Belle Grove decorated for the holidays and open for touring December 6-30, 2019

Belle Grove Plantation is decorated for the holidays and will be open for touring from Friday, December 6, through Monday, December 30, 2019. Each room was decorated by a local Garden Clubs with the theme of “All Creatures Great and Small.”

“Belle Grove is celebrating the animal kingdom this year because it has always been a place that has included animals, from its more than 200-year history as a farm, to encouraging pollinators in the garden, to hosting the U.S. Border Collie Handler Association’s National Finals again in 2020,” said Kristen Laise, Executive Director.

Guided house tours are offered Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. with tours beginning at quarter past each hour (first tour at 10:15 a.m. and last tour at 3:15 p.m.) and on Sunday 1-5 p.m. (first tour at 1:15 p.m. and last tour at 4:15 p.m.). On Friday and Saturday evenings 4-8 p.m. visitors are welcome to take self-guided tours, the Manor House will be lit by candlelight, and there will be live music in the Parlor from 6-8 p.m. All guests are invited to enjoy spiced tea and cookies as part of their house tour admission. Belle Grove will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and will close for the winter on New Year’s Eve.

The schedule for live holiday music on Friday and Saturday evenings will be:

• Friday, December 6, 6-8 p.m., Allen Dec, Happy Harper
• Saturday, December 7, 6-8 p.m., Soprano Deborah Balcom
• Friday, December 13 and Saturday, December 14, 6-8 p.m., Sweet Grass, Traditional Carols
• Friday, December 20, 6-8 p.m., Winchester Celtic Circle
• Saturday, December 21, 6-8 p.m., Flutist Elizabeth Dalton & Guitarist Jason Perry
• Friday, December 27, 6-8 p.m., John Tole, Evergreen Shade, Period Music
• Saturday, December 28, 6-8 p.m., Winchester Celtic Circle

The Little Garden Club of Winchester decorated the Manor House’s front porch and hall to welcome visitors as they arrive. The Massanutten Garden Club’s decorations in the Parlor compliment the 12-foot Norway Spruce Christmas tree donated by John and Judith Tole of Evergreen Christmas Tree Farm in Woodville, Virginia. Hawthorne Garden Club’s decorations are in the Library and Winchester/Clarke Garden Club adorned the Day Sitting Room. Glen Burnie Garden Club decorated in the Plantation Office and Warren County Garden Club decorated the Dining Room. Colonial Garden Club decked the Gold Bedroom and Middletown Garden Club decorated the Nursery. Shenandoah Garden Club of Woodstock festooned the Winter Kitchen and the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardeners Association provided natural decorations in the other rooms of the lower level of the Manor House.

Admission for all tours is $12 for adults, $11 for members of the military, AAA, the National Parks, and individuals 60 and older. Students 6-16 and National Trust for Historic Preservation members are $6. Children 5 and younger are free. Belle Grove members are free of charge as benefit of their membership. Visitors may join Belle Grove and immediately use this benefit at Christmas along with 10% off non-consignment purchases in the Museum Shop.

Visitors will arrive through the Beverley B. Shoemaker Welcome Center in the 1918 Bank Barn, which opened to the public in April 2019. This is now where the Belle Grove Museum Shop is located and it will be open during all touring hours. The Museum Shop carries unique gifts and many products from area artists, artisans, farms, and businesses. The Welcome Center also contains exhibits about Belle Grove and the families who lived here. On the exterior of the Welcome Center guests can see lifelike portraits by local artist Michelle Luttrell of the animals that used to be stalled on the lower level of the barn.

Belle Grove Plantation is a non-profit historic house museum that is a National Trust for Historic Preservation site and a partner in Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. It is located off Route 11 at 336 Belle Grove Road south of Middletown, Virginia. Information on Christmas tours may be found at www.bellegrove.org or at www.facebook.com/BelleGrove.