The last public event on the Devon Horse Show's official calendar was Oktoberfest at Devon on October 10 and 11. The next date that matters at 23 Dorset Road is May 26, 2027, when the Devon Horse Show starts a run through June 6. That leaves seven months in which the town's best-known landmark has no public dates listed. For most of the past decade, the holiday season gave the grounds a second life. This year it doesn't, so Devon's winter takes place elsewhere: at Devon Yard, on the paths at Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens, and possibly at a restaurant site on Lancaster Avenue that has sat dark for years.
The Grounds Ran a Full Fall, Then Stopped
September and October were busy on Dorset Road. The Devon Fall Classic ran September 10 to 13 in its 13th year. It's an all-jumper competition on the Dixon Oval, with the $25,000 Devon Fall Classic Grand Prix as its top class. Dressage at Devon followed from September 22 to 27, with its Fall Festival shopping and activities. Then came Oktoberfest. On Friday, October 16, the grounds were the pickup point for the Fall Festival of Homes, a self-guided tour of six homes from Villanova to West Chester. Proceeds go to Bryn Mawr Hospital. The tour sold out.
That tour was the last date. The official calendar lists nothing more for 2026. Anyone in Devon who remembers December evenings on the grounds should know why.
The Holiday Market Left in 2024
The Yuletide festival used to bring a December crowd to the show grounds. In September 2024, Savvy Main Line reported that Yuletide was moving from Devon to Union League Liberty Hill in Lafayette Hill. Old listings for "Yuletide at Devon" still turn up online. They describe an event that no longer happens on Dorset Road, and no other holiday market has been announced for the grounds this season.
So the 130th-anniversary year at Devon ends in October, and the December lights in town come from somewhere else.
What the Grounds Are Doing Over the Winter
The quiet months matter for a different reason this year. The Devon Horse Show and Country Fair is starting the Devon Legacy Initiative, a five-year, $5 million campaign under the theme "Preserving Tradition. Building Devon's Future." Main Line Media News reported that the money will fund facility modernization, accessibility and hospitality upgrades, barn improvements, parking and paving work, and long-term preservation projects. The official kickoff reception was held Thursday, October 8, at Triple Crown in Radnor.
"The Devon Legacy Initiative is about stewardship," Wayne W. Grafton, the organization's chairman and CEO, told Main Line Media News. "This effort will help ensure future generations continue to experience the magic and impact of this treasured institution."
The initiative's page lists categories of work. It doesn't name specific buildings or barns, and it doesn't give a construction schedule. It says more information is coming. Neighbors along Dorset Road and Lancaster Avenue should watch for that next announcement, because it will show which parts of the grounds change first. Parking and paving are on the list, and those affect the people who live near the oval every May.
The December Lights Are at Jenkins Arboretum
The biggest dated holiday event near Devon this year is at Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens. Winter Luminary Nights runs December 11 and 12, 2026, with two entry windows each evening, 5 to 6:30 PM and 6:30 to 8 PM. The arboretum promises "thousands of sparkling lights" along with treats from local vendors. Tickets are sold per car, $25 for members and $35 for non-members, and one ticket covers everyone in the vehicle.
The per-car price is the useful detail for anyone hosting family in mid-December. A carload of houseguests pays $35 together, about what a single adult ticket costs at many regional light shows.
Jenkins is also open on ordinary days. Its visitor page lists fall and winter hours, October 1 through March 14, of 9 AM to 5 PM for the grounds. The Education Center and Garden Shop close at 4 PM, and admission is always free. Two exhibitions are on view now, The Art of Identification and Dreamscapes. Both run through January 10, 2027. Then the 16th Annual Visitors' Photography Exhibition opens January 16 and runs through March 7, 2027, with a reception on Sunday, January 17, from 2 to 4 PM. That gives Jenkins something new on the walls in the middle of winter, when the show grounds have nothing scheduled.
840 Lancaster Avenue May Open in December
The former La Jonquille and Shiraz property at 840 Lancaster Avenue has two buildings and about 32,000 square feet. It stood empty for several years. In August 2025, Main Line Media News reported its sale to Rich Kim, owner of Salt Korean BBQ in North Wales. Paul French of Avison Young, who represented the seller, told the paper that "many residents on the Main Line have inquired about the status of this property due to the long vacancy of the building." The opening was first expected in spring 2026.
Spring came and went. In its fall 2026 restaurant forecast, published September 9, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Kim now predicts late December for Salt, a second Korean barbecue concept. Yugo, a carousel sushi restaurant, is set to follow upstairs in 2027. That date is a projection, and the project has already slipped once. If it holds, the longest-empty restaurant property on Devon's stretch of Lancaster Avenue would reopen in the same weeks the show grounds have nothing on their calendar.
The timing changes how this winter looks. For years, Devon's December activity has centered on the show grounds. This year the show grounds are quiet, the arboretum holds the holiday event, and the new opening is a dining room a short way up Route 30.
Devon Yard Keeps Its Regular Hours
Devon Yard, next to the grounds at 138 Lancaster Avenue, keeps the same schedule all year. Terrain is open Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM. Terrain Café serves Monday through Thursday from 11 AM to 8 PM, Friday and Saturday from 9 AM to 9 PM, and Sunday from 9 AM to 8 PM. Pizzeria Vetri is open Monday through Saturday from 11:30 AM to 9 PM and Sunday until 8 PM.
The next dated event there is for small children. Terrain's Devon events calendar lists Little Sprouts Halloween Storytime on Sunday, October 25, from 10 AM to noon. The Café's weekend hours start at 9 AM, so families can have breakfast there before the story starts.
Devon's Calendar, October Through May
Here is the off-season in date order:
- Weeknights through November 20: Route 252 (Bear Hill Road) closes overnight, 7 PM to 5 AM, between U.S. 30 and Swedesford/Howellville Road for Aqua work. Local access stays open, and the posted detour runs via Route 29. Tredyffrin Township's notice says delays are possible.
- October 25: Little Sprouts Halloween Storytime at Terrain at Devon, 10 AM to noon.
- December 11 and 12: Winter Luminary Nights at Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens.
- Late December, projected: Salt opens at 840 W. Lancaster Avenue.
- January 10: The Art of Identification and Dreamscapes close at Jenkins.
- January 16 to March 7: The Visitors' Photography Exhibition at Jenkins, with its reception on January 17.
- March 14: Jenkins' winter hours end.
- April: The Devon Horse Show holds its annual volunteer sign-up party. No date has been posted yet.
- May 26 to June 6: The Devon Horse Show returns to Dorset Road.
The April sign-up party is the first sign of activity at the grounds after the winter. Volunteers are back at Dorset Road before the horses return.
At The MacDonald Team PA, we follow Devon closely between seasons, from the Legacy Initiative's next announcement to the first night at 840 Lancaster. If you'd like to talk through what this winter's changes on Route 30 mean for your own home's value, we're glad to help.
