Unified HNC Event Program for 12/9 đ
Details for Spirit of Christmas, the Winter Festival & Market, and more...
Thanks to a huge, community effort, the Spirit of Christmas (SoC) returns to Historic New Castle on Saturday, promising a day-long, town-wide celebration of holiday cheer packed with so many fun activities and events that youâd need a Mach-10 reindeer to get to it all!
Between SoC events, New Castle Public Libraryâs 3rd annual Winter Festival & Market (WFM), and other goings-on, it seemed useful to have a unified guide to everything happening, which can be pulled up right on a mobile device (for those who donât mind breaking 18th Century character).
Read on for some quick background on the event, followed by a wealth of details about this weekendâs wonderful assortment of âStuff to Do.â Readers are also encouraged to check out this weekâs issue of The Weekly, set to hit newsstands tomorrow with even more information about many of the events below.
(Or jump straight to the timeline.)
A Beloved Tradition Finds a New Home, and a New Partner đŻ
Following the passing earlier this year of Gene Dempsey - the warm, garrulous spirit behind the event for many years - it was uncertain what fate might await New Castleâs most beloved December event. New Castle Presbyterian Church, long its institutional home, announced it would not be able to organize the Spirit of Christmas without Gene. However, by mid-year, a determined group of volunteers had begun meeting at the library, seeking ways to continue the tradition.
The group would come include Heidi Benson, Judie Baldini, Tera Hayward, Kelly Koczak McCurdy, Rod Miller, Barbara Petinella, Rodney Pratt, Phee Price, John Reaves, Sami Campbell-Sarver, and Diante Simmons, as well as Scot Dempsey - Geneâs son, who lives in New Castle. They set about finding a new way to put on the town-wide event, and began working with the New Castle Community Partnership. As an already well-connected non-profit with experience doing town events, NCCP seems to have been the natural next institutional/legal home for the Spirit of Christmas.
At the same time, organizers began working more closely with staff at New Castle Public Library, which in 2021 began hosting a Winter Festival & Market concurrent with SoC. That event has grown quickly from year to year, with limited vendor space at the library very quickly running out in 2023. This âproblemâ became a boon for SoC organizers, who coordinated with library staff to harness that interest and created a new market and more vendor space for this yearâs now-related events.
They also had help from NC Presbyterian Church, the Historic New Castle Hundred Lions Club, and New Castle Historical Society. Other partnering organizations include NC United Methodist Church, Immanuel on the Green, and the NC Court House Museum.
Thanks to this indefatigable group of determined volunteers, the Spirit of Christmas event seems not just to have been saved for 2023, but expanded and improved! With new partnerships, new activities, more private homes opening up, more vendors and businesses involved, and more activities right in the street⌠it promises lots of Yuletide fun for all who turn out on Saturday, December 9. đ
Timeline of 12/9 Activities & Events đ
All info taken from the Spirit of Christmas website and the Winter Festival & Market event page on Facebook, among other sources. Follow links for further info.
Throughout the DayâŚ
Activities running 10am to 4pm unless otherwise specified
The Winter Market âď¸ at New Castle Public Library, featuring:
the Library Friendsâ Winter Book Sale & Raffle đ,
Arasapha Garden Clubâs first Poinsettia & Wreath Sale đ,
a Baked Goods Sale đŞ supporting the Library,
an all-day Ornament Crafting Station for Kids, and
over a dozen great local vendors, including Fort Casimir Honey Company, Gigi & Cat Jewelry, and many more!
Other Gifting and Shopping Opportunities đ - including:
an Outdoor Artisan Market on The Green,
Gifts, Soups and Baked Goods at New Castle Presbyterian Church, and
a Candle Making Workshop đŻ at Cabernet Candles (12pm-6pm).
Strolling Performers đź on and around Delaware Street: Jim Slagle (Sinatra); Tom Freebery (Harmonica); and Delaware Vox Valles (Caroling).
Four Santas đ đ đ đ - honoring âChristmas gift-givers from New Castleâs founding communities,â the Dutch, the Swedes and the British: St. Nicholas, Jultomte, Father Christmas, and Sinter Klaas.
