Family Fun Day 2019

Today was another super fun day at Hanna’s Town!  Since the addition of the new Education center, there are many more opportunities to have programs and adventures.  I had emailed Pam and offered to help if they needed anything, and she asked me to supervise the cookie decorating table.  I gladly accepted, with the disclaimer that I could supervise and handled crowd control, but my decorating skills were sadly lacking.  So we were in agreement and it was set. 

There were several activities going on, including tours of the site and a sale in the new gift shop.  The cookie station was set in the activities room in the Center, and we had several different shapes of thick sugar cookies, 12 tubes of icing, 5 cups of sprinkles — ‘and a partridge in a pear tree!’  No.  No partridge.  But we did have a flock of excited children come through, and they loved decorating the cookies.  It was very interesting.  I noticed that the older kids got  very creative, using icing upon icing and sprinkles upon sprinkles, loading up the cookies as much as possible.  The younger ones, even as small as three, seemed to be very deliberate with their project.  They outlined the shapes, used icing sparingly, and were very precise with the sprinkles.  They all did a great job and I was totally impressed with their excitement and patience. 

The whole time, in the background, a large screen computer image displayed a cozy room with a Christmas tree and a glowing fireplace.  Classic holiday music filled the room with music – everything from Bing Crosby to the Beach Boys (which of course I loved hearing!).  At noon Stage Right came in, and for 50 minutes we were absolutely delighted with their entertainment.  The voices of these young people amazed me, and the solos were wonderful.  My two favorite performances were ‘Pine Cones and Holly Berries’ (I have that song on an album by the Osmond Brothers from my childhood!) and of course the Beach Boys ‘Little St. Nick’.  The singers were exuberant and engaged and very talented, and I encourage anyone who hasn’t had a chance to see them perform to check it out.  I understand that there is a performance of Cinderella in January. 

After Stage Right was finished, several of the members and also those who had come in to watch the show decorated cookies, and we were busy for an hour with that – while in the Steele House next door there was a reading of the Nutcracker for families to attend.  The afternoon wound down with only a few more cookie decorators, and some of the other volunteers wandered in to see the displays.  If you read my post from December 14th, you’ll remember that I mentioned not taking pictures at the 1900’s presentation.  The display was still up, so I snapped a few photos.  You’ll see toys and electronics and books, and wax candles and cardboard houses, Santa Coke can, melted window decor, and a few sets of lights. 

As I left at 3:15pm, I turned around and took a photo of the wreath on the Tavern door.  It’s a great site with wonderful programs.  Keep checking the website at www.westmorelandhistory.org to see what’s happening, and in the spring all the new programs will begin.  Don’t get left out, it’s a great place to be – Where History is Present!