VALLEY FORGE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU, LTD.

Welcome to Gay and Lesbian Valley Forge

The Valley Forge area and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, is familiar with the passion for personal freedom. It’s best known for hosting General George Washington’s bitter winter encampment of 1777-78 where the ragtag Continental Army was forged into a fighting force that went on to win our Nation’s independence. This training ground was, in effect, the birthplace of the American spirit.

Today, among other things, the area located 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia, is home to the Liberty Stampede Rodeo, an International Gay Rodeo Association event, that features bull and bronc riding, barrel racing, roping, rough stock and unique “camp” events. Proceeds benefit charities supporting those with HIV.

The Valley Forge area also boasts a menagerie of museums, abundant art and architecture, world-class shopping; and award-winning dining.

The Barnes Foundation, in Merion Station, houses the finest and largest collection of French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early Modern paintings outside of Paris, including an unprecedented 181 works by Renoir and 69 by Cezanne.

Outdoor art and architecture abound, especially at Abington Art Center in Jenkintown, with its 20-acre sculpture park featuring seasonally-changing installations by nationally-recognized contemporary artists. Berman Museum of Art, located on the Ursinus College campus, features up to 4,000 works inside and an extensive permanent collection of contemporary sculpture outside.

Wharton Esherick Studio, atop Valley Forge Mountain, illustrates this dean of American wood craftsmen’s changing style over 40 years, from Arts and Crafts to German Expressionism to the free-form shapes of Modernism.

Knoll, recognized worldwide and as a champion of the Bauhausian movement, is headquartered in East Greenville, Montgomery County. The Knoll Museum, open by appointment only, features a timeline of the design powerhouse’s legacy. One hundred and fifty of its most treasured pieces are on display, including the Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chair, one of more than 40 Knoll pieces in the permanent Design Collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Fashion is often considered art and it’s abundant in the King of Prussia Mall, America’s largest retail shopping mall and ground-zero for the Northeast’s greatest shopping mecca. Located one mile from Valley Forge National Historical Park, it features eight department stores and more than 400 shops, including Michael Kors, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Montgomery County’s three other major malls (Montgomeryville, Plymouth Meeting and Willow Grove Park) and several quaint Towns and Main Streets offer unique specialty shops, chic boutiques, spas and more. And Philadelphia Premium Outlets, in nearby Limerick, offers shoppers 150 stores in which to save 25% to 65% off designer fashions everyday.

From historic taverns and inns, like the William Penn Inn and Old Guard House, to ethnic restaurants, to celebrity chef–run restaurants such as Coleman’s at Normandy Farm Hotel and Alison at Blue Bell and Alison too, the area offers dining to please every palate (and wallet).

And Valley Forge is just a half-hour’s drive to Philadelphia’s Gayborhood, made popular by the City’s early-on gay-friendly reputation and its clever, acclaimed and to-the-point “Keep Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay” marketing campaign.

To discover more of Valley Forge, visit their website: www.valleyforge.org.

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