Holiday Festival Homes On Tour

By far, one of the most popular events each year of the Newtown Holiday Festival is the walking tour of selected Main Street-area historical houses and historical buildings decorated for the holidays. This year’s Holiday Festival, the 15th presentation of the event, will be on Sunday, December 3, from 11 am to 5 pm.

Trinity Church, the offices of Bee Publishing Co., Inc., Matthew Curtiss House and C.H. Booth Library are usually included on the walking tour. It is the private homes that are opened for public visits during the December event that attract interest and anticipation.

The history of each of this year’s homes will be presented in the December 1 issue of The Newtown Bee. This year’s walking tour will include two Main Street homes, one Main Street South home, and one home on Tory Lane (shuttle buses run continuously between all Holiday Festival locations).

In addition to the walking tour, the Holiday Festival also offers New England Café, serving items from area restaurants, set up this year in the undercroft of Trinity Church; ballet performances by students of Marsha Mark’s School of Ballet and musical performances by area singing and instrumental groups; an ongoing family workshop (1:30 to 5 pm only) in the lower level of Newtown Meeting House, 31 Main Street; Victorian Tea, in the Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall, offering mulled cider, tea breads, scones and tea; and Festival of Trees, which presents a raffle of decorated trees and wreaths decorated by area organizations, shops and individuals, and door prizes for children, at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street.

Also included on the day of the festival is a crafts show featuring area crafters with cloth dolls, stained glass, holiday decorations, dried flowers, etc, which will be set up this year at Newtown Congregational Church, 14 West Street; and an antiques show in the gymnasium at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street. These two events will begin at 10 am.

Tickets for the Holiday Festival are $12 for adults if purchased in advance or $15 the day of the festival. Tickets for seniors and those ages 9 to 14 are $8, regardless of when they are purchased. Proceeds from the Holiday Festival benefit Family Counseling Center, Inc. For details,