The SANTA SCHEDULE⌠Letters correspond to locations on the map below. Historic Home Tours đĄ at house museums and private homes throughout the Historic District. Click the preceding link or see the map below for a list and the location of private homes that will be open.
Food Trucks at the Wharf and Local Restaurants up and down Delaware Street will be serving up festive fare đ˝ - including Jessopâs, Nora Leeâs, the Mercury, Zollieâs, Taqueria el Centenario, and Oaxaca Mexican Bar & Grill.
The Art of Gifting: Santa Stories đ at The Window on Delaware Street.
Santaâs Sleigh and the Wishing Tree at Old Town Hall, plus the Childrenâs Tree, on The Green. âď¸
9:30amâ
Spirit of Christmas officially begins.
Breakfast & Photo Booth with Santa at Cabernet Candles.
â10:00am
New Castle Public Library opens, and its Winter Festival & Market begins.
Willow Tree & Friends Concert đź at New Castle Presbyterian Church.
Breakfast & Photos with Santa at Cabernet Candles (until 11am).
Drop in Craft with Macaroni Kid Wilmington-New Castle, at New Castle Public Library (until 1pm).
Hearth Cooking in the Amstel House Kitchen đĽ (until 2:30pm).
Hearth cooks will introduce visitors to the recipes and techniques used to prepare meals and preserve foods by people of the 18th century. Demonstrations are free.
11:00am
Storytime with Princess Belle đ at New Castle Public Library.
11:30am
Charles Dickensâ âA Christmas Carolâ đ - outdoor performance by the Reedy Point Players, at the stage near New Castle Court House Museum.
Face Painting Station đ¨ at New Castle Public Library (until 1pm).
12:00pm
Performance by Delaware Vox Valles đź from the Delaware Valley Classical School, at New Castle Court House Museum.
â1:00pm
Celebration Ringers Concert đ at New Castle Presbyterian Church.
â1:30pm
Westfield High School Alumni Chorale Concert đź at New Castle Methodist Church.
â2:00pm
Charles Dickensâ âA Christmas Carolâ đ - outdoor performance by the Reedy Point Players, at the stage near New Castle Court House Museum.
Music School of Delaware Performance đź at New Castle Visitor's Center in the Arsenal on Market Street. (This event may be at 3pm - there is a discrepancy between the SoC brochure and website).
â2:30pm
Festive Musical Performance đź by Michael Hunter at New Castle Public Library.
â3:00pm
New Ark Chorale Performance đź at New Castle Presbyterian Church.
Jim Slagle Performs Sinatra đź on the main stage near New Castle Court House Museum.
â4:00pm - Tree Lighting Ceremony
Town Tree Lighting Festivities & Caroling đ at The Green, facing Market Square, hosted by local and state leaders and featuring local choirs.
Ceremony begins at 4pm, with the Tree to be Lit around 5pm.
At 5:15, the mayor and Good Will Fire Company will help give Santa a lift out of town (presumably to wherever he parked the reindeer and sleigh!).
6:00pm
LIT for The Holidays at Read House & Gardens. Who doesnât love a fancy, holiday party? This ticketed event features exhibits, music, cocktails and nosh in the beautifully-bedecked halls of the historic Read House.
How to Find the Activities & Events âď¸
The awesome team behind Spirit of Christmas has put together an extremely helpful map showing where everything is, including the private homes that will be open to visitors for the day. Click the map to expand, or the link in the caption to check out the entire SoC brochure.
How to Find Parking đ
Lastly, if youâre coming from out of town (or an outer neighborhood), the map below shows the various parking areas that are most convenient to the Historic District and Delaware Street for Saturdayâs festivities.
Historic New Castleâs Spirit of Christmas Celebration supports Delawareâs Friendship House, which seeks to âunite people facing homelessness with loving, supportive communities they can call home.â (This does not apply to all events above - just SoC activities.)
Funds raised by Arasapha Garden Club support the maintenance and preservations of the historic gardens at the Dutch & Amstel Houses, as well as the clubâs programs. Funds raised by New Castle Library Friends (as well as from the libraryâs bake sale) support the collections, services and staff of New Castle Public Library.
Thanks for reading - and have a spectacular Spirit of Christmas weekend!
If you found this post useful, please use the buttons below to help others find it.