HANCEVILLE, Ala. – While Christmas is still months away, area residents can make plans now to celebrate a Victorian Christmas holiday-themed tour to Franklin and Nashville, Tennessee Dec. 12-14.
Sponsored by the Wallace State Community College Alumni Association, the three-day, two-night group trip includes a five-course Victorian dinner, a tour of Andrew Jackson’s home The Hermitage, a visit to the Dickens of a Christmas Festival in downtown Franklin, and more.
The motorcoach trip will depart from Wallace State the morning of Dec. 12 and make its first stop for a lunch time viewing of “Miracle on 34th Street” at Chaffin’s Barn dinner theatre. The venue is the second oldest dinner theatre in the United States.
After lunch and a show, the group will check in to the Hampton Inn and Suites in Franklin. Later that evening, they will head into Nashville for Ray Steven’s “CabaRay,” a 90-minute up-close and personal experience featuring the music legend, as well as a delicious dinner.
Day two will begin with a leisurely breakfast before the group heads to The Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson for a tour of the home and grounds and lunch on your own at the Hermitage’s Kitchen Cabinet Café. After lunch, the group will go to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills to enjoy time shopping or viewing all of the holiday decorations.
The day will conclude with a special dinner at Monell’s Restaurant. The five-course meal will be serviced on the finest crystal, gold, china and linens, while carolers dressed in Victorian attire entertain throughout dinner. Everyone is invited to sing carols by candlelight at the end of the meal.
The final day will begin with another leisurely breakfast at the hotel before the group attends the famous Dickens Christmas Festival in historic downtown Franklin. The town square and side streets are transformed into scenes out of a Charles Dickens’ novel, using Franklin’s Victorian architecture as a perfect backdrop. Around 200 musicians, dancers and characters fill the streets, letting you celebrate the holiday with Jacob Marley, Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim Cratchit and more.
The group will make its way back home later that afternoon, completing a trip that is sure to put you in the holiday mood.
The cost of the trip includes transportation, accommodations, baggage handling, five meals, two holiday shows, admissions to all activities, taxes and most gratuities. Prices range from $490 to $750 depending on occupancy and Alumni membership status.
Members of the Alumni Association receive a $100 discount on such trips. Membership is open to anyone at $25 a year, to current students at $15 a year. There is also a lifetime membership option for $250.
Space is limited, so reservations are suggested. You may register at www.wsccalumni.org/vic19 or contact LaDonna Allen at 256-325-8071 or ladonna.allen@wallacestate.edu for more information.
Historic Franklin, Tennessee is the backdrop for the “Dickens Christmas Festival,” which is on the itinerary for the Wallace State Community College Alumni Association’s Victorian Christmas trip to Tennessee in December.
The Hermitage, the home of President Andrew Jackson, and the gardens surrounding it will be part of a tour during the Wallace State Community College Alumni Association’s Victorian Christmas trip to Tennessee in December.
