Celebrate the Season with 2011 Holiday Fun at the Springfield Museums

The Springfield Museums will kick off the holiday season with an afternoon of family fun and an early evening Lighting of the Quadrangle celebration on Friday, Nov. 25.

Holiday Hullabaloo, 10 am-5 pm; Free with price of museum admission unless noted. Family Fun programs are sponsored by TD Bank through the TD Charitable Foundation.

Performance, 2 pm

Scrooge: A Christmas Tale by No Strings Marionettes – Stroll the streets of Charles Dickens’ London with 15 large marionettes in Victorian costume in this beloved holiday fable.

Exhibitions:

Hasbro GameLand – Celebrate the grand opening of this dynamic interactive exhibit gallery with activity stations based on games of memory, chance, speed, imagination, strategy and word play. Special appearances by Mr. Potato Head, Princess Frostine from Candy Land, and Elefun.
Gingerbread Fantasy – A magical storybook world filled with gingerbread houses in a gallery painted with colorful scenes inspired by Dr. Seuss’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Vote for your favorite entry in the colorful array of gingerbread houses created by local bakeries, culinary schools, and talented individuals. The exhibit is sponsored by Yankee Candle and is presented in conjunction with the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Santa Enlists in the Civil War – In the 19th century many New Englanders, still rooted in the Puritan tradition, didn’t celebrate Christmas. Even Santa was different. Originally he was an elf-like figure without a beard. But in the middle of the 19th century, Thomas Nast, a New York illustrator, developed a newer version of Santa that is much more in keeping with our present concept. This happened to coincide with the Civil War, waged between 1861 and 1865. Santa Enlists in the Civil War explores the changing image of Christmas at a time of national crisis through woodcuts of Thomas Nast and Winslow Homer and Civil War artifacts of Springfield residents.

Ongoing Activities– Art-making activities, science demonstrations, scavenger hunts, planetarium shows (additional fee).

Lighting of the Quadrangle Celebration, 5-7 pm; Free

Lighting Ceremony, 5 pm – See the Quadrangle and Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden sparkle.
Refreshments, 5-7 pm – Keep warm with free hot chocolate, coffee and cookies.
Ongoing activities, 5-7 pm – Take a ride in a horse-drawn wagon pulled by retired, homeless work horses from Blue Star Equiculture Draft Horse Sanctuary in Palmer. Meet Santa and the Grinch. Listen to Girl Scouts singing holiday carols and a performance by the band from Springfield’s High School of Science and Technology. Design your own gingerbread sticker scene. Explore Hasbro GameLand, and visit the Gingerbread Fantasy and Santa Enlists in the Civil War exhibits.

All Lighting of the Quadrangle evening events are free and do not require a museum admission ticket.