Old Fort Niagara invites the public to experience the holiday spirit in the company of 18th century-style merrymakers at this season’s Castle by Candlelight tours on December 9 and 16. Music, crafts, demonstrations and more will make the French Castle, decorated by the Youngstown Garden Club, brim with festivities. The event will also include the feu de joie celebratory cannon and musket firings.
“Castle by Candlelight is a wonderful way to get into the holiday spirit with the help of living history,” said Robert Emerson, Executive Director of the Old Fort Niagara Association. “We have been doing this event for 16 years and it continues to be a favorite by visitors, staff and volunteers. We look forward to welcoming our guests!”
This seasonal fundraiser offers hands-on activities and interactive history demonstrations, including exhibits of fur trading, woodworking and silver trading, preparing an 18th century meal, soldiers’ activities, playing games, writing with quill pens, and making crafts. Music will be provided by the fort’s field musicians and local musicians who play period tunes. Historical characters will be everywhere to share history and welcome guests.
Unique to this event are the "feu de joie" (firing of joy) musket and cannon firings, which recreate an 18thcentury military ceremony that celebrated great victory. As in years past, the fort and its pathways will be illuminated by candlelight, and the French Castle will be festively decorated for the holidays by the Youngstown Garden Club using natural evergreen boughs, ribbons, flowers and ornaments.
Tickets will be available only at the door for $10 per person from 6:30 pm to 8 p.m. each night. Children ages 5 and under are free. Visitors are encouraged to dress for the weather, wear walking footwear and bring a flashlight. The event is a fundraiser for the fort’s educational programing.
Homemade soup, hot cocoa and cookies will be for sale onsite at the Trading Post (while supplies last), while musicians provide live holiday music for customers.
The fort's Museum Shop will also be open, offering a wide variety of books, apparel, historic reproductions and other unique gift items. The shop is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The fort's next event will be the Twelfth Night Ball, on January 6, 2018. Tickets for this 18th-century English Country Dance will go on sale December 4.
Photos courtesy of Wayne Peters