You and your family can experience a 19th-century Christmas at Lang Pioneer Village Museum in Keene when the annual “Christmas by Candlelight” event returns on Saturday and Sunday (December 2 and 3).
Running from 4 to 8 p.m. each day, the event includes horse-drawn wagon rides around the historic village which will be lit by the warm glow of candles, lamps, and lanterns and decorated with pine and cedar garlands and freshly made natural centrepieces.
You can see how pioneers celebrated their first Christmas in the wilderness by visiting the Fife Cabin, where chestnuts will be roasting over an open fire. You can find out about traditional holiday treats in the Milburn House, where you can sample some Turkish delight, and join a traditional toast to the holiday season at the Fitzpatrick House.
As the Carpenter Shop, you can learn the history of the toy maker and, at the Cider Mill, find out about the nutcracker and why it has its iconic shape and sample some sugar plums. You can visit the Cheese Factory to listen to the story of the mammoth cheese ball. In the Aabnaabin Gallery, you can discover how the Michi Saagiig survived and thrived in the winter months.
Live music includes the Note-a-Bells performing Christmas tunes with hand bells in the Jacquard Loom Interpretive Centre, hymns and carolling in the Glen Alda Church, and traditional shanties and Christmas songs performed by Glen Cardus and Fiddling Jay, who will also share the story of the Flying Canoe.
You can also listen to a reading of the traditional Christmas tale “Twas the Night Before Christmas” in the Print Shop. On Sunday only at 7 p.m., there will be a live nativity scene complete with animals and a choir presented by the Keene United Church.
A selection of early Christmas gift ideas will be on display at the General Store, and you can find unique tree ornaments and gifts at the Museum Shop. Tickets will be available for a Christmas raffle with items including a one-of-a-kind Jacquard carpet bag made on Lang’s own Jacquard loom.
You can visit with Father and Mother Christmas and have your family Christmas photo taken in a winter sleigh. You can also participate in some reindeer games including wooden tandem skis, snowshoes, and sled races.
You can warm up by the wood-burning stove in the kitchen of the Keene Hotel, which will be serving treats and hot drinks. Stop by the Peterborough County Agricultural Heritage Building for ham and savoury on a bun, or get some freshly popped kettle corn from Ben’s Kettle. Food and drink items are available for an additional fee.
Admission for Christmas by Candlelight is $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors 60 and older, $7 for children and youth aged five to 14, and free for children under five. Family admission is also available for $40 (for two adults and up to four youth ages two to 14). You can purchase tickets in advance from the museum’s online shop, but advance tickets are not required.
In the spirit of the season, Lang Pioneer Village Museum is asking visitors to bring one or more non-perishable food items to donate to the Otonabee-South Monaghan Food Cupboard, which you can drop off in the Museum Shop.
The most-needed non-perishable food items include peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, canned plain pasta sauce, canned pork and beans, canned soup (both hearty and condensed types), canned vegetables, pasta, rice, canned tuna, and cereal.
