Sunnyside and Van Cortlandt Manor
will bask in candlelight for the holidays
TARRYTOWN, NY
(Nov. 26, 2007) - December visitors to Washington
Irving's Sunnyside and Van Cortlandt Manor - two historic properties nestled
along the Hudson River - have a chance to see the sites dressed for the
holidays and bathed only in the light of candles, harkening back to the
country's pre-electric days of horse-drawn carriages and hoop skirts.
Just off Route 9
in Tarrytown, N.Y., Sunnyside and
its charming, romantic waterfront landscape will be entirely lit by candlelight
for four evenings: Saturday and Sunday,
Dec. 8-9, and 15-16. Tours are offered from 4-8 each evening and
reservations are a must. Tickets may be purchased online at www.hudsonvalley.org or by calling
914-631-8200, Ext. 618. Sunnyside is at 89 West Sunnyside Lane in Tarrytown.
During the tours,
quotes from Washington Irving and a bounty of candles help illuminate the
holiday experience. A special treat takes place in the parlor, where Irving's circa 1830s pianoforte is played
and visitors are invited to join in singing Christmas carols. At the end of the
tour, hot cider is served outside, where visitors can stay warm next to a
bonfire.
Candlelight
evenings will also feature musical performances by local students: Dec.
8, the Sleepy Hollow High School Chamber Singers; Dec. 9, Hackley School music department; Dec. 16, TBA; and
Dec. 17, the Dobbs Ferry High School choir.
Candlelight tours
of Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., take place Friday and Saturday, Dec. 21-22, and Friday through Sunday, Dec. 28-30.
Tours are offered from 4-8 each evening and reservations are a must. Tickets
may be purchased online at www.hudsonvalley.org
or by calling 914-631-8200, Ext. 618. Van Cortlandt Manor is at 525 South Riverside Avenue in Croton, just off Route 9A.
After a tour of
the Manor House, which will be decorated for Christmas and features a harpist
in the formal parlor, a guide carrying a candlelit lantern brings visitors to
the site's Ferry House, where a first-person account of Twelfth Night takes
place, featuring the Lord of Misrule who leads the festivities. Inside the
Ferry House, visitors are encouraged to dance to fiddle music and outside, to
toast the season with cider and cookies near the warmth of a bonfire.
Candlelight tours
are $12 for adults, $6 for children 5-17, and free for those under five and for
members of Historic Hudson Valley. Sunnyside is open daily from except Tuesday through
Dec. 31. Van Cortlandt Manor is open weekends through Dec. 31. Full information
can be found at www.hudsonvalley.org.
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