Old Independence Regional Museum will host its 8th Annual Old Fashioned Family Christmas Party on Saturday, December 13th, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Admission is free for this event, but donations are always appreciated. This is the final installment of the museum’s popular Family Day series for 2014.
“We envision an old fashioned Christmas as one where families come together to enjoy the stories, sights, and sounds of the season. We look forward to sharing some of the Christmas traditions with visitors of all ages and hope that generations of families will come out and share some old and make some new Christmas memories,” stated Amanda Nikkel, Humanities Educator.
The morning will begin at 10 a.m. in the museum’s Southerland Theater. Alyson Low, Batesville native and Youth Librarian at the Fayetteville Public Library, will be sharing some of her favorite Christmas stories for children.
Guests are encouraged to stick around after story time for a short puppet show, produced by the volunteers of Old Independence Regional Museum.
Afterward, museum guests are invited to visit stations throughout the museum where volunteers and staff members will be on hand to help decorate sugar cookies, design sock puppets, and make Christmas ornaments.
Christmas carols will fill the air while guests are visiting the museum. Ed Casper, a local accordion player, will be strolling through museum, during craft time, playing his accordion.
The museum gift shop will be open during the event. “Santa’s Helpers” will be on hand to assist children in gift selection for parents, grandparents, and siblings. Free gift wrapping will accompany gift purchases. The gift shop carries books and toys, as well as a variety of educational, local and handcrafted items, many of which are priced for small pockets.
This humanities program is made possible by local support from Independence County and the City of Batesville, as well as by Challenge Grant Endowment funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities
Normal museum hours are: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and $1.00 for children. The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville.
Old Independence is a regional museum serving a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff. Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820’s Arkansas territory.
