Published: Dec 7, 2007
As
the holiday season unfolds, the Henry B. Plant Museum at the University
of Tampa is bringing the past to life with the 26th annual Victorian
Christmas Stroll.
Chosen as one of the Southeast Tourism
Society’s top 20 events for the month of December, the Victorian
Christmas Stroll sees the Plant Museum completely transformed into a
lavish holiday display that hearkens back to Christmas during the Gilded
Age.
Each of the museum’s 13 rooms is elaborately decorated in
the Victorian holiday tradition. Visitors will find themselves immersed
in the atmosphere of an 18th century Christmas in the Tampa Bay Hotel,
complete with ornate Christmas trees, lush greenery and antique
children’s toys scattered throughout the museum.
The stroll was
first introduced as a candlelight tour of the museum, which grew in
popularity each year, according to Sally Shifke, relations coordinator
for the Plant Museum.
“It has become a holiday family tradition
for many people,” Shifke said. “We have about a third of our museum
admissions for the year during the stroll – about 15,000 people in three
weeks.”
The stroll also presents visitors the unique
opportunity to tour the Plant Museum at night, Shifke said, with the
museum’s regular hours being extended from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
The
Victorian Christmas Stroll lasts through Dec. 23. Admission is $10 for
adults and $4 for children ages 3 to 11. UT students are admitted free.
The museum store will also offer various gifts and holiday accessories through Dec. 23.
For more information, visit www.plantmuseum.com.