Sedona AZ (November 29, 2017) – The Sedona Heritage Museum is hosting their annual “Christmas in the Park” FREE open house on Saturday, December 9 from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. The event extends free admission to the museum and a day filled with special free activities as a holiday gift to residents and visitors.
Visitors will be treated to hot apple cider, holiday cookies and free entertainment and activities. A fire will burn in the red rock fireplace of the old Jordan house and the museum will be decorated in vintage holiday decor. A tumbleweed ‘snowman’ will greet all guests.
Sedona old-timers and descendants of local pioneer families, including Jordan family descendents and Pat Schnebly Ceballos (Sedona’s granddaughter), will be in the Museum’s exhibit rooms telling stories about early Sedona. Guests are also invited to the activity room where volunteers will help them make a cornhusk doll ornament.
Enjoy a holiday music event at 1:30 p.m. in the historic Fruit Packing Shed when singers will share fun facts about your favorite holiday traditions and lead a sing-along. The Packing Shed is heated for concert-goers.
There will be several simultaneous book-signings by local authors: Lisa Schnebly-Heidinger, Sedona’s great-granddaughter will sign her new book “The Journal of Sedona Schnebly” based on Sedona’s life; Loretta Benore will be signing her popular book “History, Hilarity and Heartbreak”, a book of short stories about local and Arizona history; Dusty Crisman with her newest children’s book “A Lonely Tree”; and Sally Jackson will sign her small photo album book “The Jordan Farm-A Glimpse of the 1940s” about the Jordan buildings that house the Sedona Heritage Museum.
Holiday shopping in the Museum’s Gift Shop will be a “must do”, as guests take advantage of the shop’s annual sale. The Gift Shop carries many items made by local artists and crafters, along with many gifts for both kids and adults.
And, all through the month of December, people of every age can enjoy making holiday ornaments at the free activity table in the Museum’s historic Fruit Packing Shed. Visitors can make small gifts, adornments for holiday packages or trees and wreaths, or just spend some quality time with family or friends doing this ‘make & take’ on their own, though instructions and samples are provided.
Museum admission, sing-along and all activities are free until 3 p.m. when the open house is over and a reading of “A Christmas Carol” by local poet and actor Michael Peach begins. This has become a holiday tradition at the Museum. Peach reads about encounters with the ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future who teach miserly Ebenezer Scrooge what it means to be human in this perennial holiday favorite. This one-time special performance and reading is about an hour-long and appropriate for all audiences. Each guest is asked to bring non-perishable food items or $6/person donation for the Sedona Food Bank as separate admission to this performance.
The Sedona Heritage Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places, and located at 735 Jordan Rd. in Jordan Historical Park in Uptown Sedona. For more information, call the museum at 928-282-7038. www.sedonamuseum.org.