whiskeytown national recreation area and shasta state historic park partner for the annual old time holiday celebration 2016

Date: October 26, 2016
Contact: Breanna Corp, 530-242-3451
Contact: Visitor Center, 530-246-1225

The National Park Service and California State Parks are gearing up for the annual “Old Time Holiday” celebration on Saturday, December 3^rd, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Follow in the footsteps of miners who in 1849, after preparing a holiday meal in Shasta, traveled to Whiskeytown to share their food and cheer! The events will take place at Shasta State Historic Park and the Tower House Historic District in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, both located along Highway 299, just west of Redding, California.

Shasta State Historic Park will offer free entrance to the Courthouse Museum and the historic Litsch General Store.  Other activities will feature candle making, musical entertainment by the Old Time Fiddlers Association, the Sweet Adelines and Redding School of the Arts, and other activities for all ages.

At the Camden House in Whiskeytown’s Tower House Historic District, families are invited to make a free wreath to take home for the holidays. The wreath-making workshop will continue until 3:00 p.m. Some hand tools will be provided, but visitors are encouraged to bring their own hand pruners for cutting greenery. Other holiday craft activities will include ornament making, embroidery, wreath lapel pins, and live music by the French Gulch Whiskeytown School, Old Time Fiddlers Association, the Sweet Adelines and Sami Jo & Mathew Meyer. In addition, visitors can learn the fascinating stories of the families that settled here in the 1800’s by touring the homestead of Charles Camden and the adjacent historic orchards.

This is a free event, so visitors at Whiskeytown’s celebration will not be required to display a pass on their vehicles within the Tower House Historic District. In addition, Western National Parks Association is having a 15% discount on books and souvenirs all day at the Whiskeytown Visitor Center. There are many new nature-related gifts available at the park store and this is a great way to support our parks while doing your holiday shopping.

For more information on the Old Time Holiday Celebration, please call the Whiskeytown Visitor Center between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at [phone], or Shasta State Historic Park on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at [phone]. You can also visit Whiskeytown’s website at www.nps.gov/whis or Shasta State Historic Park at www.parks.ca.gov.