Photos and text by Sarah Crosby
The brisk temperature on a recent Friday evening did not deter curious folks from embracing a new holiday tradition: Several small groups ventured into the cold night during Historic Deerfield’s special evening tour titled “Getting Ready for a Winter’s Ball.”
An 1803 love story, proven to be true by historical letters, was the focus of the walking tour, which wove in and out of historic town structures. At each stop, actors playing real Deerfield characters of the time offered vignettes of former life in the town.
“It’s an opportunity to learn about history and experience a bit of the time period,” said Laurie Nivison, director of marketing at Historic Deerfield. “Even the street itself is its own (historic) object.”
Lanterns lit the way as the tour groups giggled at staged gossip and were awed by carolers huddling together, voices slicing through the cold night.
“It was very immersive; fun to be drawn into the gossip,” said Sonia Brand-Fisher of Northampton. The tour, which she called phenomenal, was “a wonderful new way to celebrate the holidays,” she said.