It’s beginning to look alot like Christmas at Blithewold Manor in Bristol. Garlands, wreaths, and decorated Christmas trees inside the manor house speak to the anticipation and magic of Santa Claus, and all throughout the grounds, thousands of lights and lit decorations shine along the pathways and cascade from tree branches. In the pitch black of night, the manor and grounds transform into something warm and dazzling.
The decked halls and gardens are a part of the month-long holiday celebration aptly known as Sparkle!. The manor extends invitations to community members of all ages who wish to take part in holiday festivities. Those attending the event can wander the illuminated gardens and grounds while partaking in a scavenger hunt, gather around firepits to make s’mores (a ticket add-on) and listen to carols, and get warm from the inside out with a hot beverage from RI Cruisin’ Cocktails.
The Bristol holiday tradition is a celebration of light, created from a “true collaboration of all the departments at Blithewold,” says Tree Callanan, director of museum operations and communications. “We knew we wanted to do something with lights, but we didn’t have a solid idea. So, we gathered everyone around the table to brainstorm. Each one of us had a chance to describe what our ‘blue sky’ idea would be – you know, if time, money, and staffing weren’t an issue.” On paper, what might look like a Frankenstein-ian list of favorite holiday activities has evolved into a beautiful wintry experience that highlights all of the good parts of the days being short, dark, and cold. “I used to call it a marshmallow roasting, Christmas carol singing, cocoa sipping, trolling through the twinkling garden paths, fun for the whole family event!” Callanan jokes.
Sparkle! is now in its twelfth season, and each year the team tries to out-do themselves, making the event bigger, better, and more magical than the previous year’s. “Last year we added almost thirty percent more lights to the display,” Callanan explains, and “this year, we added a bit of color. In one of the Weeping Beach trees, we’ve added some blue lights, and there’s yellow here and there.” Besides color, this year Blithewold hosts extra special avian guests during the celebration of light: the Big, Beautiful Bamboo Birds. Not only can visitors see the birds nesting within the glow of all the lights, but two are also dressed for the occasion – the Bittern in the Bamboo Grove is strung with lights, and the Peacock on the Front Lawn has a glowing royal blue tail.
Despite the new additions, one of the most special aspects of Sparkle! is a classic: the handmade bamboo ornaments, says Callanan, all lovingly hand-crafted from bamboo from the Bamboo Grove on the property. “The late Fred Perry, our former director of horticulture, was wildly creative. For decades, each year Fred would create new, big, bamboo ornaments to light one of the gingko trees on the Front Lawn,” she explains. He and Dan Christina, Perry’s then-assistant and now the director of horticulture, would work in secret to make the ornaments. “Then, on Thanksgiving Eve, after we all went home, they would hang the ornaments. It was a great, big, beautiful surprise every year.” Now, that surprise and joy is shared widespread with the community, and for those who knew or worked with Perry, experiencing Sparkle! is a way to feel closer to his generous spirit.
As for Callanan, each year during Sparkle! she ushers viewers from the manor into the grounds, checking them in. Her favorite part is “seeing how excited they are when they’re on their way in, and then how happy they are when they come back to the Visitors Center.”
Registration is required to attend Sparkle!, and interested parties can register online. The s’mores kit add-on can be picked during check-in at the Visitors Center, but last-minute additions can be bought at the Blithewold shop. Sparkle! runs Thursday through Saturday from December 5, 2024 to January 4, 2025. Admission times run from 5:30-7 p.m., with the grounds closing at 8 p.m. Callanan encourages everyone to come, and all – especially first-time attendees – “should expect to be wowed!”
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