Village will open doors for holiday Saturday
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on December 8, 2006 1:45 PM
Young carolers will serenade guests at the fifth annual Christmas in the Village Saturday at Historic Waynes-borough.
Historic Waynesborough will be open to the public from noon until 5 p.m. The village is located at 801 South U.S. 117, across the highway from the National Guard Armory.
Last year's popular mulled apple cider treat will return, and the conference table in the visitor's center will again be filled with sweets and nuts.
Village officials say more than 500 people attended last year, and many individuals and organizations in the community help each year to get the village ready for Christmas visitors.
Decorations on the Christmas tree in the general store are the artwork of Debbie Turner's first-graders from Spring Creek Elementary School. About 20 of her youngsters made a day of it Tuesday, with a combination field trip and work day at the village. Storytime and a meal of hotdogs and hot chocolate followed the decorating opus.
"We've been studying early America in social studies. The children decorated the tree in the store with 1800s ornaments so they can get a feel for what it was like in those days," Ms. Turner said.
Volunteers will don period dress and give living history demonstrations in all the buildings.
During the event, dulcimer players will perform in the Visitors' Center. Then they will split up into small groups and go all over the village, set up chairs and play.
Daniel Casey and his 7-year-old daughter, Samantha, will play their fiddles.
Santa will arrive at 4:30 p.m. and will lead the children caroling to the old schoolhouse where he will read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."
He will then lead the youngsters, caroling as they go, back to the old country store, where the staff will pass out lanterns for them to take, caroling on their way, to all of the buildings.
As the sun sets, the children will carry lanterns to all the buildings in the village. When they arrive at the buildings, they will all light their lanterns.
The event is scheduled to end at 5 p.m., but the staff promises to keep village open as long as the children are having fun.