By Carla Branch
alexandrianews.org
Experience Christmas the way 18th and 19th-century Alexandrians did by taking a candlelight tour of four of the City’s historic sites.
On Saturday, Dec. 13, the Office of Historic Alexandria will offer a candlelight tour of four historic sites: The Lee-Fendall House; The Carlisle House; Gadsby’s Tavern Museum and The Old Presbyterian House. Adult tickets are $20; senior citizens will pay $15; children from ages six to seventeen cost $5 and children under six are free.
Each site is decorated as it might have been in the 1700s and 1800s. Lee-Fendall is decked in over-the-top Victorian style and will feature the music of an aca pella musical group. At the Carlisle House, visitors will see just how holiday dinner guests might have been welcomed for a holiday feast. In the late 1700s, that feast might well have ended with a portion of Martha Washington’s cake, a delight that visitors can experience during the tour. Gadsby’s Tavern Museum will welcome visitors much as it did when it was a working inn, with bows of pine and holly and a hot mug of mulled cider. The Old Presbyterian Meetinghouse takes visitors into an 18th-century sanctuary, with sights and sounds of the season.
Visitors may see the sites in any order and will be greeted by staff at each location. Tour hours are from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. On Saturday, Dec. 13. A shuttle bus is available for those who do not wish to walk from place to place. To purchase tickets, visit the Alexandria History Center and Museum Store at 101 N. Union Street or go to Historicalexandria.org.