Wassail Day, Free Event at Historic Cold Spring Village

CAPE MAY – Historic Cold Spring Village opens its Homespun Holidays season with Wassail Day, Dec. 7, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. The Village paths come alive with the sounds and smells of wintertime at this free event. Select buildings will also be open where guests can enjoy hot beverages and treats served by historical interpreters in period clothing. Visitors can meet Father Christmas in the Country Store from 12-2 p.m. and enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride throughout the festively decorated Village grounds for a small donation. Guests can also enjoy live holiday music and a model railway exhibit in the Welcome Center.
Holiday traditions continue each Saturday in December through the 21st. The Country Store will be open from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. and stocked with unique holiday gift ideas including traditionally-processed wool, artisan crafts for the home, books, hand-knit caps, wooden toys and old fashioned candy. Also on Saturdays, visitors can enjoy carriage rides throughout the Village from 12-2 p.m., see a model railway exhibit from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the Welcome Center, and meet Father Christmas at the Country Store from 12-2 p.m. The Country Store will also be open Sundays from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Historic Cold Spring Village is a non-profit, open air living history museum that portrays the daily life of a rural South Jersey community of the Early American era. Its mission includes the preservation of 26 historic Cape May County buildings, history education and promoting heritage tourism. The Village is a museum for all seasons. During the summer months, interpreters and artisans in period clothing preserve the trades, crafts and heritage of “the age of homespun.” From October to May, the emphasis is on teaching history through school trips to the Village, classroom visits by the education department and interactive teleconferences with schools throughout the United States. The Village is located on Route 9, three miles north of Victorian Cape May and a mile and a half west of the southern end of the Garden State Parkway. For more information, call (609) 898-2300, ext. 10 or visit the Village website at www.hcsv.org.