Annandale museum offers virtual ‘Poinsettia Tea Box’

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Can you find Oscar the Otter and his salmon friend Wilde?

You’ll need to visit the Christmas-decorated first floor of Annandale National Historic Site in Tillsonburg, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (519-842-2294 to book your tour). If you were looking on Monday, you may have found them posing in front of George Tillson’s portrait in the main hallway.

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“It’s a play on Oscar Wilde,” explained Patricia Phelps, manager of Culture & Heritage/Curator. “He goes around every day and there’s a new ‘where am I?’ The idea is to guess (on Facebook) or come and figure out where he was.

“The salmon is Oscar’s friend, not his dinner,” Phelps added with a laugh.

Built in 1881-1882, Annandale House’s interior decorations (1883-1887) were inspired by the Aesthetic Movement, popularized by Wilde who visited Woodstock in 1882.

The first floor at 30 Tillson Ave. has been decorated for Christmas by ANHS staff, the museum advisory committee and community volunteers.

ANHS has a busy month of programming coming up, including the Poinsettia Tea & Christmas Tour on Thursday, Dec. 16, which sold out several weeks ago but has re-opened for registration as a $15 virtual ‘Poinsettia Tea Box’ event.

You can ‘kick off the holiday season with a festive afternoon team from the comfort of your own home.’ The tea box will include a seasonally blended tea along with an assortment of sweet desserts, which can be picked up at the museum along with your poinsettia between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 16.

Poinsettia Tea Box participants will also be emailed a digital tour of the Christmas-decorated first floor. Or you can book an in-person tour, as an individual or group, first-come first-serve before Dec. 23.

“With the new (health unit) capacity limits we’ve had to pivot again,” said Phelps.

If you’re touring ANHS, check out All We Wanted for Christmas – Toys and Games from the Museum’s Collection, the Christmas-theme exhibit in the Pratt Gallery. The exhibit features toys and popular Christmas gifts from the museum’s permanent collection that are mostly 90 to 120 years old, including building blocks, doll and tea sets, and more.

“Normally when we do a toy exhibit we borrow a lot to expand what is in our collection, but due to COVID we decided to feature our permanent collection this year,” said Phelps.

Also coming up during the holiday season are Christmas Ornament Workshops at the museum for adults (Dec. 22) and children (Dec. 21). Check out the museum’s Facebook page (Annandale NHS) or call 519-842-2294 for more information. There was still time to register as of Monday.

cabbott@postmedia.com