News Release

Christmas at Connemara - Free Storytelling, Music and Crafts

NPS Photo

News Release Date: November 14, 2019

Contact: Public Information Officer, 828-693-4178

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site will celebrate “Christmas at Connemara” with storytelling, music, crafts, warm cider, and cookies, on Saturday, November 30, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Cherokee storyteller Black Feather will share stories of Cherokee holiday traditions at 10:30 am, in the garage adjacent to the Sandburg Home. At 11:30 am, guitarist and vocalist Pat Corn will perform with noted harp guitarist Chuck Thompson from Nashville. They will share a selection of Christmas favorites played on a pair of unique harp guitars in the garage. From 10:00 am to 1:00 pm in the park store, Steve and Jean Smith will play hammered dulcimer and visitors can make a special holiday ornament.

Free holiday fun continues on the following Saturdays in December, with music and craft making in the park store, located on the ground floor of the Sandburg Home:
 

• Saturday, December 14, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, Howard Baaken plays holiday music on keyboard.
• Saturday, December 21, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, John Perkins plays familiar holiday tunes on guitar.
• Saturday, December 28, at 1:00 pm, Lucy Allen and Marshall Goers sing holiday folk music in the house garage. At 2:00 pm, Geriatric Jukebox plays classic holiday tunes from the 1960’s in the house garage. From 1:00 – 3:00 pm, Patrick Ballard plays guitar, banjo and mandolin in the park store. Visitors can enjoy free tours of the Sandburg Home on this day as well!

Please note that on December 28, the last free tour day of 2019, house tour tickets are only available in person, on a first come, first serve basis and are not available online. Otherwise, house tour tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for age 62 and older and Interagency pass holders, and free for children age 15 and under. Tickets can be reserved in advance at recreation.gov.


Tours of the Sandburg Home will feature holiday decorations in the simple style of the Sandburg family, with greenery, a Christmas tree, and poinsettias. The Sandburg Home will be decorated for the season through January 6, 2020. The temporary clothing exhibit “Dressing for the Occasion,” will also remain on display in the Sandburg Home through the holiday season.

The Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, the park’s philanthropic partner, will offer goat-themed holiday ornaments and other holiday activities. All donations support educational activities, visitor services, and barn operations in the park.  

This program is supported by the National Park Service, Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, Eastern National, the non-profit partner that operates the park store, and Henderson County Tourism Development Authority.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site is a unit of the National Park Service. The park is located three miles south of Hendersonville off U.S. 225 on Little River Road, and is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Weekdays are less busy than weekends. For parking and shuttle options, please visit www.nps.gov/carl/planyourvisit/parking.htm. Sandburg Home tours can now be reserved in advance at recreation.gov. For further information please telephone [phone], or visit our website at:

www.nps.gov/carl


About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s  national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov