The Historic Odessa Foundation (HOF) is breaking from its holiday tradition of presenting indoor holiday tours featuring yuletide vignettes inspired by classic children’s literature.
But the foundation is still celebrating the season outdoors.
The coronavirus pandemic sidelined indoor tours for this holiday season at the Historic Houses of Odessa.
Instead, the Foundation’s executive director Debbie Buckson says they are lighting up the 18th century hamlet with thousands of lights and offering the Look for the Light: Odessa at Night outdoor walking tour.
“We have everything lit up from the Smoke House, to the Muskrat Skinning Shack, to the Dog House; it’s just really delightful," said Buckson. "And then of course our spectacular Corbit-Sharp House, which is a National Historic Landmark building and also a National Park Service Network to Freedom site will be completely outlined in white light.”
She also notes they set up a Recycled Holiday Ornament Resale Shop in one of the buildings.
“This year we decided since we’re closed inside, to open our wonderful little Collins-Sharp House, that dates to 1700 - a fabulous little building. We do have COVID restrictions; you must wear a mask and we only allow a limited number of people into the building at one time," saif Buckson. "And we have all these wonderful vintage Christnas tree decorations and ornaments.”
Buckson says all proceeds will help support the Foundation’s educational programming and preservation efforts.
This first-ever holiday walking tour is available each night from 5 to 10 p.m. through January 3, 2021.
More information about the tours is available here.
Also this season, the Historic Odessa Foundation will present outdoor Candlelight Tours of the foundation’s museum properties every Tuesday and Thursday evening in December beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and include a libation at Cantwell’s Tavern. Reservations are required for the tours, and can be made by contacting Jennifer Kostik at (302) 378-4119,
Delaware Public Media' s arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
