Summer is here, and with the warm weather comes Willimantic’s 12th Annual Victorian Days celebration. The fun begins Thursday, June 3 and goes until Sunday, June 6.
Organized by the Willimantic Victorian Neighborhood Association, this event promotes the Victorian history, architecture, and character of Willimantic. The main feature of the celebration is the guided tours through some of beautiful Victorian houses and gardens in the Prospect Hill Historic District. The “Hill Section” neighborhood is listed by the U.S. Department of the Interior on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the largest historic districts in the state. It boasts more than 800 vintage homes and buildings.
On the event days, ticket sales will be located at the Kramer School Exhibit Hall, 322 Prospect Street, Willimantic. The hall opens at 9 AM. Home tours run from 11 AM until 4 PM. Ticket packages can be purchased for 1 day or 2 days. House ticket includes Complementary Gardens & Tour Program.
Other highlights include a Thursday evening lantern tour in historic Windham Center on the Town Green with historian Bev York; a Friday evening brass band concert and an art show opening; a trolley tour through the historic neighborhoods; a Victorian Tea Party; a tour through the historic Windham Mills; and on Sunday, a cemetery tour at Old Willimantic Cemetery with town historian Jamie Eves and Cheryl LeBeau (aka yours truly, The Cranky Yankee!).
Incidentally, admission for the lantern tour, the mills tour, the Victorian Tea, and the cemetery tour are separate from the house tours. But tickets for these events can be gotten at the same place as the house tours.
Advance tickets, information and brochures are available at Potpourri Quick Copy and The Windham Textile & History Museum or by calling 860-456-4476. You may also contact Marian Wolf at 860-423-0352 or marianbwolf@earthlink.net.
Also visit the Willimantic Victorian Neighborhood Association (WVNA) website.
Hope to see you there!!!