Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Kelton Valentine's Day Tea

I had such fun today with 5 of my women's club friends. We attended the historical Kelton House Valentine's Afternoon Tea together. It is always such a treat to have tea there!

I apologize for the poor quality of pictures, it snowed today, was grey with very low lighting.

The Kelton House has rich history, even part of the Underground Railroad! Read about the Kelton House.  Kelton House is very community oriented. The home itself was donated to the city to continue as a museum, and a fine one it is. The house is filled with antique furniture, china, silver, dolls, old clothes, an organ and piano - and several awesome music boxes. It is a feast for the eyes. They have done a remarkable job there.

In the warmer months the gardens are a delight. I have been to several of the outdoor teas in the spring, and when it is perfect weather, oh what a treat to be at a tea at Kelton!

The host all sorts of fun events throughout the year - lots of Underground Railroad reenactments, Wine Cheese and Jazz nights,  spooky ghost story reading in the fall for Halloween, and lovely Christmas celebrations. (The lovely Victorian antique holiday decorating they do is amazing!)

I wasn't able to take photos of the house. They have rules against photography to preserve and protect the antiques. I sure wish I could have done so to share with you all, though!

The very first time I attended a Kelton House Tea many years ago the door was answered by an stately elderly man dressed impeccably in a Victorian Butler suit. What a thrill that was to behold! He wasn't there today - hope he is ok, I forgot to ask - and he is usually ALWAYS there..............

Here is one of our "period clad" servers we had today:


Menu and ticket.



Our program was about the history of our State House. I found out today upon completion at the time it was the 2nd largest State House in the country - second only to our Nation's Capitol! We do have a gorgeous state building. <Just in case you are at all interested.

Here is the pretty white teacup I used. Each table uses the same set/patterned teacup, but the tables don't match one another. There are 8 tables at these teas, and each table seats 8. And they always sell out - if you don't plan and reserve early you miss out!


The food is always so beautifully presented!



I do hope you enjoyed the tea with me today!

Linking up with Bernideen for Friends Sharing Tea and Valentines!

Linking up with Miss Spenser for Teacup Thursday!

4 comments:

  1. How lovely! Everything looks delish!! Thanks for sharing.
    Martha Ellen

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  2. What a BEAUTIFUL tea! Thank you for sharing your wonderful afternoon!
    Best,
    Anne

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  3. That must have been fun, Michele! Back on Long Island there was a historic house not far from me that would do a, not really sure what to call it, but people would set up in each room with their wares. It was usually around Christmas time because I remember there being some small Christmas trees in some of the rooms. It actually now makes me think of an antique mall booth, except each booth was in a room or a part of the room in this old historic home. All the way up to the attic servant's quarters!

    They also had a day for a tea, with the people involved wearing outfits from the time. You also had to reserve this tea. Sorry this was so long, but your post reminded me of it so clearly!

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  4. Hi Michele, that looks like a wonderful place to visit with women friends. I'm sure everyone had a fun day. The food looked dangerously good!! The trifle in the pretty glass bowl caught my eye. I wish I could have joined you and your other friends, sounds like my kind of day. I want to thank you for being such a faithful visitor to my blog since you found it. I try really hard to answer everyone but sometimes it is possible that I might miss someone unintentionally. I enjoy your blog also and have noticed that you leave the nicest comments on other blogs. I just thought of this, when I read about your visit to Kelton House I smiled when you said it snowed that day. The reason that was amusing to me is that when there is even a dusting here schools close, some businesses close and No One leaves the house. We don't get much snow and when we do, it is a big deal. Glad you ladies were tough and didn't let a little snow prevent you from going to that amazing place. Have a great day!------ Shannon

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