Tickets on sale for Tifton ag museum Christmas events

TIFTON –Tickets are now on sale for two popular Christmastime events at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College — the Victorian Village by Candlelight and the North Pole Express.

Tickets for the Victorian Village are $15 per person, and tickets for the North Pole Express are $7 per person. Tickets can be purchased 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays at the village Country Store. The tickets must be purchased in advance; none are available on the days of the events.

The Victorian Village by Candlelight will take place 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. on Dec. 6 with a total of 125 visitor slots available. Groups will meet at the Country Store to leave on the museum train every half-hour beginning at 5:30 p.m., with the last group departing the train station at 7:30 p.m.

Guests will learn about two of the Victorian traditions that have become a part of the legend of Santa Claus during this spectacular lantern-lit event. Visitors will get a taste of the community’s celebratory spirit as they stop in for a Christmas Eve visit in a Victorian-era village in South Georgia at a time when electricity was a luxury, humble gifts were made by hand, and Christmas Eve was spent cooking delicious treats on the open hearth of the fireplace.

The first stop on the hour-long village tour will be the Clyatt Cabin, where Father Christmas and Old Befana will greet guests with a folktale. Guests will follow the lighted path to see how two Wiregrass Georgia families celebrate the holiday season. The Tift House will depict the Christmas of an affluent family. Carolers will be on the porch of the Tift House singing traditional 19th century carols.

At the Knight Cabin, guests can see what a typical Christmas might have been like for a sharecropper and his family. A stop at the Drug Store will follow, where Farmhouse Beef Stew and cornbread will be available for visitors before they head to the bonfire, where they will be able to enjoy hot apple cider.

The train will then depart to take visitors back to the Country Store. All visitors will receive a keepsake ornament hand-made at the Village and a souvenier guidebook.

The North Pole Express will run 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 16-18. The museum’s 1917 Vulcan steam locomotive will depart for the North Pole every 20 minutes. Mrs. Claus will read the holiday classic, “The Polar Express,” in the Clyatt Cabin before guests board the North Pole Express to visit with Santa Claus and enjoy the movie version of “The Polar Express” in a winter wonderland.

The North Pole Express will run regardless of weather. For information, contact the Country Store at (229) 391-5205.

Admission to the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village on Tuesday-Friday is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors (age 55 and over), $4 for children 5-16 years of age, and free for children four and under. Saturday admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (age 55 and over), $5 for children 5-16 years of age, and free for children four and under.