Attention media: Images of the decorated homes are available.
Contact:
Becky Giantonio, Pita Communications
(860) 293-0157, ext. 25; becky@pitacomm.com
Elaine St. Onge, Wethersfield Historical Society
(860) 529-7656, Weth.hist.society@snet.net
DECORATING FOR THE HOLIDAYS
IN HISTORIC WETHERSFIELD
Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum and Wethersfield Historical Society to
Present Three Centuries of Holiday Décor from December 1 to 23
WETHERSFIELD, Conn. (September 28, 2007) – Historic homes, live music and decorated streets…what could be a more quintessentially New England holiday? This holiday season, experience three centuries of celebration in the heart of historic Wethersfield. The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum has joined with Wethersfield Historical Society to present holiday tours of three homes and re-create the festivities of centuries past.
“We are very excited to join efforts with Wethersfield Historical Society to create a unique holiday experience that spans three centuries,” said Charles Lyle, executive director of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum. “Historic Wethersfield has a wealth of history and charm and is the perfect setting for an educational and entertaining holiday event.”
Wethersfield Historical Society’s festive Holiday Floral Show House returns this year to the historic Hurlbut-Dunham House at 212 Main Street. Featuring holiday room decorations by 10 of the area’s finest florists and designers, the Victorian house museum will provide fabulous holiday decorating ideas.
As they view the festive holiday decorations, Holiday Floral Show House guests will be treated to the lifestyle of Connecticut’s early high society couple Jane and Howard Dunham, whose home features the family’s opulent early 20th-century décor.
Returning designers include Cedar Mountain Florists of Newington, Kymrie Zaslow of West Hartford, The Flower Box, Abbate Florist, Wethersfield Garden Club and Village Garden Club of Wethersfield, as well as representatives from Keser’s Flowers and B&B Landscaping of Glastonbury. They will be joined by new designers in transforming the home.
At the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, the Isaac Stevens Home will be decorated to depict holiday celebrations during the 1820s. The dining room will be set for a holiday feast, and the house’s Christmas tree will reveal the origin of this holiday tradition. On the second floor, the new children’s exhibits and toy museum, which feature 19th-century clothing, toys and games, will be open for the holidays for the first time.
In the Joseph Webb House, visitors will see decorations that were part of the Colonial Revival style of the 1920s and 1930s. The front parlor will include a tree with period ornaments, greens and flowers. The Yorktown parlor will be converted into a dining room bountiful with a holiday dessert course of sweets, cakes and puddings, along with pyramids of candy, fruit and nuts. The other rooms will feature period holiday decorations and ornaments from the 1920s. On the second floor, the bedroom will show holiday preparations with packages and gift wrapping and period Christmas cards. On Saturday evenings, musicians will entertain in the Webb House’s drawing room.
For the first time in 40 years, visitors can view the drawing room’s recently uncovered wall murals installed by Wallace Nutting, a previous owner of the Webb House, in 1916. In addition to the Webb House, he owned as part of his “Chain of Colonial Picture Houses” four other important historic sites in New England that are portrayed in the wall murals.
The Webb House Shop and the Museum Shop at the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center, located next to the Hurlbut-Dunham House, will be open for holiday shopping. New for 2007 is the Hurlbut-Dunham House’s Holiday Boutique, featuring historical and holiday gifts. The shop at the Webb House has also been expanded with gifts, books, and historic reproductions for every budget. Visitors may enjoy a drink or full dinner nearby at the recently-opened J. Michaels Tavern, housed in the historic Deming-Standish House, built in 1787.
All decorated homes are open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $20 to tour the three homes, or $10 for admission to the Hurlbut-Dunham House and the Wethersfield Museum only or the Webb and Stevens houses only. Funds will help support the museums’ educational and cultural programs and events, as well as the preservation of these historic treasures. For more information, call (860) 529-7656.
About Wethersfield Historical Society.
Located at 150 Main Street, Wethersfield Historical Society, is a 501.c.3. non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and education of Wethersfield’s history and culture. The society operates six historic properties within Wethersfield’s scenic historic district, including the Wethersfield Museum and Visitors Center at the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center, which is open daily on a year-round basis. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission to the museum is included with admission to the Holiday Floral Show House or is available separately at $5 adults and free to children under age six. Contact Wethersfield Historical Society at (860) 529-7656 or weth.hist.society@snet.net for additional information. Visit Wethersfield Historical Society on the Web at www.wethhist.org.
About the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum
Located in the heart of Connecticut’s largest historic district, the museum, which consists of three authentically restored 18th-century homes, brings Wethersfield’s rich history to life, from the American Revolution to the early 20th century. The museum includes the 1752 Joseph Webb House, which served as George Washington’s Revolutionary War headquarters in May 1781, when he met with French General le conte de Rochambeau; the 1766 Silas Deane House, built for America’s first diplomat to France; and the 1788 Isaac Stevens House, which depicts life in the 18th and 19th centuries through original family objects and includes a new children’s museum.
The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, located at 211 Main St., Wethersfield, is open daily – with the exception of Tuesday – from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., May through October, and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., November 1 through April 30. Three-house tours cost $8 for adults and $4 for students and children ages 5 to 18. For information about current exhibits, upcoming events or Museum School classes, call (860) 529-0612 or visit www.webb-deane-stevens.org.
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