By Sheila Phibbs
The Haldimand Press
CAYUGA—It has been a season of giving and sharing at Ruthven Park National Historic Site in Cayuga. On Tuesday evening tours, guests gave donations for the Cayuga Food Bank as their admission before enjoying the story of five generations of the Thompson family and how they would have celebrated Christmas.
Brittany Van Dalen, Site Administrator at Ruthven, explains how the Christmas Tours by donation started. She says, “This holiday season we were excited to have Ruthven Park open its doors for tours again and at such a magical time of year. I wanted to offer a different way that guests could enjoy Christmas tours at Ruthven while giving back to the community.”
The tours, which ran from November 15 to December 13, booked quickly online and rather than pay an admission fee, guests were asked to bring non-perishable food items. Over the five tour evenings, 22 bags of food were received as well as $60 in cash donations, which was used to purchase additional non-perishable food.
During the tour, guests were led through the mansion to experience what Christmas was like for the Thompson family and see the transformation of the holidays through the decades. Following the tour, visitors could follow candle lit lanterns to the front of the mansion, which was decorated for the season, then conclude their experience with hot chocolate or tea and sweets in the Coach House to the sounds of Christmas music.
Along with the Tuesday tours, the Christmas Tour and Cream Tea experiences were held on Friday evenings from November 18 to December 16 and were sold out. Reflecting on the season, Van Dalen credits the staff and volunteers at Ruthven for the preparation and facilitation of the tours and is appreciative of the guests for their generous support of the food drive.
Van Dalen is looking forward to a 2023 that features a “great lineup” of events and programs. She says, “It has been wonderful to welcome people back to the site and to see such interest after being closed for over two years due to the pandemic.”
For more information on upcoming events or for future tour registration, visit ruthvenpark.ca.
