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Delaware Botanic Gardens breaks ground on new pavilion

Annual Party in the Gardens brings hundreds to Dagsboro area to celebrate decade of growth
Delaware Botanic Gardens hosted its annual Party in the Garden Sept. 26. In addition to the usual good times, there was also a groundbreaking for the Annette Pennoni Meadow Pavilion. Shown are (l-r) DBG President Ray Sander and Executive Director Sheryl Swed with Chuck Pennoni, who donated the money necessary to build the pavilion. CHRIS FLOOD PHOTOS
Chris Flood
October 6, 2024

Story Location:
Delaware Botanic Gardens
30220 Piney Neck Road
Dagsboro, DE 19939
United States

Delaware Botanic Gardens board members, friends and supporters celebrated the groundbreaking of the Annette Pennoni Meadow Pavilion during the annual Party in the Garden Sept. 26.

The pavilion is named after the late wife of Celestino “Chuck” Pennoni, founder of the Philadelphia-based engineering firm Pennoni Associates and a decade-long supporter of the Delaware Botanic Gardens. When complete, the pavilion will allow the gardens to host events in an air-conditioned and heated space.

SoDel Concepts catered the sold-out annual party, while Bin 66 provided wine, and Vince Varrassi and the Fifth Avenue entertained with live music.

For more information on the Delaware Botanic Gardens, 30220 Piney Neck Road, Dagsboro, go to delawaregardens.org, call 302-321-9061 or email Executive Director Sheryl Swed at sherylswed@delawaregardens.org.

 

Chuck Pennoni talks about how much his late wife Annette enjoyed the Delaware Botanic Gardens.
Nearly two dozen members of the building team and Delaware Botanic Gardens staff, volunteers and board members participated in the ground breaking.
DBG Deputy Executive Director Stephen Pryce Lee thanks everyone for attending.
Sally Gore, left, shares an embrace with DBG Executive Director Sheryl Swed. Gore donated money for an outdoor patio area at the pavilion.
Scott Kammerer, president of SoDel Concepts, talks about the importance of the gardens.
Hundreds of people turned out for the annual fundraiser.
DBG President Ray Sander said it’s hard to believe the Delaware Botanic Gardens wasn’t much more than a soy bean field a decade ago.
The gardens has installed a live camera for a pair of nesting bald eagles found on the property.
If it’s an event at the Delaware Botanic Gardens, Fifth Avenue Jazz is performing.
Felix Burgls, left, and Bryn Watts were two of the many SoDel Concepts employees on hand to make the event run smoothly.
The tent at the event always looks a little magical against the gardens.
It was cloudy, which made the color of these purple flowers pop as attendees made their way to the tent.
Mist in the air gathers on the plants in the garden.

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Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. Additionally, Flood moonlights as the company’s circulation manager, which primarily means fixing boxes that are jammed with coins during daylight hours, but sometimes means delivering papers in the middle of the night. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.

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