Saturday, Dec. 7 at 10 a.m.—PLYMOUTH NOTCH—Step back in time and celebrate the traditions of the season when the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site hosts the Coolidge Holiday Open House on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The open house has been selected as a 2019-2020 “Top 10 Winter Event” by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.
Most of the historic village, including the Homestead, where President Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as president of the United States, will be open. The Coolidge birthplace will be decorated as it would have been in 1872, the year the future president was born. The event is free and features activities for the entire family.
Special guest Willem Lange will present “Favor Johnson” and other stories at 11:00 a.m. Lange is a commentator on Vermont Public Radio and received an Emmy as host of the award-winning “Windows to the Wild” on New Hampshire Public Television. His story about Favor Johnson and the mysterious delivery of homemade fruit cakes on Christmas Eve is a Vermont classic. Copies of Lange’s CDs and books will be available for purchase and signing.
Also featured will be Anne Collins, author of the acclaimed “Vintage Pies.” A resident of Cornwall, Vermont, Collins has been collecting old recipes and baking pies since childhood. At 1 p.m., she will share samples of some of her favorites, such as mincemeat, pumpkin, and Marlborough (apple custard) – a traditional holiday pie in America in the 1600s and 1700s.
Steve Morse of Montpelier will perform holiday organ and piano music throughout the day and lead caroling in the village church at 1:45 p.m.
Other activities include sleigh or wagon rides, Coolidge Homestead tours at 12:30p.m. and 2 p.m., as well as wreath, ornament and lantern making activities. Plymouth Cheese Factory will offer samples of award-winning cheeses, traditional gifts, and fresh-baked sourdough baguettes from Wild Fern Café. Plus, enjoy homemade chocolate demonstrations and sampling with The Chocolatorium. Make your own chocolate snowman for a $3 activity fee. Lunch will be served at the Wilder House Restaurant by Tyson Ladies Aid.
The Coolidge Holiday Open House is also the last chance to see the 2019 temporary exhibit, Presidential Menagerie: The Coolidges and Their Pets, which examines the important role animals played in the private life and public image of the Coolidge family. The pet exhibit was funded with generous support from the Alma Gibbs Donchian Foundation. Also investigate the nationally award-winning permanent exhibition, “More Than Two Words: The Life and Legacy of Calvin Coolidge.”
For more information, call 802-672-3773 or visit historicsites.vermont.gov.
