Walk down the streets of Bellefonte during Victorian Christmas, being held this year Friday, Dec. 9, through Sunday, Dec. 11, and you may feel as though you have landed in a Dickens tale or a Hallmark Christmas movie setting.
If you happen to come there on Friday during the day, you can visit the Centre County Library for activities. Later in the day, by 5 p.m., you might see a horse-drawn carriage stationed at the Brockerhoff on Allegheny Street, ready to carry travelers to the opening ceremony at the Bellefonte Elementary School.
Next, make your way to the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology to view dozens of trees dressed in holiday splendor. Voting will be vigorous for these trees, which are the efforts of many professional and civic groups in the area. There is even an auction this year on a few of the trees that can be carried home to decorate a lucky family’s home.
What if you can only get to town on Saturday? Your choices are numerous and varied.
If registered, you can participate in a breakfast with Santa and the Victorian Christmas children’s party at Lambert Hall at 8:30 a.m.
Santa said in a phone interview, “I have been coming to breakfast with Santa for more than 30 years. When I first came there, the activity was the project of the hospital auxiliary.
‘They give me a chair in the back of Lambert Hall, and kids can sit on my lap as soon as they come in or after their breakfast. One thing I know that is new this year is a puppet show.”
Santa also said he is always ready for his visit and enjoys the time with the kids.
Sally Houser, one of the chairs of the Bellefonte Victorian Christmas, said, “We are excited that Adam Schwartz is offering two puppet shows this year at breakfast with Santa at Lambert Hall and later at 3:30 p.m. at the Bellefonte Middle School.” Schwartz will present “A Christmas Carol” as a puppet performance.
You can visit the Festival of Trees all day at CPI and find all sorts of activities for kids and adults at the Centre County Library.
If you are fond of crafts, you can find those at both the YMCA downtown and at Bellefonte Middle School from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Always filled with the things you look for every year, as well as exciting new crafts, both venues are not-to-be-missed while enjoying Victorian Christmas. Shopping could be all done with just two stops.
There is no way to adequately describe the delight of passing Victorian-clad Dickens characters strolling the sidewalks of Bellefonte. They will greet you with “Good day” and “Happy Christmas,” and stop to chat.
The sight of Santa’s house as you approach the Diamond in the center of Bellefonte is a sure sign that Christmas is around the corner. The jolly man will arrive at 11:45 a.m. Saturday.
Victorian High Tea is offered Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Seating is limited and all the information on this and other events is available at www.bellefontevictorianchristmas.com and in brochures that are available in stores and other sites around Bellefonte.
It is an amazing amount of work to offer this weekend — a glimpse into the past — every year. Victorian Christmas is made possible in part by the Centre County commissioners. Corporate sponsors include North Shore and Nittany and Bald Eagle railroads. The event is also affiliated with Historic Bellefonte Inc.
Music is everywhere during Victorian Christmas in Bellefonte, including the songs of Picker and Papa, concerts at Bellefonte High School theater and Trinity United Methodist Church (several concerts both Saturday and Sunday), strolling musicians and singers, the Dan & Gala Music Show (during the arts and crafts show at Bellefonte Middle School on Saturday) and the community choir concert.
“The choir is back this year and I want to note that the community involvement is so important,’ said Houser. ‘The bell choir and the youth choir will be at Faith United Methodist Church on Dec. 11 at 4 p.m. The community choir will present their concert on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Bellefonte High School.”
Food be available throughout the Victorian Christmas event. Cookies-and-punch receptions are in place for some venues, and for a special full-dining experience on Saturday at 6 p.m., those who have been fortunate to order tickets will dine with Dickens and Company at the American Philatelic Society.
The home tour is a big draw every year for out-of-town visitors and locals. The Bellefonte Women’s Club and the Homes Tour Committee sponsor the tour, which includes four beautifully decorated homes and two historic churches this year. The tour happens Saturday from 2 to 7 p.m. Tickets are available at Plumb’s Drug Store, Woodring’s and the train station. On the day of the tour, you can purchase tickets at each home on the tour and at the YMCA HBI booth.
“The tour is work, yes, but I enjoy it,’ said Susan Hoover, owner with her husband, Gary, of a home that will be featured on the tour. ‘My parents’ home was on the tour in the 1950s and I remember that well.”
Hoover said that one year her parents added the second floor to the tour of their home — but forgot to tell the kids. “We could not believe our mother did that. There was a lot of scrambling, putting shoes under the beds and straightening as we heard footsteps coming up the stairs!”
The Hoovers bought their home, located at 136 E. Burnside St., in 1999. It was built in the 1880s and has a Mansard roof.
“The tour is more about the people enjoying life and sharing their homes with others than about a certain level of decorating,” said Hoover. In her home, she has certain artifacts from her grandparents and will have a list of items or architectural features to try to spot as you walk through the house.
A separate open house is planned for St. John’s Evangelist Church on East Bishop Street from noon to 3 p.m. The church sanctuary has been redecorated and is well worth a stop for those taking in Victorian Christmas activities. Church members will be on hand to welcome visitors.
“This is my seventh year as a chair of this event,’ said Houser. ‘I and the other chairs have shared the duties. Renee Brown takes care of the facilities and their decorations, Romayne Naylor has charge of the concerts and the arts and crafts venues, Rondi Neshteruk arranges the opening ceremonies and the children’s activities, and I have handled the troops, the marketing and the finances.
‘We need people, especially younger people, to step up and continue this wonderful tradition.’
