Workshop shows how to decorate

Harvest to Holly Walking Tour Warwick — Four women accustomed to working with natural materials gave some decorating tips to Warwick Historical Society members, who will be decking the halls and other areas of the society’s preserved buildings for the annual Harvest to Holly Walking Tour on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 19 and 20. Deborah Sweeton of The General’s Garden, and Alicia Forsini of Sugar Loaf Mountain Herbs, joined Orange County Master Gardeners Heidi Hamilton and Dora Wright to conduct a workshop on how to adorn the society’s eight properties in the Village of Warwick for the tour. A variety of decorations were created, including wreaths, fan wreaths, potpourri, pomanders, tabletop topiaries and swags. The materials used included acorns, branch cuttings, and fruit. Even silk flowers, the “good ones,” were incorporated occasionally. The items will be used to decorate the houses, a church, and other buildings. However, some of the natural materials the workshop instructors recommended would not have been familiar to Warwickians in the latter 18th and early 19th centuries - the era of the buildings. “They would never have used fruit for decorations,” said Hamilton, indicating citizens of that time would have thought it wasteful. In all likelihood, when the now-historic buildings were new, not a bauble or a branch would have been hung for Thanksgiving or Christmas. But the society, in adding decorations for the pleasure of visitors, is taking a cue from Colonial Williamsburg and other historic tourist attractions. n Reservations for tour are a must The tour is a fund raiser for the society. In addition to ticket sales, the society sells sponsorships for each building. Seeley and Durland Insurance is sponsoring the Old School Baptist Meeting House, and Mary Bradner is sponsoring the Carriage House at Baird’s Tavern, where an early physician’s office has been recreated from items used by her father-in-law, Dr. Morris Refrew Bradner, Sr. The buildings will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days, and walkers should allow at least two and a half hours for the tour. Prices are $20 for adults, $10 for youth five to 17 years old, and $15 for seniors over 65 years old. Capacity is limited, so reservations are a must. Tickets and reservations, indicating the day and time, can be purchased at www.warwickhistoricalsociety.org; at Port of Call, 40 Main St., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 5, 6, 12 and 13; or by calling 986-3236.