The Catonsville Historical Society invites holiday revelers of all ages to stroll down Candy Cane Lane at its annual open house, 1-5 p.m. Dec. 3 and 4, at 1824 Frederick Road.
The historical society has held the free Christmas event since the early 1980s and is expanding its offerings this year, said Barbara Beem, chairwoman of the event.
"It's kind of our gift back to the community," Beem said. "What we're trying to do is have an activity on Saturday that might appeal to the grown-ups in the neighborhood."
Debuting this year will be Catonsville resident Ed Whetstone's display of some of the thousands of antique Christmas ornaments he has collected over the past 40 years.
Whetstone said it will take about 12 hours to decorate the 9-foot Christmas tree visitors will see Saturday.
"People like to share their collections from time to time," said Whetstone, 66. "I feel like the years go by and no one gets to see the tree."
At 3 p.m. on Dec. 3, Whetstone will give a one-hour talk about the ornaments he obtained primarily from yard sales in western Maryland, where he lived before moving to Catonsville 34 years ago.
Whetstone said he enjoys talking about his collection of ornaments, some of which date back to the 19th century, but generally waits until someone asks before breaking into detail.
"It's very enjoyable to have a chance to share your collection and have a devoted audience for a short time where you don't feel apologetic about it," he said. "These folks come on purpose, so it will be pleasant to be able to talk about it."
After the talk, the historical society will have a cheese, chocolate and wine tasting as classic Christmas carols, such as Bing Crosby's "White Christmas," play from a Victrola, Beem said.
"We're starting out with a bang," said Beem, whose husband of 37 years, Kenneth, will provide the 86-year-old Victrola and 25 to 30 albums from his collection of 2,300.
"Hopefully, it will encourage some people to want to be involved in some of the activities we have planned for this year," she added.
Visitors who enjoy the traditional events at the historical society's open house will be happy to see the train garden, featuring some 100-year-old cars made by Catonsville firefighters, again set up in the basement, Beem said.
Santa will visit from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 4.
Each of the rooms in the house will have a holiday decor, this year inspired by the theme Candy Cane Lane.
As usual, community organizations and local residents will decorate the six rooms of the house.
"It'll be interesting to see what each group does to interpret the theme," Beem said. "Candy Cane Lane just sounded like something that would be fun and colorful."
The theme inspired Meg Weidman, 13, a member of Girl Scout Troop 1194, to decorate the morning room like a life-size set of Candy Land, a game her mother, Kate Dolan, said Meg enjoyed growing up.
"My mom said that the historical society needed people to decorate for their Christmas open house," said Meg of why she chose this project for her Silver Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive.
"I got something I like to do, but it also helped people," added Meg, who estimated she spent 25 hours planning and completing the project.
The best part about the project, which features colored squares on the ground, the construction of Kandy Kastle and candy-inspired characters, was making the signs because she got to use "fun" lettering, Meg said.
In addition to Meg's creation, there will also be displays from the Salem Stitchcrafters, Bent Twig Garden Club, Historic Old Salem, Friends of the Catonsville Library and Velma Adams.