Christmas Magic in Portsmouth
“If another city does a better job of celebrating Christmas, I have yet to find it.” – Yankee Magazine
“One of the ‘Top Ten Things Not to Miss in New England’” – Boston Globe
Plan the perfect holiday visit now!
It’s time to make plans now for the perfect holiday visit during Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth throughout the entire month of December 2012. Presented by cultural anchors Strawbery Banke Museum and The Music Hall, it’s a month of Strolls, Shows and Stayovers in the historic working seaport of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Listed as “one of the Top 100 Events in North America” (ABA) and “one of the Top Ten Things not to miss in New England” (Boston Globe), Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth has people returning year after year to the small city that Travel Guide of America calls “the crowning glory of the New Hampshire Seacoast.” Now in its eighth year, Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth will once again offer the irresistible Candlelight Stroll that Strawbery Banke Museum has created for 32 years, the live holiday shows, opera broadcasts and films in The Music Hall’s landmark Historic Theater and the intimate Music Hall Loft on Congress Street, and the welcoming stays in the elegant and delightful holiday downtown. Get ready to cuddle up with a free trolley ride through red-bricked Market Square, stroll through the snowflakes to the many eclectic shops, step back in time through living history at the festively decorated Strawbery Banke Museum, sample Portsmouth’s famous culinary specialties, or enjoy a first-class show at The Music Hall. Back by popular demand – the free Vintage Christmas Trolley shuttles patrons around the historic seaport each Saturday and Sunday afternoon and evening for the first three weekends in December.
According to Patricia Lynch, executive director of The Music Hall, “Portsmouth is the perfect town for Vintage Christmas since it’s a charming mix of the contemporary and historical. It’s all about celebrating the winter, the warmth, the light, and our collective memories of holidays past. The Music Hall, with its landmark Victorian theater (one of the prettiest theaters in America!) is also the most popular New Hampshire performing arts center recognized nationally for its programming and Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth is no exception. Expect lavish decorations in the both the Historic Theater and the chic new Loft, top flight comedians spoofing the holidays, great holiday music from legends like Natalie MacMaster, literary events, and of course magical holiday treats. When I created Vintage Christmas back in 2005 and approached our partner Strawbery Banke Museum, I envisioned that Portsmouth could become the Christmas Capital of North America, and well 2012, here we are!”
Joining the two nonprofits this year will be Presenting Sponsors Churchill’s Garden Center; the City of Portsmouth; Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce; Seacoast Media Group; and The White Apron. Lead Sponsors include Holloway Automotive; Seacoast Local; and Weather Partner 107.1 WERZ. Great Bay Academy of Dance, which produces An 1836 Portsmouth Nutcracker at The Music Hall’s Historic Theater, will be participating as a Community Partner. A handy calendar/map will be available to visitors to make it easy to get around town. Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth also has its own website, VintageChristmasNH.org to make it even easier for visitors to plan their trips. The map/calendar will also be available on the site to download.
Presenting Sponsors
- Churchill’s Garden Center
- City of Portsmouth
- Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce
- Seacoast Media Group
- The White Apron
Lead Sponsors
Community Partner
Music Hall Season Sponsor
Back by popular demand: City provides free Vintage Christmas Trolley
The free city trolley is wildly successful. Patrons use it to not only ferry themselves from free parking lots to the center of town, between The Music Hall and Strawbery Banke Museum, but also to give themselves a brief overview of what Portsmouth has to offer. The trolley’s scheduled route – to run the first three weekends of December on Saturday and Sunday from 1:30-10:30pm – is a quick 20-minute loop with several stops to jump on/off for shopping, and to get a bite to eat and drink. Day visitors will be able to park at various lots around town and jump on the trolley, while overnight visitors in downtown hotels will be able to walk to convenient trolley stops.
Strawbery Banke Museum visitors tour Portsmouth’s oldest neighborhood
The holiday decorations, vignettes and role-players at Strawbery Banke Museum’s Candlelight Stroll (Dec 1 & 2, 8 & 9, 14 & 15; 5-9 pm on Saturdays and 4-8 pm on Sundays) are designed to carry visitors into holiday lives from the past as the 10-acre museum and its 40 historic buildings recreate December through the centuries in the Portsmouth neighborhood of Puddle Dock. Visitors are welcomed into the 1919 Russian Jewish kitchen of Mrs. Shapiro as she prepares the Hanukah celebration. The 18th century night watchman stops to warm himself in front of the bonfire. The wagon drawn by a winter-furry farm horse, Doc, makes the rounds along the dirt lanes lined with the flickering wood-and-glass candle lanterns that are the signature of Candlelight Stroll. New this year, the tiny white lights that outline the grounds and the electric candles in the windows will remain on each night throughout December – not just on the weekends of Stroll. The holiday decorations in each house, including the family Christmas tree in all its Victorian glory in the front parlor of the Goodwin Mansion will be showcased during holiday house tours the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Beyond the Candlelight Stroll, there will be Holiday House Tours December 26-30. Candlelight Stroll tickets are on sale now on the website, strawberybanke.org
About the Music Hall’s two theaters
Historic Theater: Step over the threshold of this landmark Victorian theater – the oldest in New Hampshire – and into the Beaux Arts Founders Lobby featuring superlative patron amenities. Upstairs, the newly renovated upper lobby leads into the elegant 900-seat auditorium – now restored to its 1878 splendor – has welcomed artists ranging from Mark Twain to Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. Patrons greet friends and neighbors in this community great room, a gathering place for conversation on a site dating back to the days of Frederick Douglass. The original hardwood floor and horseshoe balcony ensure superior acoustics for stage and screen events. Full concessions are available in both lobbies. Just around the corner from the Historic Theater, the Music Hall Loft features the same fabulous programming, but in a smaller more intimate (125-seat) setting, with gourmet food and cocktails that can be taken right to each seat.
