MANSFIELD — The chilly, winter months take the focus off vegetation for visitors to Kingwood Center Gardens.
But that doesn’t stop the staff workers from embracing the season through December. Starting in November, gardeners and volunteers helped deck the halls throughout the historical mansion.
“Wintertime in gardens … although a garden still is beautiful, but it’s very stark,” explained Holly Williams, Visitor Services Manager at Kingwood. “And what Christmas does is it brings everybody inside and having the trees inside … really can celebrate the outside in.”
The adornment starts in the mansion’s foyer.
“My understanding is that Mr. King himself always had a giant tree in the foyer, just like what we do today,” Williams said, acknowledging the possibility of that “fact” being lore. “So it’s trying to continue a tradition that was started long before Kingwood Center was ever started.”
The tree stretches two stories high and was lighted by Kingwood Center Herb Gardener Glenna Sheaffer by weaving the lights in and out of the branches. Each room on the first floor is embellished with themed décor, ranging from a “Santa Clause” room to a “Hark! The herald angels sing” room.
To further embrace the Christmas season, the center has scheduled weekly campfires on Saturday evenings, like the one led by Rasul Welch of Moveable Feast on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Admission for guests to explore the mansion or to enjoy the weekly campfires is $5 per person, children under the age of six are free of charge.
For more information, visit Kingwood’s website.
