There was much to do at Joanna Furnace this weekend to celebrate Christmas.
From Dec. 5 to 7, the Hay Creek Association held Christmas at Joanna, a celebration full of Christmas activities, foods, and fun, at Joanna Furnace.
Christmas at Joanna included vintage decorations, a market, wagon rides, bonfire entertainment, luminary pathways, live nativity, walking tours, and festive foods, according to www.haycreek.org/christmas_at_joanna.htm.
Pearl Weber, 17, works at Joanna during its big events, such as the Hay Creek Festival, the Hay Creek Apple Festival, and Christmas at Joanna. Pearl helps to sell different foods at the booth set up by her youth group, which she attends at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. For Christmas at Joanna they had sold cookies.
“I love working there because I can talk to so many people,” said Weber. “And see the children get so excited when they see all the cookies.”
The Christmas Market sells many other kinds of holiday foods. They sell prepackaged foods such as candies, cakes, and even cheeses. They also sell warm foods for the event such as sausage sandwiches, hot dogs, french fries, soup, soft pretzels, hot chocolate, coffee, and mulled cider.
The Christmas Market also had other goods for the winter such as winter wear like hats, scarfs, and gloves. They had all kinds of Christmas decor including ornaments, house decorations, hand-spun wool products, candles, hand-carved Santa Clause decorations, jewelry, and even jewelry lock boxes. Attendees were also able to purchase tickets so that they could enter Gift Basket Raffles. There was a variety of gift baskets, which included gift certificates, gym memberships, family fun activity passes, pet supplies, and holiday and home improvement items.
The event had several bonfires burning in order to keep attendees warm during the evening. There was a fire set up in the middle of the Christmas Market where a few families gathered to keep warm. In front of the stage there was a larger bonfire where many families gathered to listen to the stories of Santa Clause and Christmas legends. All the children were later rewarded with a sweet treat. Carolers were also found by the bonfire to sing holiday songs for everyone to enjoy.
If you were not interested in walking the grounds pathways, lit by the luminary glowing candles, then you could enjoy a wagon ride, which followed the pathways around the Joanna Furnace grounds.
“I had gone with a group of friends over the weekend and it was absolutely gorgeous,” Alicia Bauer, 16, said. “We had a great time walking around and seeing all the beautiful lights and happy families.”
Throughout the evening there had also been a live nativity presented by the Living Rock Bible Church from Elverson. They had reenacted the Nativity of the Lord.
“I love all of the lights and the manger scene which shows the real meaning of Christmas,” Weber said.
Found in the historic Victorian buildings, there were many scenes to see. Mothers and daughters made baked goods within the kitchen, and interpreters shared stories while they quilled, embroidered, and prepared craft items. In another building there were different machines, and interpreters to explain what they were each created to do. There was also a box-car train Christmas setup, for everyone to enjoy. Animals could also be found in varies places throughout the property. There were bunnies, big and small, chickens, and even an alpaca.
For more about the Hay Creek Association, visit www.haycreek.org.
