Come celebrate the holiday season with music, dance, and good food at the Beidler House on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 1-6 p.m. (Snow date: Dec. 17). Experience the essence of a colonial-era German Christmas at this 18th century house in Gibraltar at our Colonial Candlelight Holiday Reception.
Back in 1783, all of the joyous celebrations of the Germans in Pennsylvania were featured at Conrad Beidler’s house.
Music and dancing, vocal solos and caroling, delicious pastries and libations, along with the good cheer of the holidays, were an important part of the festivities. The rooms and halls were festooned with decorations of beautiful fresh greens collected from nature’s bounty. In the center of it all, in the formal parlor, was the traditional cedar tree decorated with fancifully shaped cookies, candles, nuts, sweetmeats, and other hand-fashioned ornaments.
Join us as we recreate the holiday celebration of this early Berks County family. Beautiful music and dance will set the mood for the evening and you can even join us in singing traditional Christmas carols and songs. Enjoy the scent of fresh greens and other seasonal decorations throughout the house. Savor sweet delicacies such as stollen, traditional cookies, and warm mulled cider. Experience the magic of this historic house as dusk falls and the candles are lit.
The Beidler House and Mill, located at the Allegheny Aqueduct Park in Gibraltar, is one of the earliest industrial sites in Berks County. As early as 1735, there was a commercial sawmill on the property. In the early 1760s Conrad Beidler acquired the site, and built a merchant grist mill. Both the saw and grist mill prospered, and in 1783 Beidler built his beautiful Georgian-style house of locally cut sandstone.
The program is presented by the Berks County Parks and Recreation Department. For more information or directions, call 610-374-8839, visit our Web site www.countyofberks.com/parks, or check us out on Facebook. The Beidler House address is 1130 Old River Road, Gibraltar, PA 19508. Take 422E to Rte. 176 exit, continue 1/2 mile on Rte. 176, and turn right at first exit: Exit 3 Rte. 724 Birdsboro and Shillington. At end of the ramp, turn left onto Rte. 724E (towards Birdsboro). Continue approximately 2 miles to the traffic light at Rte. 568. Turn left onto Old River Road. Continue 1/4 mile, past aqueduct, over bridge. Grist mill ruins and Beidler House are on the left.
