Candlelight Christmas set for next weekend
Visitors check out the Christmas merchandise in the Museum of Appalachia’s gift shop during the annual Candlelight Christmas event last year. This year’s event takes place on Dec. 12-13 at the museum in Norris. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
With this event, the museum hopes guests can step back in time and experience the warmth and wonder of an old-fashioned Appalachian Christmas.”
The event features “an evening tour of the museum grounds, beautifully illuminated for the season,” the museum said.
“Visitors can stroll through the pioneer village, where historic log structures are adorned with simple, handcrafted decorations inspired by 19th-century holiday traditions,” the announcement reads. “Select exhibits will highlight artifacts from the museum’s collection that are tied to Christmas, offering a glimpse into how early settlers celebrated the season.”
Hours will be 4-9 p.m. each day, and the museum’s pioneer village cabins will be decorated and festively lit for the occasion.
Guest activities will include live music, traditional dancing, wagon rides, Christmas storytelling, holiday arts and crafts for kids, and demonstrations of blacksmithing, sorghum making, apple butter churning, popcorn stringing, wildlife education, live animal meet and greets, and more.
In the main museum building and gift shop, visitors can sip sassafras tea, visit with Santa Claus, and browse the Holiday Market, featuring handmade gifts, baked goods, and the works and wares of local artisans.
The museum’s restaurant, also in the main building, will be open throughout the event, serving hearty soups, hot meals, and other seasonal favorites. The gift shop will offer an array of regional crafts, books, clothing items and holiday merchandise.
Tickets may be purchased and additional information may be found online at museumofappalachia.org. Prices are $20 for adults (18-64); $18 for seniors, military and first-responders; $10 for youth (6-17); and $50 for a family of two adults and up to six kids (ages 6-17). Under 6 are admitted free.
The Museum of Appalachia, a Smithsonian affiliate, is 16 miles north of Knoxville, on Andersonville Highway (Tenn. 61) one mile east of Interstate 75, off the Clinton/Norris Exit (122).