The holidays are about family, taking time to enjoy the simple things in life and remembering slower, sweeter times. There are many who have a hard time making that happen. It’s more about over-extended budgets, over-filled calendars, frenzied baking marathons and last-minute shopping.

It wasn’t always that way though. There was a time when the holidays were much less expensive and more family-centric. On Dec.4, at the Museum of the Cape Fear, peek into the past at the Holiday Jubilee and see what the holidays were like in Fayetteville during the Victorian era.

From 1-5 p.m. visitors are invited to a fun-filled day including musical concerts from acapella group Oakwood Waits, performances by A Fairy Tale Affair, ornament making and cooking in the Poe House kitchen.
See the Poe House adorned in period fashion with early 20th century accents and activities at every turn. It’s a different kind of hustle and bustle here — one that soothes the soul and calms the nerves, and even rejuvenates the spirit.

So take a moment, sit a spell on the porch and listen to the harmony of Oakwood Waits as they perform melodies that call back to an earlier time.

“Oakwood Waits is a wonderful singing group out of Raleigh,” said Leisa Greathouse, curator of education at the Museum of the Cape Fear. “One of the exciting things about having them here is that not only are they great performers, but they will be having meet and greets in between performances so people will have a chance to talk to them about their music.”
Dressed in red and green ball gowns, Princess Emily and Princess Anna of A Fairy Tale Affairs, will perform 13 traditional carols incorporated into a Christmas production. This is sure to captivate the youngest visitors and ignite their Christmas spirit.

“We’ll also have a crafting area where children can come and make what are called scrap ornaments,” said Greathouse. “They are called scrap ornaments because children used to cut pictures out of magazines and things like that and make these out of scrap paper.”

An addition to the annual celebration, this year the local doll clubs are involved. They are providing their expertise and even more significantly, access to their prized doll collections, which are part of the decorations in the parlor. These doll clubs have a national membership with the United Federation of Doll Clubs, Inc. A large variety of dolls and toys representing the early 1900s will indeed make the parlor “all dolled up.”

“The collections that these collectors have are amazing,” said Greathouse. “They represent many different countries and cultures and are representative of the kind of toys children had in the early 1900s. This is a very unique opportunity to share their passion with the public while educating them as well.”

Admission is free. Find out more by calling 486-1330 or visiting www.museumofthecapefear.com.