For the past three decades, as many as 5,000 students a year have attended Continuing Education classes designed for both amateur and professional gardeners and nurserymen. In addition, since 1958 some 1,000 students from all over the world have participated in one or more of seven intensive programs, ranging from internships to a two-year professional gardener training program to a master's degree program in public horticultural administration. Graduates have gone on to leadership roles in many of the country's top horticultural institutions. Longwood's extensive performing arts program is a logical outgrowth of Pierre du Pont's interest in music and theatre and takes advantage of the many performance spaces he created. More than 400 events are scheduled each year, from organ and carillon concerts to outdoor folk and chamber music to Open Air Theatre productions with more than 100 people on stage and an audience of 2,100.
Seasonal festivals offer ample opportunities for all types of activities.
Winter Fun Days and summer Ice Cream Concerts are designed for children, who also delight in November's stuffed topiaries. Spectacular fireworks and fountain displays attract 5,000 spectators on summer evenings, and more than 200,000 visitors come to see 400,000 lights outdoors at Christmas. Renovation has been a key word at Longwood since the 1990s. Aging structural and mechanical systems are now being replaced. The 1925 Italian Water Garden was completely rebuilt from 1990 to 1992.