner Maria Fitzherbert, a
Catholic widow whom he was for-
bidden to marry by decree of Eng-
lish law and that of his own father,
George III. The younger George,
however, persevered, and won her
hand with a proposal of marriage
that included not a ring but a small
portrait of his own eye. The gambit
worked—George and Maria were
married in a secret ceremony in

1785 (the less said about their subsequent relationship, however, the better), and his gift inspired a trend in delicately detailed eye miniatures on pendants, brooches and other pieces in the late 18th and 19th centuries. 800-448-3883; winterthur.org

A History of Faith

The First State’s role in the development of faith and religious organizations in the United States is profiled in “Forging Faith, Building Freedom: African American Faith Experiences in Delaware

1800-1980,” a new exhibit sponsored by the Delaware Historical Society that begins Sept. 26 at the Delaware History Museum. The exhibit pays tribute to four Delawareans—Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, Samuel Cornish and Peter Spencer—who founded the first independent black church denomination, African Union Methodist Church, in 1813, as well as the August Quarterly, the nation’s oldest African-American festival. The men also were key figures in the African-American religious community in the early days of the

19th century. Through their work, these men expanded a dream shared by all American citizens—the right to freedom and equality.

dehistory.org; 302-295-2400

A forbidden love spawned
the unique art trend of eye
portraits, which receive
a rare showcase at the
Winterthur Museum

NEWARK

Prosit!
Sept. 20-22

The abundance of a German Oktoberfest awaits at the Delaware Saengerbund Oktoberfest. 302-366-9454; delawaresaengerbund. org/v5_Oktoberfest. shtml

LEWES & REHOBOTH BEACH

Jazz by the Sea
Oct. 17-20

Percussionist Sheila E., saxophonist Najee and fusion/New Age keyboardist Keiko Matsui are among the jazz superstars on the bill for the 2013

Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival. 302-569-9112; rehobothjazz.com

DOVER

Buy Local,
Drink Local
Oct. 20

The bounty of the state’s best vineyards, breweries and distilleries is available for the tasting at the Fourth Annual Delaware Wine and Beer Festival at the Delaware Agricultural Museum & Village. 302-734-4888; delawarewineandbeer festival.com