Second Annual Champagne & Candlelight Evening to Celebrate "Light Up the Holidays" at The Hermitage

This year's "Light Up the Holidays" theme has been chosen by the Ho-Ho-Kus Garden Club for the period-inspired holiday decorations inside The Hermitage. Featured will be leaded-glass crystals and multifaceted prisms to provide warm glows and special sparkle. The holiday decorations are composed, for the most part, of natural plants materials, including a favorite Victorian flower, the hydrangea, which Garden Club members have been collecting and drying through the summer. Each room of the historic house will be distinctively decorated for the enjoyment of visitors.

Visitors will be treated to a live performance by the North River Colonial Dance Troupe, in full period dress, who will demonstrate a variety of Early American dances. Visitors will be encouraged to join in and learn these historical dance steps.

Admission to this special evening is $50 per person, and advance reservations are recommended for this popular event. Proceeds from the Champagne & Candlelight evening will help fund the museum's educational programs for children.

The Hermitage, a National Historic Landmark, is one of the nation's outstanding examples of domestic Gothic Revival architecture. The historic house incorporates a stone structure that was visited during the Revolutionary War by George Washington and was the site where Aaron Burr met and married Theodosia Prevost. The house's architectural appearance dates to the 1847 remodeling and enlargement designed by the architect William H. Ranlett. Today, the historic house's furnishings reflect the late Victorian lifestyle of the Rosencrantz family.

The Friends of the Hermitage, Inc., a nonprofit membership organization, manages The Hermitage, a New Jersey State Park. The Friends offer tours of the historic house, exhibitions based on the collections, and diverse educational programming. For information about The Hermitage, contact Friends of the Hermitage by mail at 335 North Franklin Turnpike, Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ 07423; by phone at (201) 445-8311 between (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday); or visit our website at www.thehermitage.org.