Summer on the Veranda

June 5

July 10 (special 1920s edition)

August 7

FROM 5:30 - 7:30 PM

Relax in late Victorian splendor while you stroll the veranda and first floor at Hearthstone, our beautifully restored 1882 Queen Anne Style residence. Immerse yourself in the period, listening to performances on our 1875 square grand piano with a cool drink in hand served by maids and butlers in livery.

Do you revel in HBO’s The Gilded Age? Have you ever wanted to feel like a part of The Forsythe Saga or Murdock Mysteries? Or maybe that you just stepped off the pages of a Sherlock Holmes short story or Bram Stoker’s Dracula? You can, at Summer on the Veranda.

Our docents will be dressed up as well playing the roles of hostess or the Rogers’ servants as they welcome you into the home while serving complementary lemonade, iced tea, white wine, or mint juleps.

Everyone is encouraged to dress up in their best late Victorian attire. Don’t worry if “you have nothing to wear,” anything that makes will feel elegant and pampered will more than suffice. (Hey, don’t you still have that bride’s maid dress? That will be perfect. Seriously.)

Even just adding a hat will more than do. Ladies are encouraged to wear their best Victorian hats (or any lovely hat) as beautiful hats were de rigueur for Victorian ladies. Gents can sport their own top hat, boater, or bowler. In fact, if you do not have a ladies’ or gentlemen’s hat, we will gladly lend you one from our recreation collection.

But don’t feel like you have to dress up. The evening is really about slowing down the pace of life while experiencing the lavish surroundings of Hearthstone.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Proceeds support all of the museum’s operations, including its educational programming. Tickets include beverages. Please note: Tickets are strictly limited. Advanced ticket purchase is strongly recommended as the evenings sell out quickly.

Hearthstone's Nooks and Crannies: A Behind the Scenes 40th Anniversary Tour

June 17, July 15, August 12 at 2:00 pm

June 18, July 16, August 13 at 6:00 pm

June 27, July 18, August 22 at 11:00 am

In this behind the scenes, special limited tour, Hearthstone’s Curation Director Lynne Phillips will take you through the museum to peer, literally, into the nooks and crannies that make Hearthstone so special. Guests will visit the spaces normally not open to the public and hear stories about the restoration of the house as well as the interesting revelations that have been found in the process.

Lynne will open drawers, closets, whole rooms, and complete floors to reveal items not normally on display. Over the past 40 years, museum restoration teams have looked under moldings, peeled away canvas, torn down plaster, and stripped layers of paint to reveal the past. Lynne will relate how restoration is done professionally and, most importantly, how it helps provide an authentic view of the Victorian Era.

Wednesday tours start at 2:00 pm.

Thursday tours start at 6:00 pm. Thursdays are an extraordinary evening edition that lets guests experience the museum as dusk falls. Flashlights will be provided.

Saturday tours start at 11:00 am

Please note:

• Tickets for the Nooks and Crannies Tour are $15 and are available on-line only using the button below.

• Tours are limited to just 12 guests per tour.

• Please allow for two hours for completion of the tour.

• Guests will be climbing four stories of stairs.