BETHEL — The Bethel Historical Society will be celebrating Christmas a few weeks early when it holds its annual “Christmas at the Mason House” event from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7.

Executive Director Randall Bennett said that the Christmas event has been around for about 20 years and uses unique decorative choices to keep it interesting.

“We have a small group of very dedicated volunteers who help set everything up every year,” Bennett said. “Everything in the Mason House is decorated in traditional mid 19th-century style, but the event is an unusual one because, for the entire evening, we keep the building lit by only candles and the fireplaces.”

“Because it will be so dark in the building, the event will only take place on the first floor,” Bennett said. “We didn’t want people wandering upstairs on accident and getting lost. We’ll remove the ropes that we normally keep up for the guided tours, which will allow people to explore the building.”

Resident Conni St. Pierre will be performing traditional Christmas songs on her harp for the duration of the event, Bennett added.

There also will be homemade hot cider and cookies available.

Bennett said that after the event is finished, the decorations will remain up for a few weeks in case people who want to see them can’t attend the Dec. 7 event.

“I think the event appeals to people, even people just walking by the building,” Bennett said. “When the house is lit up like that, it’s pretty spectacular to see from the outdoors. People usually want to see what’s going on. To me, it doesn’t get any more historic than that.”

For more information, call the Bethel Historical Society at 824-2908.

mdaigle@sunjournal.com

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