A little change of pace, there's much more to life in the 'Cuse than music! When the holidays come calling, you gotta answer the call and embrace the holiday activities. As soon as the Syracuse Seen caught wind of Christmas at the Lorenzo, the decision was made: we had to go.
For some background, the Lorenzo House is a State Historic Site in Cazenovia, NY. It was built in 1807 by the founder of Cazenovia, and was continually occupied by his descendents until the house, its contents, and the property wer conveyed to the state. The Christmas at the Lorezno event is put on annually by volunteers of the Friends of Lorenzo. The house gets decorated for the holidays according to a theme that changes each year. This years' theme was the 12 Days of Christmas and each room was decorated as one of the days.
The event is a true bargain. Adults were six dollars and parking is plentiful and free. For this token sum, you get access to the property, including the main house, and the outbuildings, including the visitor center with it's museum, which covers the founding and history of Cazenovia, the history of the Lincklaen/Ledyard family who built and occupied the home, and a collection of carriages and sleighs. The main attraction is the house and its decorations, but the kids will be more interested in the cookies, wassail, and horsedrawn carriage (or weather permitting, sleigh) ride.
My partner and I arrived on the early side, around 730, and the parking was already pretty full. The staff guided us to our spot. The event was well attended, and while it was crowded, it was not overwhelming. People were evenly distributed between the museum and the mansion. There was a wait at the front steps to get into the mansion proper, as the event staff were metering people to control the crowd inside the mansion and ensure everyone was able to comfortably and fully appreciate the house and its decorations. There were heaters in the line area and the gentleman controlling the pace had a real rapport with the crowd, making small talk and dispensing holiday themed dad jokes as needed.
The house truly looks like something out of a movie. The decorations were beautiful. Some of the rooms were obvious with their theme, while others required me to sing the song to myself to remind myself what the day was supposed to be. Throughout the time we were touring the house, the holiday vibes was enhanced by the sounds of a handbell trio playing Christmas carols, the sound of which carried thoughout the house.
Refreshements are served in the kitchen, with a selection of cookies and cups of hot wassail, which is reminiscent of hot cider and quite tasty. Our spirits and body heat fortified by the hot wassial, we exited the house to board the horse drawn wagon ride, which was a relaxing way to wrap up the night, sweeping past the front of the house and around the property. All in all a great way to spend an evening and charge up your holiday spirits!
Commentaires