Hayes Presidential upcoming events

Kick off the holiday season by seeing Spiegel Grove light up, visit with Santa, more FREMONT – Get into the holiday spirit by seeing Spiegel Grove light up for Christmas with more festive lights added to the grounds this year during Lights of Spiegel Grove Nov. 30. This event is from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Spiegel Grove, the grounds of the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums. Admission is free. Sip warming hot chocolate and snack on popcorn by the campfire. See the "Hayes Train Special" model train display in the museum, and visit with Kris Kringle, the name that President Rutherford B. Hayes used for Santa. The large Christmas tree in the museum rotunda, as well as the rest of the lights around the Grove, will be turned on at 6:15 p.m. Participants will be able to see the museum tree lighting from the outside of the museum on the side of the building with the columns where the original entrance to the museum is located. Carolers will sing beloved holiday songs throughout the event. Horse-drawn trolley rides, which will include a story reading with Mrs. Claus, will be available for $6 per person ages 3 and older and free for kids 2 and younger. Tickets will be sold the day of the event on a first-come, first-served basis. Rides are by South Creek Clydesdales. Trolley rides are sponsored by GEM Service Rudolph Libbe Group. Christmas-themed tours of the first floor of the Hayes Home also will be offered during this event. They will last a half hour. The first tour is at 5:30 p.m., and the last tour is at 7:30 p.m. Non-member tickets are $10 for adults 19 and older, $8 for ages 6-18 and free for ages 5 and younger. Tickets for Hayes Presidential members are $8 for adults 19 and older, $6 for ages 6-18 and free for ages 5 and younger. Tickets are available at https://www.rbhayes.org/news/2023/10/31/general/kick-off-the-holiday-season-by-seeing-spiegel-grove-light-up-visit-with-santa-more/. They will also be sold the day of the event, pending availability. The title sponsor for A Presidential Christmas is Mosser Construction. Additional funding by Wright Leather Works LLC. Enter Hayes Presidential's gingerbread house contest, win gift card, prizes FREMONT – Hayes Presidential is seeking submissions of photos of your gingerbread house creations for its gingerbread house contest running in conjunction with Lights of Spiegel Grove, its annual holiday lighting event Nov. 30. Contest entrants can make a gingerbread structure and take a photo of it and enter it online here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6LYT3Wmjie_IOx3EcAz5q5wF_b7d0tgXO5PhziAqZbP97-A/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0. Hayes Presidential will post entries online and give people a chance to vote on them. This will be done on Hayes Presidential's website and Facebook, Instagram and X pages. On Instagram, the voting will take place through Instagram stories. Entries are due by 5 p.m. Nov. 24. Voting will then take place online Nov. 28 – through 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30. Winners will be announced online Thursday night at the end of Lights of Spiegel Grove. Contest rules: Each participant may enter one gingerbread house/building or one compilation of gingerbread houses if they are part of the same entry. All entries must have a gingerbread building base. The first-place winner will receive a $30 gift card to Hayes Presidential's Museum Store, two passes to the Hayes Home and museum and a photo book of the Hayes Home. The second-place finisher will receive two passes to the Hayes Home and museum, a photo book of the Hayes Home and a Hayes Presidential Christmas ornament. The third-place finisher will receive a Hayes Presidential Christmas ornament, magnet and photo book of the Hayes Home. For information, contact 419-332-2081 and ask for Makennah Rettig or Kristina Smith. Model train display returns for another holiday season to delight all ages FREMONT – The "Hayes Train Special" model train display rolls into the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums Nov. 24. For the past 28 years, the "Hayes Train Special" has been a beloved holiday tradition at Hayes Presidential. The multi-tiered display features a variety of trains that wind through a winter wonderland reminiscent of President Rutherford B. Hayes' day. Admission to the train display, which is located in the museum auditorium, is free. A donation box will be available for those who wish to make a gift to Hayes Presidential for the display. The "Hayes Train Special" will remain on exhibit through Jan. 7. For hours and holiday closings information, visit https://www.rbhayes.org/visit-us/visitor-information/. The "Hayes Train Special" is sponsored by Croghan Colonial Bank and the Gordon W. Knight Family. Hayes Home Holidays: Experience Christmas traditions of the Hayes family FREMONT – Make holiday memories by touring parts of the historic Hayes Home in the evening and discover the Christmas traditions of the Hayes family during Hayes Home Holidays tours offered on two nights in December. This year, the annual event focuses on different aspects of the Hayes family Christmas celebrations, from President Rutherford and First Lady Lucy Hayes to some of the later generations of the family, who lived in the home until 1965. The experience also will feature a surprise guest. Participants will enjoy wassail, a hot spiced cider that was a popular holiday drink during the Victorian era. Tours are Dec. 21, and Dec. 22. Tour times are 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The home will be lightly decorated for the holidays in a historically accurate manner. Before and after tours, guests can enjoy the "Hayes Train Special" model train display in the museum auditorium. Tickets for non-members are $18 for adults ages 19 and older, $10 for kids 6-18 and free for kids 5 and younger. Tickets for Hayes Presidential members are $15 for adults 19 and older, $8 for ages 6 -18 and free for kids 5 and younger. Advance tickets are recommended and can be purchased at https://www.rbhayes.org/news/2023/11/01/general/hayes-home-holidays-experience-christmas-traditions-of-the-hayes-family/. Tickets will be sold at the museum front desk the nights of the event, pending availability. This tour involved going up and down stairs in the Hayes Home. If you need special accommodations for mobility or vision or hearing impairment, Hayes Presidential requests a notice of 72 hours. Please contact Crystal Johnson, visitor services manager, at 419-332-2081 or cjohnson@rbhayes.org. Requests received with fewer than 72 hours of notice will be handled to the best of Hayes Presidential's ability. Hayes Home Holidays is part of Hayes Presidential's season of holiday events, called A Presidential Christmas. The title sponsor for A Presidential Christmas is Mosser Construction. Additional funding by Wright Leather Works LLC. Ride through Spiegel Grove in a horse-drawn sleigh or trolley during Christmas week FREMONT – Ride through the wooded estate of President Rutherford B. Hayes in a horse-drawn sleigh, as the president did when he lived there, or a horse-drawn trolley. Sleigh and trolley rides will be offered from 1 to 4 p.m. Dec. 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31. Rides are by South Creek Clydesdales. The sleigh can hold up to four people. The trolley can fit 16 to 18 people. Sleigh rides cost $7 per rider ages 3 and older and free for ages 2 and younger. Trolley rides are $6 per rider ages 3 and older and free for ages 2 and younger. Tickets will be available at https://www.rbhayes.org/news/2023/11/03/general/ride-through-spiegel-grove-in-a-horse-drawn-sleigh-or-trolley-during-christmas-week/. Advance tickets for the sleigh are recommended. Tickets will also be sold the days of the rides at the museum front desk, pending availability. In-person sleigh and trolley ticket sales end at 3:45 p.m. each day the rides are offered. Rides will take place whether or not there is snow. However, if the wind chill is below 15 degrees or there are thunderstorms, rides will be canceled. For updates, visit rbhayes.org or Hayes Presidential's social media pages. If Hayes Presidential cancels the rides, refunds for the tickets will be issued. Otherwise, there are no refunds. Sleigh and trolley rides are sponsored by GEM Service Rudolph Libbe Group. For information, call 419-332-2081, or visit rbhayes.org. Like HPLM on Facebook at @rbhayespres and follow on Twitter and Instagram at @rbhayespres.