Preparing for the Holidays!

Today we are decorating the village houses to get ready for Yuletide. During Yuletide, visitors take special guided tours around the Village and observe different Christmas scenes in each building. We are still looking for singers for our chorus for this. If you are interested, please contact Megan at mbarrell@gcv.org.

Along with Preparing for the Holidays, you can observe more ways that our 19th century counterparts were getting ready for the festivities on Saturday the 26th. You can try making some Christmas Crafts for your tree and home, taste some flavors of the season, and even see how a hog gets from the barnyard to the feast table! 

In other news, Genesee Country Village and Museum hosted it's very first Civil War Immersion event. An Immersion event is one in which the participants are in First-Person the whole time. That is, they assume a character for the weekend and do not break it for the whole 48 hour period. Nothing is scripted, so the participants have to be prepared to react to whatever may happen. In this case, the event was set in Western Virginia in 1861. A local bridge had been burned and the area occupied by the Federal Army. The Confederates are hoping to retake the bridge area. We did not expect to see soliders in town, but we did, many times! It was quite exciting!

Here are the civilian participants in front of Hosmer's Inn.

We hope to host such an event again as it went off very well and all had a great time!

Open Call for Yuletide In The Country Auditions and Volunteer Opportunities!!!

We are still looking for Actresses and Choir Members for our Yuletide In the Country Event.

Young Actresses (Ages 12-14) are still needed for the vignettes that are put on in each of the houses on the tour. The scenes celebrate how Christmas traditions have evolved over the 19th century and range in date from 1830 to 1870. We are also looking for Chior Members for our church scenes.

Performance dates are December 2-4, 9-11, and 16-18 in the evenings. All interested parties should email our events department at events@gcv.org to schedule an audition!

If you’re not a young lady or interested in bring in our Christmas Choir, part of Yuletide in the Country event is a large buffet offered in the heated Meeting Center. We are looking for volunteers to help bus tables, greet guests, and help keep our stations supplied from 4-8:30 on the nights of tours. Help out one night or several as your schedule allows! Contact Brett Elliot, Director of Volunteer Services, at belliot@gcv.org if you'd like to be part of the magic!

Pokeberry Adventures Continued!

 Pokeberry adventure UPDATE!!

As promised, the picture of the yarn in the pumpkin! The pumpkin yarn is the darker yarn while the redder yarn was the pokeberry in vinegar. The light yellow is the pokeberry with lime.

The color of the pokeberry has been so fascinating to us, that we dipped a few of the reeds used for baskets in the dye. A lovely shade of pinky-red occurred depending on the species of the reed dipped. Then, upon moving a few artifact baskets around, our Curator discovered the same pinky-red, now faded except in the recesses of the insides of two of these baskets!

One is a small round basket that opens in the middle. The color is all over the inside of it, so we are curious, was it totally pink at one time? It has a hole in one end and was likely used to hold a ball of string or yarn. Perhaps even while knitting as in this lovely painting of Mary Isabella Grant:

The second basket is a workbasket with decorative ash curls. Here they are next to a modern piece of ash dyed with the pokeberry:

See how similar the colors are?

 So, were THEY using pokeberries to dye decorative elements of their baskets? The color is remarkably similar, and it has obviously faded over time as we have been warned the pokeberry will do, but is it the same dye-stuff? A mystery is afoot! Does anybody have any clues they can share?

Trick-or-Treat!

Looking for a safe way to take your little ones Trick-or-Treating this year? The Genesee Country Village and Museum offers a safe and educational way to collect the traditional Halloween loot!
On October 29 and 30 from noon to 5, take your little one trick-or-treating in the scenic and traffic-free Historic Village. Children 16 and under will be admitted for $5 and their parents or chaperones for free. Over a dozen village buildings will be staffed with a friendly volunteer in costume handing out candy. In addition, you can learn about the history and traditions of Halloween by trying a fortune-telling game in Keiffer House, hearing the story of jack-o-lanterns at the Pioneer Cabin, reciting a Halloween Poem in the Schoolhouse, and sitting by the fire roasting s'mores and hearing stories at the McKay house. We are also reprising a kid's version of the Tent of Wonders in the Town Hall, where you can see various "artifacts" on display from around the world. You won't believe your eyes....!

Outside of the village, you can meet author Michael T. Keene who wrote "Folklore and Legends of Rochester" and have him sign a  copy of his fantastic book. He'll be available at the Flint Hill Store from 2pm to 5:30.

To keep the little ones busy, try several crafts in our large Exhibition Hall around the Great Meadow. For an added fee (cash only), make a cornhusk doll, paint a pumpkin, or tie up a yarn ghost. Try a walk through the straw bale maze, or become weightless in the bouncy house. Plenty of family fun to be had, and all geared towards ages 8 and under! Of course, all children, both those at heart and in actuality, welcome!

Open Call for Actors and Actresses!

Gearing up for the Yuletide in the Country here at the Museum means finding actors and actresses to fill the roles in the scenes that tour groups witness in buildings around the Village Square. The scenes celebrate how Christmas traditions evolved over the 19th century and range in date from 1830 to 1870.

Performance dates are December 2-4, 9-11, and 16-18 in the evenings and rehearsals will be held on November 5,12,19,29 and a dress rehearsal that family of participants can attend on November 30.
Contact Megan Barrell to schedule an audition at a time that works for you at mbarrell@gcv.org

Interested in participating, but not into memorizing lines? One of the scenes needs a Christmas Chorus to sing two simple carols in a church setting. We're always looking for volunteers there! Please contact Megan above if you would like to be part of the chorus.

Want to help but not in the Village? Part of Yuletide in the Country is a large buffet offered in the heated Meeting Center.  We are looking for volunteers to help bus tables, greet guests, and serve food from stations from 4-8:30 on the nights of tours. help out one night or several as your schedule allows! Contact Brett Elliot, Director of Volunteer Services, at belliot@gcv.org if you'd like to be part of the magic!

 

End of the Season!

On this, our last regular day of the season, our final Word of the Day is hyson. Hyson is the 19th century word for green tea. A good cup of hyson would warm you today!

After yesterday's rainy episode, we're now back to enjoying the sunshine, if not the warm temperatures. 
Today in our village, you can try a taste of quince jam at the Livingston Backus house as you warm yourself by the fire. The last of the fall berries are being made into jams and preserves to last the winter through on warm fresh bread from the oven!

To go with that jam, you can head over to Jones Farm to help make some butter from the last milk of the year. It should make up quickly in the cooler temps!

We're getting ready for winter by making warm quilts of scraps of fabric in the Eastman House. You can help us get the word done by putting a few stitches in yourself! 

 

End of the Season!

Sad to say it, the end of our regular season is already upon us. Today and tomorrow are the last two full days of regular admission. Not to worry though, it is only the kick-off of our special themed programs like the Spirits of the Past Tours, Trick-or-Treating, Yuletide Tours, and Preparing for the Holidays events. You can find more information about those programs here.

Today, visitors can taste Quince Jam at the Livingston-Backus house. Jam was often being put up for winter use out of the fall bounty. 

Observe the last cheese of the season being made at the Jones Farm. In about 3 months it will be ready to enjoy by a warm January fireside as the snowflakes fall! 

The Word of the Day is palaver. To palaver is to talk profusely. 

We villagers have been having a Word of the Day contest where entrants must write a story in 300 words or less that utilizes as many of the past Words of the Day as they can. Points are awarded for correct use of the words as well as humorous content. Stay tuned for the winner's story!