Pennsylvania
When you can celebrate the holidays at Pennsylvania-area theme parks this season
Crowd awaits Christmas tree lighting during Downtown D’Lights in Erie
A crowd filled Perry Square in Erie for the Downtown D’Lights holiday celebration and to await the annual Christmas tree lighting.
You are roughly a one-tank trip away from spending part of the holidays at Knoebels, Hersheypark or Sesame Place, as each is open throughout the festive season.
Here’s what you need to know before you you go.
Are theme parks open in Pennsylvania on holidays?
These theme parks are open during the holiday season. Several also have end-of-year celebrations worth checking out as well.
- Crayola Experience: The Crayola Experience will be open daily through the holiday season, including on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
- Dutch Winter Wonderland: Dutch Winter Wonderland is open from 3 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28 and 29. Dutch Winter Wonderland will be closed on Christmas Day and will be open on New Year’s Eve.
- Hersheypark: Hersheypark will close for the season on New Year’s Day at 9 p.m. Hersheypark will also be closed on Christmas Day, and will be open on New Year’s Eve.
- Kennywood: will be open on weekends from 3 to 9 p.m., and on Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. through January. Kennywood is closed on Christmas Day, and will be open on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
- Knoebels Amusement Resort: according to its calendar, Knoebels will shut down for the season on New Year’s Eve with the last edition of the “Joy Through the Grove” drive-thru Christmas lights display. Knoebels will also be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
- Sesame Place Philadelphia: Sesame Place will close out its holiday season with the last run of “A Very Furry Christmas Celebration” on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. Sesame Place will be open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
- Six Flags Great Adventure: Six Flags Great Adventure will close for the season at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Day with the last running of “Holiday in the Park” showcase. Six Flags Great Adventure will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but will be open on New Year’s Eve.
Which them parks are now closed for the season?
It stands to reason that most water-based parks would are already closed for the season.
DelGrosso’s Park & Laguna Splash, Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom and Waldameer & Water World are currently closed for the season, and will reopen in late spring/early summer.
Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Pennsylvania
Pa. House committee advances bill to require radon testing and mitigation in schools
Pennsylvania
Suspect arrested for shooting near basketball court in Elkins Park, Pa.
ABINGTON TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — Police have arrested a suspect who they say fired shots at a vehicle near a crowded basketball court in Montgomery County.
Jamell Whitmore, 18, of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, was arrested on Thursday.
The shooting happened on March 22 near a basketball court on the 300 block of Cadwalader Avenue in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.
Shooting near Elkins Park basketball courts sends stray bullet into home
Police said multiple callers reported hearing gunfire around 8:15 p.m. and witnessed a large group of people run from the area behind the McKinley Firehouse.
As a vehicle drove by, one of the men in the group, identified by police as Whitmore, ran off to the parking lot to retrieve a gun and began firing multiple shots towards the vehicle.
Police say it’s unclear if the vehicle was hit, but one of the bullets struck a nearby home.
No one in the home was injured.
Police said no innocent bystanders or those involved in the shooting were injured.
The motive for the shooting remains unknown.
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania-born indie rockers Tigers Jaw return with new album release
The chorus for the song “Primary Colors” was something Walsh wrote years ago, with the song’s outro originally being used as a verse.
“And something just wasn’t quite clicking, and everything that I tried felt kind of forced,” Walsh said. “We were all just like, ‘Yeah, there’s something here, but it’s not quite doing what I think it has the potential to do.’”
The band then started toying with the dynamics between the verses and the chorus.
“It just unlocked something for me in the idea where I was like, ‘Wow, this kind of quiet, loud, quiet, loud format really works well with this song,’” Walsh said. “So yeah, it just transformed it instantly into an idea that felt a lot stronger.”
The album was recorded with Grammy-winning producer Will Yip, a relationship still budding from their 2014 album, “Charmer.” Collins said the new album’s sound is “as true as we could be to playing the record live.”
“I wasn’t as tied to the tones that have classically been Tigers Jaw because I think at this point, I’ve just come to this realization that no matter what, if we’re making it, it is Tigers Jaw,” Collins said.
The new album has a “palpable energy” that shares the same spirit as their earlier records, Walsh said. And while “tastes evolve,” the band followed “what feels good.”
“This is the best representation of the band at the time, and it’s almost like a snapshot of us as artists, as people, as a creative entity over this time in our career,” he said.
“Lost On You” is out now through Hopeless Records and is available on vinyl, CD and various streaming platforms.
On April 16, Tigers Jaw will perform at Union Transfer at 8 p.m. They will be supported by Hot Flash Heat Wave and Creeks, the solo project of Balance and Composure vocalist and guitarist Jon Simmons, who is from Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
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