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Journey through time celebrating holiday traditions of past and present during Lantern Light Village at Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic, Conn. (November 15, 2023) – Mystic Seaport Museum is excited to bring back Lantern Light Village this December. This is an outdoor, self-guided experience allowing visitors to travel between modern day and 19th-century holiday seasons. Lantern Light Village promises to be a memorable outing featuring lighting displays, live music, horse and carriage rides, fireside gatherings, a visit from St. Nicholas, and a variety of holiday-themed activities including stories, crafts, and games.

A new theatrical event, “Holiday Heirlooms,” will tell the story of the Noyes family and explore how their Christmas traditions changed over several decades between 1851 and 1893. Various locations across our 19th-century seaport village will serve as the backdrop for the theatrical performances, further allowing our visitors to become part of the story by partaking in a 19th-century dance, hearing songs of Christmases past, and sharing in the family’s Christmas holiday.

Each evening will feature live chantey music in the village along with music by local choirs, including: 

  • Stonington High School Chamber Choir – December 8, 9, & 23 
  • Stonington Madrigal Singers – December 15 & 16 
  • CT Yuletide Carolers – December 21 & 22 

This experience takes place predominantly outdoors, regardless of weather conditions. Therefore, it is advised to dress in attire that will keep you warm and dry to fully enjoy the experience.  

Some areas of the campus are illuminated solely by the soft glow of kerosene lanterns, which enhances the 19th-century ambiance. Visitors can bring a personal light source, such as a flashlight or headlamp, for added convenience. Please be aware that pets, except for service animals, are not permitted on the grounds during this event due to the presence of horses.  

Lantern Light Village will be held on Dec. 8, 9, 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23 from 5 – 8 p.m. each evening. 

Admission prices for this event are as follows:

Adult (Ages 13 and up) $29, Members $24

Youth (Ages 4-12) $24, Members $19

Ages up to 3 are free

To learn more and purchase tickets, visit here. 

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on FacebookTwitterYouTube, and Instagram.

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Categories
Press Releases

Lantern Light Village Returns this holiday season at Mystic Seaport Museum

Enjoy horse-and-carriage rides, festive lighting displays, a visit from St. Nicholas, and more at Mystic Seaport Museum this December

Mystic, Conn. (November 14, 2022) – Visit Mystic Seaport Museum this December for Lantern Light Village, a free-roaming experience for the entire family that celebrates the holiday spirit of New England. The event will offer a mix of indoor and outdoor activities across our campus.

Visitors can stroll the historic grounds of the Museum to experience the holidays of today and yesterday. Highlights include a festive lighting display synchronized to music; horse-and-carriage rides; crackling fires; live music; and holiday-themed theatrical performances, crafts, and games.

The Museum’s seafaring village will invite visitors to journey back in time to interact with costumed actors playing residents of 19th century Greenmanville – the neighborhood where the Museum is now located – as they prepare for the coming holiday festivities.

Premiering this year, we will be exploring the time-honored tradition of celebrating the holidays with ghost stories! Experience our original theatrical event “Yuletide Spirits” and learn how ghost stories like “A Christmas Carol” became a staple of winter festivities, and why they’re now just a spectre of the past. As you explore our historic village, you’ll enjoy classic carols, learn a 19th century dance, and of course sip hot drinks while listening to chilling tales — but not too hot or too chilling for the whole family to enjoy! And, of course, a visit from St. Nicholas!

The dome of the Museum’s Treworgy Planetarium will be converted into a virtual, walk-through snow globe.

“Lantern Light Village is quickly becoming an event that visitors of all ages continue to come back to year after year. The abundance of holiday cheer, the juxtaposition of holidays past and present, with the backdrop of our seafaring village along the Mystic River is an experience not to be missed ,” said Museum president Peter Armstrong.

Lantern Light Village will be held on Dec. 2 and 3; Dec. 9 and 10; and Dec. 16 and 17. It will start at 5 p.m. and go through 8 p.m. every evening.

Admission for adults, ages 13 and up, is $29, members pay $24. Youth, ages 4-12, get in for $24, while members in that age group will be charged $19. Admission is free for ages 1-3.

Tickets are available here.

A good portion of this event will be held outside, so visitors are asked to dress appropriately. Some parts of the grounds are lit only with kerosene lanterns. Bringing an additional personal light source such as a flashlight or headlamp is allowed.

Pets are not allowed on the grounds, due to the presence of the horses. However, service animals are permitted.

Mystic Seaport Museum would like to thank their community partner Power Posse Productions for their support of Lantern Light Village.

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Media Contact

Sophia Matsas
Director of Marketing & Communications
Mystic Seaport Museum
860.572.5317 (o)
sophia.matsas@mysticseaport.org

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on FacebookTwitterYouTube, and Instagram.

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