Vintage Christmas Updates
Website: VintageChristmasNH.org
Twitter: @vintage_xmas
Facebook: facebook.com/vintagexmas
Weather: Tune in to 107.1 WERZ for your Vintage Christmas Weather Update on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Vintage Christmas 2012 Schedule – a month of shows + strolls
For more informationVintageChristmasNH.org
Friday, November 30
5:30 Mary Flynn Trio – Vintage Christmas kickoff ● Music Hall, Loft
Saturday, December 1
1pm Met@The Music Hall: La Clemenza di Tito (Mozart) ● Music Hall, Historic Theater
1:30-10:30pm Vintage Christmas Trolley 20 min. route
5pm Holiday Tree Lighting ● Market Square
6pm Illuminated Holiday Parade
5-9pm Candlelight Stroll ● Strawbery Banke
7pm Wuthering Heights (film) ● Music Hall, Loft
Sunday, December 2
1:30-10:30pm Vintage Christmas Trolley 20 min. route
2pm, 7pm Natalie MacMaster ● Music Hall, Historic Theater
4-8pm Candlelight Stroll ● Strawbery Banke
Monday, December 3
5:30pm Historical Tour ● Music Hall, Historic Theater
Thursday, December 6
7:30pm Deepak Chopra ● Music Hall, Historic Theater
Saturday, December 8
1pm Met@The Music Hall: Un Ballo in Maschera (Verdi) ● Music Hall, Historic Theater
1:30-10:30pm Vintage Christmas Trolley 20 min. route
5-9pm Candlelight Stroll ● Strawbery Banke
Sunday, December 9
1:30-10:30pm Vintage Christmas Trolley 20 min. route
4-8pm Candlelight Stroll ● Strawbery Banke
Friday, December 14
7pm Great Bay Academy of Dance: An 1836 Portsmouth Nutcracker ● Music Hall, Historic Theater
Saturday December 15
10am, 2pm & 7pm Great Bay Academy of Dance: An 1836 Portsmouth Nutcracker ● Music Hall, Historic Theater
1:30-10:30pm Vintage Christmas Trolley 20 min. route
5-9pm Candlelight Stroll ● Strawbery Banke
Sunday, December 16
1:30-10:30pm Vintage Christmas Trolley 20 min. route
4-8pm Candlelight Stroll ● Strawbery Banke
7pm Ragpickers Dream ● Music Hall, Loft
11:30am & 2:30pm Great Bay Academy of Dance: An 1836 Portsmouth Nutcracker ● Music Hall, Historic Theater
Monday December 17
5:30pm Historical Tour ● Music Hall, Historic Theater
7:30pm Ragpickers Dream ● Music Hall, Loft
Tuesday, December 18
7:30pm Messiah Sing ● Music Hall, Historic Theater
Friday December 21
8pm Merry Funny N.E. Christmas ● Music Hall, Historic Theater
Saturday, December 22
12pm Met@The Music Hall: Aida (Verdi) ● Music Hall, Historic Theater
December 26-30
Holiday House Tours ● Strawbery Banke
Saturday, December 29
HD broadcast: Barrymore (with Christopher Plummer) ● Music Hall, Loft
Monday, December 31
First Night Portsmouth
RESERVATIONS
Shows
Tickets for all Music Hall holiday shows can be purchased at The Music Hall box office at the Historic Theater (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth), on the phone at 603.436.2400, or online at http://www.themusichall.org
Strolls
Ticket prices for Strawbery Banke Museums’ Candlelight Stroll are $20 for adults, $10 for children, and $50 for families (2 adults and their children ages 17 and under). Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.strawberybanke.org or by phone at 603.433.1107. Tickets may be used any night of the Stroll.
About Strawbery Banke Museum
Connect with the Past! See how people in the Puddle Dock neighborhood of Portsmouth lived over nearly 400 years of New England history. Through restored furnished houses, exhibits, historic landscapes and gardens, and costumed role players, Strawbery Banke interprets the living history of generations who settled in Portsmouth, NH from the late 17th century to the mid 20th century on its 10-acre campus. Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH is open 10am-5pm daily May through October and for Candlelight Stroll and historic house holiday tours in December. Call 603-433-1100 for more information or visit: http://www.strawberybanke.org
About The Music Hall
The Music Hall is a performing arts center featuring curated entertainment from around the world in two theaters in its downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire campus – one, a landmark 1878 Victorian theater, the other the intimate Music Hall Loft around the corner, recently named “best performing arts venue” by Yankee Magazine and the recipient of the NH AIA award for design excellence. Acclaimed signature series bring top authors and artists to both stages, while HD broadcasts and independent film fill both screens. A radio show broadcast on NH Public Radio originates here. This dynamic arts center urges patrons to Explore + Learn via master classes, post film panel discussions, and matinees for children. An anchor cultural organization in this historic working seaport, The Music Hall is one of downtown Portsmouth’s biggest employers and largest contributors to the regional economy: The Music Hall and its patrons contribute $7 million annually to the local economy through show and visitor related spending. Innovative in its outlook, the organization is community oriented and committed to making the Seacoast flourish. The Music Hall is 501c3 nonprofit managed by a professional staff with the assistance of a volunteer board. Though global in the scope of its artists and programs, The Music Hall operates independently with the support of 3,000 members, 300 business supporters and 40 community partners. Welcoming more than 100,000 patrons (including 20,000 children) each year from the tri-state area and beyond, The Music Hall is the region’s center for the performing arts, literature and education…easy to get to, impossible to forget. http://www.themusichall.org
“the beating cultural heart of New Hampshire’s seacoast” – Boston Globe