Taking a step back in time to celebrate the holidays, Sutter’s Fort will present a festive “Hands on History: A Simple Emigrant Christmas” event on Saturday, Dec. 10.
From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m, fort visitors will be delighted to see the recently completed restoration of the historic walls and gates plus have the opportunity to step back in time to the 1850s to enjoy festive holiday traditions from John Sutter’s day.
In California’s early history, people from around the world passed through the Fort gates, each with their own customs and traditions for the holiday season. Friends and families are encouraged to visit the Fort to experience a variety of early holiday traditions and cultural activities similar to what early emigrants enjoyed. Complete with docents in period attire, entertaining vignettes will be set up that showcase a few of the diverse holiday scenes that will include food, music, decorations and other holiday traditions.
Fort visitors can also participate in a number of hands-on activities such as dipping and creating their own holiday candles, crafting holiday ornaments – that include snowflakes, cornhusk angels and bird nests – plus decorating the Christmas tree, making holiday cards with nib (or “dip”) pens and colored ink, grinding raw wheat into “Christmas flour,” singing Christmas carols with Fort musicians and more.
And, of course, popular demonstrations of black powder weaponry in action will take place including the crowd-favorite firing of Sutter’s cannon.
Admission costs for this special “Hands on History: A Simple Emigrant Christmas” event at the Fort are as follows: $7 per adult (18 and older), $3 per youth (ages 6 to 17) and free for children 5 and under. For more information, please call 916-445-4422 or visit www.suttersfort.org
