[Archived] Experience Historic Alexandria Through Candlelight

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

For Immediate Release
December 10, 2004
PIO 298-04/rdo

Experience Historic Alexandria Through Candlelight

See historic Alexandria in a whole new light this holiday season! Five of Old Town Alexandria’s finest historic sites will open their doors Dec. 10 through 12 for the festive Historic Alexandria Candlelight Tour program, which is sponsored by the Office of Historic Alexandria. The traditional holiday event features period music, seasonal decorations and special tours. This year’s tour will include the Carlyle House Historic Park, the Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, the Lee-Fendall House, the Friendship Firehouse and the Old Presbyterian Meeting House. New this year is the special Family Day on Sunday, Dec. 12, when the tours will be more interactive for the young and young-at-heart through living history.

Tour highlights include the Carlyle House’s display of seasonal greens and musicians who will perform period music as the house is prepared for an 18th-century holiday celebration. At the Gadsby’s Tavern Museum where hot cider will be served, choral groups will perform while visitors experience the unique history of the decorated tavern. For the sights and sounds of a Victorian Christmas, the Lee-Fendall House will feature decorations, costumed tours and entertainment of the period. The Friendship Firehouse, home of the City’s first volunteer fire company, will captivate guests with firefighting techniques from the early 18th century; and the Old Presbyterian Meeting House will be decorated while costumed docents provide tours of one of the earliest churches in Alexandria.

The tour is self-guided, and the sites may be visited in any order. A free shuttle service will link the sites, which will be open from 7 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 10; 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11; and 3 to 6 p.m. for Family Day on Sunday, Dec. 12. Ticket prices are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors (age 65 and older), and $5 for children (ages 6 to 17).

For information, tickets, and group sales information, call the Lyceum at 703.838.4994, or purchase tickets online at www.HistoricAlexandria.org.

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