A Farmer’s Christmas at Ag Museum open through Dec. 19
The Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village in Dover announced A Farmer’s Christmas 1890-2020 will be open to the public from Friday, Nov. 27 to Saturday, Dec. 19.
Traditionally a one-day event, A Farmer’s Christmas is a time-honored Ag Museum holiday affair that draws visitors from across the region. A variety of activities enables visitors to recapture the holidays of yesteryear by enjoying the simple pleasures of listening to strolling carolers, gazing at the twinkling lights and ornaments adorning Christmas trees, and savoring the scent of fresh-baked cookies.
Visitors will travel back in time as they tour an authentic 19th century holiday village to witness a blacksmith at work in his shop, view the gleaming array of goods for sale in the general store, marvel at American ingenuity as they tour the gristmill and stop for a shave in the barbershop. The holiday village highlight is the beautiful St. Thomas Methodist Episcopal Church (ca. 1857) recently reopened to visitors after a lengthy restoration.
Several attractions are new this year. Area FFA and 4-H clubs will compete for top honors in a Christmas tree decorating contest. There will be an 1890s holiday village and museum exhibit decorating contest featuring the holiday artistry and hi-jinks of the highly competitive Jingle Bells, Wood-Alls, Wilder Bunch, Elves Bells and others. Self-guided tours are available in the 1890s Holiday Village and Museum. Kids can select takeaway crafts to complete at home.
Museum Director Carolyn Claypoole said A Farmer’s Christmas attracted a record 600 visitors over a four-hour period in 2019. The question in the era of COVID-19 is how to provide a quality visitor experience in a safe setting. The museum has planned a safe visitor experience by expanding the event to span 20 days.
With timed ticket sales on weekends, the museum is able to limit the number of visitors on its expansive property. Other health and safety protocols include requiring visitors of all ages to wear face masks, use hand sanitizer upon entering the facility, and follow 6-foot social distancing mandates. Museum staff will be on hand to repeatedly disinfect all common-area surfaces.
Claypoole said, “The Ag Museum is a resilient, roll-with-it organization. Rather than let COVID-19 put a damper on the holidays, the museum has turned this time into an opportunity to leverage change and to freshen up a time-honored event. As the song goes, ‘We need a little Christmas now;’ and the Ag Museum is bringing it.”
For more information and to purchase tickets, go to agriculturalmuseum.org/a-farmers-christmas-2020.
