Reservations Open for 2013 Holiday Tea

Can you believe it's already November? Time goes so quickly...before you know it, it'll be Christmas! Which reminds me, our Holiday Tea and Fashion Show is approaching quickly.

Our Annual Holiday Tea is our second-largest fundraiser of the year. We have a wonderful time visiting with our friends, members, and supporters in a festive environment. It's one of the rare opportunities Lew's fans have to visit the home where Susan grew up. This year our second partner, along with the Elston Homestead, is Lane Place, where Henry and Joanna (Elston) Lane lived. Both historic homes will be beautifully decorated for the holidays. We're so excited to share this occasion with you!

The Holiday Tea will feature live holiday music from the Wabash College T-Tones, door prizes, refreshments and tea (of course), an interactive fashion show by heathcliff, artist-created holiday wreaths for sale, and, of course, lots of holiday cheer!

Tickets are $25 per person, and reservations are required. The event runs from 3-6 p.m. on December 6, and attendees can drop in any time between those hours. For reservations, call 765-362-5769 or visit our Holiday Tea website and make reservations online via PayPal.

2012 Holiday High Tea a Grand Success

The Holiday High Tea came off beautifully. Here are a few photos of the fun our guests had and the beautiful decorations and delicious delicacies!

Holiday High Tea This Friday

It's not too late! Wednesday is the deadline for anyone wishing to attend the Holiday High Tea to RSVP.

The Holiday High Tea is this Friday, December 7, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Guests will tour the DAR Chapter House and the Elston Homestead, enjoy refreshments, live entertainment, a holiday wreath sale, and a fashion show.

Reservations are $25/person. Contact the museum at 765-362-5769 or email study@ben-hur.com.

Greenery Workshop Planned

Just in time for the holiday season, the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum will host a garland making workshop on Saturday, December 1, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Tannenbaum Cultural Center, located at 107 W. Spring Street, directly behind the Rotary Jail Museum.

The workshop is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Please RSVP by calling 765-362-5769 or e-mailing study@ben-hur.com.

All garlands made at the workshop will be on display at the Dorothy Q Chapter DAR House during the annual Holiday High Tea & Fashion Show on Friday, December 7.

Live greenery will be provided, but attendees should bring their own gloves and clippers. Refreshments will also be provided. 

Holiday High Tea is fast approaching

As I write this, the weather is sunny and warm, but as impossible as it seems, the holidays are right around the corner. Christmas is less than two months away!

Here at the Lew Wallace Study, we always ring in the holiday season with our Holiday High Tea and fashion show. This year, the event is scheduled for December 7 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Join us for a sneak peek into two of Crawfordsville's most prestigious historic homes, specially decorated for the holidays!

The Colonel Isaac C. Elston Home, chapter house for the Dorothy Q chapter of the DAR, and the Elston Homestead, home of the President of Wabash College, serve as the host locations for the fashion show and boutique, high tea, holiday concert, and the spirit of the season.

As in past years, hand-designed holiday wreaths like the one pictured at right will be available at the "Making Spirits Bright" sale beginning at 4 p.m. Local merchant Homestead Greetings and Gifts will be providing a Vera Bradley boutique and other home decor.

Reservations are $25 per person and due by December 5. For reservations, please call 765-362-5769 or email study@ben-hur.com. Proceeds from ticket sales directly benefit the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum and the Dorothy Q Chapter DAR.

It's Tea Time!

Holiday Tea Raises Necessary Funds for Lew Wallace Study

The General Lew Wallace Study & Museum hosted their 5th Annual Holiday High Tea & Fashion Show in two of Crawfordsville's most beautiful historic homes on Friday, December 2, from 3-6 p.m.  Over 130 guests took in the sights, sounds and delicious tastes of the Tea, which took place in both the Historic Elston Homestead  (now the home of Pat and Chris White, Wabash College's President and First Lady) and the Dorothy Q Chapter House of the Crawfordsville Daughters of the American Revolution.

Guests toured the richly-appointed homes decorated for the holidays, enjoyed tea and coffee along with an enormous variety of sweets and savories, enjoyed a live interactive fashion show with models mingling through the crowd, shopped from a gorgeous display of hand-crafted holiday wreaths created by area artists and designers, and listened to wonderful holiday music performed live by the T-Tones vocal group from Wabash College.

The Holiday High Tea is the second-largest annual fundraiser of the year for the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, a National Historic Landmark and 2008 winner of the National Medal for Museum Service, the highest honor this country gives to museums.  Funds raised through the Holiday Tea go directly to the educational programming and collections care of the Museum.

Holiday High Tea Features Music, Food, Shopping and Fun

This holiday season, revelers will get a rare opportunity to see two of Crawfordsville’s most prestigious historic homes decked out in Christmas finery during the 5th Annual Holiday High Tea & Fashion Show, a fundraiser for the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, on Friday, December 2 from 3:00-6:00 p.m.

This year’s event takes place at both the Crawfordsville chapter DAR House on Wabash Avenue and the old Elston Homestead on adjacent Pike Street, now home to Wabash College President Patrick White and his wife Chris.  These privately-owned homes, two of Crawfordsville’s most well-preserved architectural treasures decorated lavishly for the season, will feature live entertainment, an interactive fashion show, a sale of original themed holiday wreaths, and live holiday music from the T-Tones, a men’s vocal ensemble from Wabash College.

