What to Know
- Dec. 2 and 3, 2017
- Heritage Square
- $30 adults, $15 children
Run your index finger along a row of holiday books, the ones penned in the second half of the 19th century, or the modern tomes that take place in the Victorian era.
Then select one, and crack the spine.
You may find holly and ivy and nog and wreaths and muffs and top hats and carriages and carols and, yes, the occasional ghost, but you almost assuredly will never, ever read "just off the 110 Freeway" in a tale celebrating a Victorian person's happy Christmas.
For the 110 Freeway arrived after the Victorian period ended, though, honestly, only by a few decades, and Heritage Square Museum, the group of Victorian houses found just off the thoroughfare?
That came after the freeway, though, granted, it did and it didn't. (The Victorian homes already exited elsewhere long before making the jump to their current 110-close spot, a move that saved them from the wrecking ball.)
But your Victorian Christmas story can involve the 110, should you attend the Holiday Lamplight Celebration at Heritage Square on either Saturday, Dec. 2 and Sunday, Dec. 3.
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The festivity, which marks its first quarter century in a couple of years, features historic rooms festooned in the swags and boughs of the past.
Shiny, blinking, moving, talking centerpieces? Tech-y bulbs and futuristic flourishes? Nope. Modern touches are nowhere to be found, but the sorts of trees and doily-like details seen in a home from decades ago will fill tour-ready structures around the property.
An adult ticket is $30, a child's ticket is $15, and many people will be in costume from the era, from cravat squares to bustles. If you choose to sartorially honor the setting, though, will you also honor the occasion? Some greenery tucked into the brim of your hat, or a poinsettia corsage, speaks to the arrival of December.
A month that received a ton of nostalgic play in the Victorian yarns we so often return to read this time of year.
If you can't enter the holiday book on your shelf, you can enter Heritage Square, at least for a few hours, on its most festive weekend of the year.
