2016 Holiday Events at Historic Odessa

The Historic Odessa Foundation will celebrate the 200th anniversary of E.T.A. Hoffmann's story, "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31 with a series of events at the foundation's museums, the Historic Houses of Odessa.

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King

The Historic Odessa Foundation will celebrate the 200th anniversary of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31 with a series of events at the foundation’s museums, the Historic Houses of Odessa.

The Home of the Stahlbaums on Christmas Eve

The Wilson-Warner House will be transformed into a re-creation of the home of the Stahlbaums on Christmas Eve, with story vignettes recreated throughout the 247-year old rooms. The story was written in 1816 about a girl named Marie who helps a wooden nutcracker defeat an army of mice. It is the inspiration for the ballet “The Nutcracker.”

Christmas Events

• Families Cook Series: Holiday Delights: 1:30 p.m. Nov. 12
• Holiday exhibit: opens Nov. 15
• Storybook Trees exhibit: opens Nov. 15
• Holiday school tours: Nov. 15 to Dec. 31
• Candlelight tours: 7 p.m. Dec. 1, 6, 8, 13, 15 and 20
• Children’s holiday program: 2 p.m. Dec. 4
• Festive foods/hearth cooking demonstration: 10 a.m. Dec. 10 and 17
• Paint Your Own Nutcracker: 2 p.m. Dec. 11
• Children's Storybook time: noon and 4:30 p.m. Dec. 14
• Curator candlelight tour: 7 p.m. Dec. 22

The houses are open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1:00-4:30 p.m. Sundays. The last tour starts at 3:00 p.m. The houses will be closed Dec. 24 and 25. Admission to holiday tours is $10 for adults; $8 for groups, seniors and students; and free for HOF members and ages 6 and younger. The visitor’s center is located in the Old Bank at Second and Main streets.

For information, call 378-4119 or visit www.historicodessa.org.