Cape May’s “gilded age” of luxurious cottages, elegant hotels, cafes, cotillions, and concerts is reborn and celebrated during the 37th annual Victorian Week, sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC), Oct. 9-18.
With 600 restored Victorian structures and a National Historic Landmark City designation, Cape May is where the 19th century comes alive, and Victorian Week is the perfect time to experience the city’s unique heritage by taking advantage of some of the historic house tours, vintage dance workshops, food and wine events, ghost tours, antique and craft shows, and much more.
Here’s just a sample of what you can expect:
Vintage Dance Weekend Oct. 10-11. Instructor, Susan DeGuardiola will teach you the traditional dances of the 19th century at a Vintage Dance Workshop.
Go beyond the doors of a selection of charming private cottages in the Cape May area not normally opened to the public on Private Homes Tours. Tours are offered Saturdays, Oct. 10 and 17.
Proper Victorian ladies and gentlemen stroll through the streets of Cape May once again. as Victorian Tour and Tales feature interactive encounters with these costumed Victorians in the city’s Historic District.
The delectable Cape May INNteriors Tour & Tea, Oct. 13 and 15 displays the interiors of four historic bed and breakfast inns and guesthouses and comes with a refreshing tea, complete with freshly baked delights at the historic Chalfonte Hotel, 301 Howard St.
Victorian Vices at the Emlen Physick Estate—sex, drugs and “rock and roll” in the 19th century. Most of our ideas about sex: deviance, abnormality, sado/masochism, homosexuality, etc. all derive from the Victorian era.
The Victorians’ amazing attitude toward hard drugs (acceptable) and alcohol (unacceptable for women) are revealed on this Curator’s guided tour of the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St.
Don your thinking caps for Cape May’s History Detectives Tour. Become a true History Detective on this self-guided tour of Cape May.
Cape May has been called “the restaurant capital of New Jersey” by the New York Times and Victorian Week is the perfect chance to truly get a taste of Cape May.
On Friday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. members of the Eternal Sword Temperance Union invade the dining room at the Inn of Cape May, 7 Ocean St., and ask, “to drink or not to drink.”
Enjoy a three-course dinner filled with music and boisterous barroom comedy and a hilarious look back to 1905 and the Temperance Movement’s efforts to “dry out” the nation during the Temperance Tantrums Dinner & Show. Murder Mystery Dinners feature the “Not Quite Ready for Victorian Times” Players in an interactive dinner program. Enjoy a four-course dinner at the Inn of Cape May, 7 Ocean St., as a cast of suspicious characters stir up trouble.
The Champagne Brunch Walk gives tourgoers an up-close look at Cape May’s renowned Victorian architecture as they build up their appetite on a guided walking tour of Cape May’s Historic District.
The sweetest event during Victorian Week, the Chocolate Fantasy Buffet is Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. at the Washington Inn, 801 Washington St.
Combine magnificent beachfront properties and brunch during the Trolley Brunch on Oct. 14 at 10:30 a.m. First board a MAC Trolley to see a century of beachfront development, from Victorian cottages of the 1870s through the most up-to-date of today’s housing, you’ll ride past some of the most amazing structures ever erected in Cape May.
Victorian Week’s Chef’s Dine-Around is an epicurean extravaganza featuring five-courses, five Cape May restaurants and fine wines! On, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m., board a MAC trolley for the best way to get a taste of Cape May.
Spend the afternoon visiting Cape May County’s wineries and sampling the unique flavors of each on the new Cape May Wine Trail on Oct. 16 at noon.
Sip and swirl your way through Cape May’s 37th annual Victorian Week with Winery Cellar Tours & Tastings at the Cape May Winery at 711 Town Bank Rd. in North Cape May.
Celebrate Oktoberfest with the Sam Adams Beer Dinner at the Mad Batter restaurant, 19 Jackson St., Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
The Carriage House Tearoom & Café located on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate, will host entertaining lectures and teas. On Oct. 13 at 2:30 p.m. the program is What Were They Thinking: 160 Years of Bad Taste.
On Oct. 15 at 2:30 p.m. the program is Fashion Nostalgia. Enjoy an interactive presentation about vintage fashions, accessories, traditions and pop culture.
Visit the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate Oct. 10 and 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for Antiques and Crafts for Victorian Week.
The lawn of the Physick Estate is transformed into an open-air marketplace with antique vendors and crafters from throughout the region displaying and selling their wares.
Tour Cape May by trolley and boat during the Cape May by Land and Sea tour on Fridays, Oct. 9 and 16 at 3:15 p.m.
Enjoy first-class theater productions with productions by East Lynne Theater Company and Cape May Stage. Wednesdays through Saturdays, Oct. 9 through 17 at 8 p.m., East Lynne Theater Company presents “The Butter and Egg Man,” written by Pulitzer Prize winner George S. Kaufman.
Before Mel Brooks’ The Producers, there was Kaufman’s 1925 comedy about two producers who desperately need funding for their Broadway show.
Cape May Stage presents “Proof,” Wednesdays through Sundays, Oct. 9 through 18 at 8 p.m. at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse, Bank and Lafayette streets. Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play—Proof follows the story of a woman, whose father, a brilliant but unstable mathematician, has recently died.
On Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. the Cape May Film Society presents “Room with a View” at the Episcopal Church of the Advent, Washington and Franklin streets.
Winner of three Academy Awards, A Room with a View is a comedy of the heart, a passionate romance and a study of repression within the British class system of manners and mores.
For all that’s happening during Victorian Week, call 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278, or visit www.capemaymac.org.
For information about restaurants, accommodations and shopping, call the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cape May at 609-884-5508.
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