Hudson Valley families can get into the spirit of the holiday season by attending dramatic performances of Dickens’s “Christmas Carol” at the historic Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow on select weekends in December. Performances take place on Dec. 7-8, 14-15, 21-22.
Master storyteller Jonathan Kruk, along with musical accompaniment by Jim Keyes, tells the Charles Dickens story of Ebenezer Scrooge, the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future and Tiny Tim in a joyous rendition of the holiday classic, produced by Historic Hudson Valley.
Visitors to the region will also be able to enjoy tours of Washington Irving’s Sunnyside, which will have festive decorations for the season, Philipsburg Manor, and Union Church of Pocantico Hills on weekends in December.
The Museum Shops at Philipsburg Manor and Washington Irving’s Sunnyside will be open on Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 22. Holiday shoppers are invited to browse local wares and support Historic Hudson Valley’s educational programs while checking off their entire gift list. Stocked with Hudson Valley-inspired and holiday-themed merchandise — including artisan foods, books about the region, exclusive candles and handcrafted jewelry.
Performances take place at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow on Dec. 7-8, 14-15, 21-22 at 2:30, 3:45 and 5 p.m.
Tickets should be purchased in advance at hudsonvalley.org or by calling 914-366-6900. Ticket prices are $47 for adults and $42 for children under 18. Historic Hudson Valley recommends the event for ages 10 and up. Members of Historic Hudson Valley receive a 15% per ticket discount.
In 1750, Philipsburg Manor was home to 23 enslaved individuals known to have lived and labored there. It is the country’s first living history museum to focus on the history of Northern slavery.
The site will be open for guided tours and the museum shop will be open Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 7-Dec. 22. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and young adults, and $13 for children. Tours are free for Historic Hudson Valley Members. Admission is by timed ticket only.
Philipsburg Manor is at 381 N. Broadway (Route 9) in Sleepy Hollow, New York, two miles north of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Tickets are available at hudsonvalley.org
Union Church, 555 Bedford Road, Tarrytown, was organized as a nondenominational Protestant church in 1915, with John D. Rockefeller among the founders. Over the years, the Rockefeller family commissioned stained-glasses windows by European masters Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall to adorn the unassuming country church.
The site will be open for guided tours Saturday-Sunday, December 2-December 17. Tickets are $10. Tours are free for Historic Hudson Valley Members. Admission is by timed ticket only. Tickets are available at hudsonvalley.org
Historic Hudson Valley, Westchester County’s largest cultural organization, educates and entertains hundreds of thousands of visitors a year through school programs, tours of five National Historic Landmarks, and large-scale events like The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze.
From its lower Hudson Valley base of operations, the organization focuses on delivering quality educational and entertaining experiences, striking a balance between tradition and vision, from preserving the past, to contextualizing it for 21st-century audiences.
Historic Hudson Valley operates tours and public programming at Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate, Philipsburg Manor, Union Church of Pocantico Hills, Washington Irving’s Sunnyside, and Van Cortlandt Manor. These sites help us make meaning for visitors in a variety of settings, including traditional house and landscape tours, formal educational programs for school children, popular on-site special events, and digital media.
