Costumed actors will depict a Victorian Christmas during evening tours this week at Rockwood Museum, one of Wilmington's most interesting mansions. The public is invited to three evening performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. and a matinee on Sunday at 2 p.m. Actors will portray various members of the Bringhurst family and their servants, who lived at Rockwood around the turn of the century. They will be busy with preparations for the holidays in the year 1895.
Tours begin on the hour and half-hour between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. (last tour at 8:30 p.m.) and on Sunday between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. After the tour, guests are treated to wassail or punch and holiday sweets. Tickets cost $10.
Regular holiday tours will run daily, except Monday, and Dec. 24 and Dec. 25 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., through Jan. 8. Admission is $6 for adults; $5 for seniors; $2 for ages 5 to 16; free for under 5. Rockwood is at 610 Shipley Road in Wilmington. For details, call (302) 761-4340.
'Maymont by Moonlight'
"Maymont by Moonlight" is the theme of two holiday evening programs at Maymont, a 100-acre estate in downtown Richmond, on Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The evenings begin with wassail and sweets at the Maymont Shop, followed by a tour of the mansion, which has been lavishly decked out for a Victorian Christmas. Guests can then take a ride around the grounds in a horse-drawn carriage by the light of the moon. Admission is $10 for adults; $5 for children under 12. Advance registration is recommended.
Christmas tours, along with a variety of children's workshops, nature programs and other activities, are held Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. throughout December. Maymont is 1700 Hampton St. Call (804) 358-7166.
Uniontown tour
A holiday walking tour of Uniontown, a 19th-century village listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is scheduled today from noon to 5 p.m. Take a horse-and-buggy ride through town to see the entire village decorated in the style of the 19th century.
Six private homes in a variety of architectural styles will be open to the public. Their features include operational cooking fireplaces, handcrafted stenciling, decorative plaster and woodwork, and collections of antiques and artwork. Also open is the general store and post office, two churches, a Victorian bank, a one-room academy and a wheelwright shop, where complimentary refreshments will be served.
A light lunch, along with a greens sale and crafts, will be available at St. Paul's Lutheran Church. Admission is $10. Take Route 140 to Westminster. Turn left at Route 31 and go two blocks to Uniontown Road and turn right for five miles. Call (410) 848-5692 or (800) 272-1933.
Holiday spectacle
The Christmas story will be told at Pageant '94, the holiday spectacle of light and sound presented by the congregation of Christ Community Church in Camp Hill, Pa., Thursday through Dec. 18.
The outdoor pageant involves a cast of more than 200 along with a host of live animals -- a team of Belgian horses used to pull Caesar's chariot, and camels, goats, sheep, cattle and donkeys. This year's presentation is highlighted by a dramatic finale with the angel Gabriel flying across the field to the manger. At the conclusion, the audience is invited to view the sets while actors remain in still-life poses.
There are two performances each evening at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Admission is free. The pageant takes place in a 4-acre field, five miles south of Harrisburg, Pa., along U.S. Route 15 at Slate Hill Road in Camp Hill. Call (717) 761-2933.
Celebrate the solstice
Celebrate the winter solstice and toast the new apple crop Dec. 18 at the Claude Moore Colonial Farm at Turkey Run in McLean, Va.
The farm family will be holding its annual 18th-century Christmas wassail, weather permitting, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Guests are asked to bring an old pot, bells, whistles or other noisemakers in order to participate in the ancient ritual of warding off evil spirits that threaten next year's apple crop. Join the farm family in the orchard for an apple tree dance and sing 18th-century carols. Afterward, steaming cider will be served.
Admission is $3 for adults; $1.50 for seniors and children ages 3 to 12. The farm is at 6310 Georgetown Pike in McLean. Call (703) 442-7557.
Belsnickling
Children will be introduced to the old German tradition of "Belsnickling" on Saturday as part of Children's Weekend in Frederick. The program begins at 2 p.m. at the C. Burr Artz Library, 110 E. Patrick St., where storytellers will tell the tale of the Belsnickler, an early German folk character who was a predecessor of St. Nicholas. They will also learn about the tradition of Belsnickling, a custom that started in Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. Groups of masked children would knock on doors expecting to be rewarded with treats. The program continues with making masks that children will wear in the next event. Led by the Belsnickler, the group will parade through the streets of Frederick singing carols. Afterward, the children will be rewarded with cider and cookies.
The program is open to children ages 5 and up. It is free, but reservations are required. For information on this and other activities during Children's Weekend, call (301) 662-4549.