Are you ready to get your sparkle on?

Beginning November 20th through early January, you’re invited to celebrate the holidays in Newport. The seaport known for dramatic shore-scapes, a splashy social-scene and legendary wealth is ready to open it’s Manor-sized doors and welcome guests to experience the glamor of the Gilded Age ~ with a Christmas twist.

Shaking off a bit of the season’s glitter Gary Ruff, Associate Communications Manager of the Preservation Society of Newport County, took time out of his hectic holiday schedule to share the excitement that’s swirling around three of Newport’s most elegant Mansions. He says ‘the halls of The Marble House, The Elms and The Breakers have been decked. The ‘Summer Cottages’ are eager to greet Christmas guests for guided tours of their palatial walls.”

The Marble House :Gold Room

The lifestyles, the passions and the privileges of American Royalty are dressed in their holiday best and invite you to explore their glowing Wonderlands of Winter.  Opulent in style, some of the ornaments hold clues to the personalities of their former residents.

The Elms :Ballroom

The Breakers: 50 foot tall poinsettia

Can you guess which scion of American industrialism is being honored with this Breakers Christmas tree? (**hint below)

There’s even more to enjoy than interior decor.

Ruff said this year’s exterior holiday display ” Sparkling Lights at The Breakers: An Outdoor Magical Wonderland” winds around the newly refreshed landscape of 44 Ochre Point Ave and is twice as grand as last year’s captivating celebration. This year’s self-guided tour of a time frozen in America’s past begins with a 16 foot Christmas tree-shaped light-display at the porte-cochère, above the main entrance to the mansion built for **Cornelius Vanderbilt ll.

The journey to the wonders of Cottage-life wraps around the 70 room Renaissance Revival style mansion with thousands of white and colored lights.

Photo Credit :The Westerly Sun

Jim Donahue, Curator of Historic Landscapes and Horticulture at the Preservation Society is credited with installation of whimsical touches that twinkle as time-travelers stroll through the countless charms of Newport’s night air. His mastery of magic has sprinkled pathways with imaginative spaces, like Peppermint Woods, Gnome Knoll, Snow People Corner and Glowing Grove.  Holiday music adds a special ambiance to the spectacularly reimagined landscape that includes a memory-making ‘selfie station’ in the Children’s Cottage and an enchanting Tunnel of  Light.

Elms Ballroom angel

 

Get your sparkle on in Newport ; November 20th – January 9th.

The Breakers:

Opens at 10 AM daily through January 9th.

Mondays – Wednesday the last admission is at 4PM.  The house and grounds close at 5PM.

Thursday -Sunday ONLY the last admission is 3PM. The house and grounds close at 4PM, before reopening at 5PM for “Sparkling Lights at the Breakers” 

“Sparkling Lights at The Breakers” requires a separate ticket

“Sparkling Lights at The Breakers” is unavailable December 18th

The Elms and Marble House:

Opens at 10 AM daily through January 2.

The last tour admission is 4PM. The houses and grounds close at 5PM.

On December 18th~ The Elms and Marble House will stay open for evening hours. The last admission will be 6PM. The Houses and Grounds will close at 7PM.

The Breakers, Marble House and the Elms will be closed for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

All properties will close at 3 pm on Dec. 24th.

Masks are suggested : Reservations are NOT required.

Merry Everything!

Companion reading suggestion: Vanderbilt : The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

 

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This