“Our Holiday High Tea has become a valued community event celebrating the advent of the holiday season in a beautiful historic setting,” said Helen Hudson, Chair of the Tea Committee.  “The General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, the Daughters of the American Revolution, Wabash College, and Crawfordsville Main Street merchants cooperate to create for us, and for our many out of town guests, a sparkling afternoon.”

High tea will be served at the Elston Homestead, complete with coffee, sweets, and savory snacks provided by the Tea Committee and Bon Appétit from Wabash College.  Local models will show off fashions from local boutique heathcliff, and the venue will be decorated with seasonal floral arrangements by Milligan’s Flowers & Gifts.  Homestead Greetings & Gifts will showcase the latest Vera Bradley designs, and door prizes from several local merchants will be awarded throughout the afternoon, giving event-goers several chances to win accessories and decorations to brighten their own homes. 

The Daughters of the American Revolution will be offering tours to Tea guests of their beautifully-appointed Dorothy Q chapter house, decorated in a Victorian Christmas motif where a unique display of original themed holiday wreaths will be available for sale.  These wreaths have been created especially for the Tea by artists and designers from throughout the area, and each one will be a fabulous décor item or holiday gift idea.

The afternoon’s festivities will not be limited to the tea, however.  Guests are being invited to make a day of their Crawfordsville sojourn, taking advantage of discounts and specials only for Tea guests throughout the downtown retail district, enjoying lunch at several terrific restaurants, and possibly even culminating their visit by purchasing tickets to the Sugar Creek Players’ presentation of “Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus”, which premieres at the Vanity Theater that night.

Reservations for the Holiday High Tea and Fashion Show are $25 per person and due by November 30.  To reserve places for you and your guests, call the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum at 765-362-5769.

Museum's Year Closes with a Trill

A flute trio from the Wabash College orchestra treated visitors to the Holiday Open House to a selection of seasonal music. Dozens of visitors enjoyed music, treats, crafts, and free tours of the General's Study.

Join us when we reopen for the spring on February 1, 2010. The Museum will be open to tours by appointment only through January.

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE IS MUSEUM’S LAST DAY OF SEASON

December 13 also the final day for public to view “Embattled” exhibit

CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN, December 6, 2009— The General Lew Wallace Study and Museum is hosting a free Holiday Open House on their last operating day of 2009, Sunday, December 13 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

The Open House takes place inside the Carriage House Interpretive Center, which is gloriously outfitted in yuletide décor, featuring a Christmas tree decorated in the minimalist style of the Civil War era. Festive activities and toasty treats will be on hand, as well as a fun holiday craft project for the kids.

The Open House will also be the final opportunity for visitors to see the Museum’s 2009 exhibit, Embattled: General Wallace’s Leadership in the Civil War. This year’s exhibit featured authentic artifacts of General Wallace’s from the 1860s alongside a thorough investigation of Wallace’s service in the Civil War. The exhibit was guest curated by Gail Stephens, Wallace scholar and author whose book on Wallace will be released next year.

Admission to the Museum during the Holiday Open House is free. Call 765-362-5769 or email study@ben-hur.com for further information. December 13 is also the final day of the 2008 Museum season. The Museum will be closed through January and reopen for tours on Sunday, February 3, 2010.

Third Annual Holiday High Tea Benefits General Lew Wallace Study and Museum

One-of-a-kind event features holiday décor, refreshments, fashion show and door prizes

CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN, November 22, 2009— Holidays and history bring the community together for the third annual Holiday High Tea and Fashions, a benefit for the Lew Wallace Study Preservation Society scheduled for Friday, December 4, between 3:00 and 5:30 p.m.

This year’s event will be at the Herron House at 406 W. Wabash Ave., an historic building owned by Wabash College and carrying a great deal of community history. “General Lew Wallace used to sit on the veranda for hours at a time,” said Alice Phillips, who currently resides in the house with her husband, Dean of the College Gary Phillips. “He and William [Herron] were good friends and they would talk for hours about the issues of the day.” Among some of the house’s most beautiful features are the curved grand staircase, five hand-carved fireplaces, and stained glass windows that grace the front of the house and the lower level of the stairs.

The Holiday Tea is an open house complete with tea, sweets, and savory snacks served from the built-in dining room buffet. Local models will show off fashions from Formal to Fireside by heathcliff, and the Herron House will be decorated with seasonal floral arrangements by Milligan’s Flowers & Gifts. Door prizes from local merchants will also be drawn every half hour, giving event-goers several chances to win accessories and decorations to brighten their own homes.

“The holidays are about celebrating and giving, and we do both with this event,” said Anita Klein, chair of the Planning Committee. “The Holiday High Tea and Fashions is a chance to get together to enjoy food, fashion, and a festive atmosphere while supporting one of the gems of Crawfordsville.”

Reservations are $20 per person and due by December 2. No tickets will be available at the door. To reserve places for you and your guests, call the Museum at 765/362-5769.