Christmas Cheer and Holiday lights a blazing, Christmas goodies piled high, and PA Dutch traditions in full swing; the holidays are a magical time in Pennsylvania’s Americana Region! A quick trip to our region will brighten your holiday celebrations with magic, lights, events, and lost of Christmas Cheer.
Plan a trip around the Centre Park Holiday House Tour. Reserve event tickets and, if possible, accommodations at the Inn at Centre Park, one of the tour stops. The Inn’s beautiful features include intricately carved woodwork, and molded plaster ceilings, certain to look even more spectacular when surrounded with stunning decorations. After you’ve settled into your beautiful accommodations, spend some time at the Reading Public Museum viewing Illuminated Manuscripts: Treasures from the Collection which includes nearly 50 leaves, some with elaborate gold leaf, decoration and intricate ornamentation; works which date from the 9th to the early 17th centuries.
Another special way to spend your time in Pennsylvania’s Americana Region, take a special Lantern Tour at the Ephrata Cloister. The tours take you back in time to the cloister, as it may have appeared in the 1700s. A cast of actors make the story come to life. A livelier time can be had on the Pennsylvania Dutch, A Christmas Carol Trolley, which leaves from the Ridgewood Winery, then rolls into West Reading. The trolley is so popular that it usually plays to standing room only. And of course, you can taste the wines of Ridgewood 30 minutes before departure.
More seasonal events include, Cirque Dreams Holidaze, which dazzled guests at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and is coming to Santander Arena for a Christmas performance. On Christmas Eve, board the Colebrookdale Railroad on the Twas the Night Before Christmas Train, with holiday lights, hot cocoa and Christmas music. And if all that doesn’t have you in the holiday spirit, celebrate at the Reading Symphony Orchestra’s Annual Holiday Extravaganza. They also have a New Year’s Eve concert on tap.