The Atlanta History Center will present two candlelight events in next month offering guests an opportunity to celebrate Christmas in days gone by.
Candlelight Nights, presented on the evenings of Dec. 11 and Dec. 18, allow guests to experience the holidays in three distinct time frames at three unique Southern historic houses - all in one night. Visitors experience an 1861 Christmas at Smith Family Farm, a 1930 celebration at the Swan House and an 1821 frontier-styled holiday observance at Wood Family Cabin.
Candlelit paths link the trio of historic houses under majestic hardwoods amid the History Center’s twenty two acres of Goizueta Gardens, woods and trails enveloped in the warm glow of the holidays. Each stop features period-authentic music, Meet-the-Past museum theatre characters sharing stories of the holiday traditions of their specific places and times and children’s activities. For instance, guests at the Smith Family Farm help Civil War-era residents decorate for Christmas and listen to stories and songs of the enslaved who express their hopes for the end of slavery. At the Swan House, Tray Dahl & The Jugtime Ragband bring a New Orleans-style jazz sound to holiday classics of the 1920s and 1930s. And, mere steps from Swan House, the voices of the Atlanta Sacred Harp Singers resound from the pioneer-era Wood Family Cabin around the canopy of Swan Woods.
Inside the Atlanta History Museum’s new Allen Atrium, visitors can shop at the new Christmas Market filled with local crafts and artisanal creations, before little boys and girls meet Santa and pose for photographs at the Garden Overlook.
Souper Jenny, who moves her Buckhead restaurant to the History Center in April will dish up soups, salads, grilled cheese and treats for purchase. Cash bars set up across the campus with adult libations (including special holiday-themed drinks) and non-alcoholic beverages are available for purchase.
Candelight Nights will be held from 5:30 PM – 10 PM on Dec. 11 and Dec. 18 at the Atlanta History Center (130 West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta)
Cost: $15 for nonmembers; $8 for children; $10 for members. Purchase advance admission tickets at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com or call 404.814.4000.
To see complete line up, click here.
Here are some of the program highlights each of the two evenings:
Alliance Theatre Carolers
6:45 PM and 7:45 PM
Get into the holiday spirit as the Alliance Theatre Carolers sing beloved Christmas carols during two special evening performances.
Visit with Santa Claus
December 11, 5:30 – 9:30 PM
December 18, 7:00 – 9:30 PM
Ho! Ho! Ho! Grab your camera and get ready to photograph the family while visiting with Old Saint Nick.
SMITH FAMILY FARM:
Travel to Christmastime in 1861 and be welcomed into the holiday celebrations at the Smith Family Farm. Encounter characters from the first year of the Civil War as they share their personal stories of holidays during the war and revive traditions of the past as guests help residents of the farm decorate with traditional crafts-making and hands-on activities like popcorn and garland making, salt dough ornament activities, candle-dipping, blacksmithing, and open-hearth cooking. Timed Farm Activities: 1861 Christmas Tree Lighting 6:00 PM, 8:00 PM, 9:00 PM. The sounds of caroling greet you as you gather round to light the candles on the Christmas tree. The Yule Log: 6:15 p.m, 7:15 p.m, 8:15 p.m, 9:15 p.m.
Listen to stories and songs sung by the fire as the enslaved community celebrates Christmas and hopes for the end of slavery. Afterward, visit with interpreters as they discuss resistance and the history of holidays for the enslaved.
SWAN HOUSE:
Revel in the holiday season of 1930 as you are transported to a Jazz Age Christmas party at the lavishly decorated Swan House where the Inman family and Swan House staff celebrates Christmas. During guests' time travels to 1930, they encounter Grant Carter, preparing the 1929 Hudson Super Six sedan for holiday travel in the city; meet Edward Inman as he shares why he donated to the Empty Stocking Fund and how the charity is helping those in need in Atlanta today; and go behind-the-scenes in the kitchen with Lucille Arnold as she prepares holiday meals and shares her plans on celebrating the holidays with her own family once her Swan House shift is done. Create your own 1930s holiday postcard to send to your family and friends before enjoying a taste of dessert and listening to live music and singing Christmas carols in the Morning Room of Swan House.Timed Activities: Tray Dahl & The Jugtime Ragband: 6:30 p.m, 7:30 p.m.,8:30 p.m
Tray Dahl & The Jugtime Ragband is a New Orleans-style jazz band that specializes in 1920s and 1930s classics. Join the group as it performs Christmas songs of yesteryear, inspiring visitors to dance, smile and tap their feet. Piano Christmas sing-along with Ruby Ross Wood at 5:45 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
WOOD FAMILY CABIN:
Be transported to Christmastime 1821 and meet a pioneer family just settling into new lives on the Georgia frontier. Savor a taste of Brunswick stew provided by Souper Jenny while enjoying live music, hands-on-activities for a Make n’ Take toy, encouraging guests to make their own early American toy for the perfect stocking stuffer, and enjoy the delightful smell of a holiday meal smoldering over the open-hearth.
Timed Activities: Atlanta Sacred Harp Singers 7 p.m, 8 p.m., 9 p.m.
The Atlanta Sacred Harp Singers perform historic a cappella shape-note hymns from The Sacred Harp, a collection first published in Georgia in 1844. Their performances entertain and inspire listeners through the active tradition of community sacred singing, which originated in early 19th century Georgia.
