Strawbery Banke’s Candlelight Stroll is Back for Another Season

Every December, Strawbery Banke, a living history museum in Portsmouth, is transformed into a magical holiday experience during its popular Candlelight Stroll. The event spans the first three weekends of the month, running evenings Friday through Sunday.   

Visitors are transported to the holiday celebrations of various time periods, from the 1700s up through the 1950s. They see the Abbott Corner Store, bravely decorated for Christmas despite the dark clouds of World War II; the Victorian Goodwin mansion glittering with holiday finery in anticipation of festive parties; and in a simple frame house, teens playing Elvis records under the glow of a flocked white tree. 

Enjoy caroling, listening to costumed role players who share stories, customs and seasonal traditions, Ice Dance International’s Currier and Ives vintage Christmas skaters and more at this year’s Candlelight Stroll.

More than 3 miles of lights set the historic village aglow, along with 200 luminaries (which must be refreshed nightly), candles in the windows, Christmas trees (where accurate) and other holiday decorations. Many buildings are bedecked with handmade garlands, wreaths, swags and bouquets, again according to what was done during that time period. Most of the botanicals come from the Banke’s own gardens, with dried flowers and plants achieving a “second bloom” as part of the stroll’s décor.

As soon as one Candlelight Stroll ends, the staff begins making notes for next year’s celebration. A number of key departments come together to plan and organize it, including landscaping, facilities, marketing, events and volunteers. The year-round staff puts in more than 2,500 hours of planning, installation, night-shift work and cleanup. More than 100 volunteers will help bring the event to life. 

By October, the work is well underway, especially in the floral department. According to Matthew Kochka, manager of landscape horticulture, flowers destined for the stroll will be cut and dried in the fall, while foraging expeditions will be planned for items not grown at the Banke. 

Volunteers create the fantastic botanical decorations, from simple swags to the lush arrangements found in the Goodwin home. Christmas was celebrated lavishly at this 1811 mansion, with trees and gorgeous mantel and table arrangements of greenery, flowers, berries and fruit. At the height of the botanical preparations, 30 volunteers may be working three days a week to be ready for the stroll.

Enjoy caroling, listening to costumed role players who share stories, customs and seasonal traditions, Ice Dance International’s Currier and Ives vintage Christmas skaters and more at this year’s Candlelight Stroll.

According to Alex Cave, museum events manager, the Facilities Department strings all the lights up and down pathways, on certain buildings and builds the bonfire on the green — a favorite place to gather with cocoa or cider. They also maintain the pathways, install signage, make sure everything stays working and assist with the landscape elements. 

Also busy is the Cider Shed, where visitors throng to enjoy hot cider and other refreshments. During the stroll, the Banke will go through 575 gallons of cider, provided by DeMerritt Hill Farm in Lee. 

Not all of the buildings open for the stroll are homes; some of them feature exhibits or demonstrations, including an exhibit on Puddle Dock, which looks at its history, the present-day situation and how the area may fair with climate change and sea-level rise. Last year, the Horticultural Learning Center presented a dried flower exhibit, and another building had a tinsmith selling his wares and demonstrating his craft. 

Making the stroll fascinating, but challenging, is the fact that not all the families of the featured homes would have celebrated Christmas. 

“For these homes, there is no décor, and we focus on another aspect of the home’s story,” says Elizabeth Farish, chief curator.

“For example, in the Chase Home, which dates from 1762, our young role players were making pomanders of oranges and cloves in preparation for family visits. The Shapley-Pridham-Drisco house is a duplex; half of the building is presented as it was in 1790, which was a family home and store. The other half is presented as it was in 1950, as a private home. 

Enjoy caroling, listening to costumed role players who share stories, customs and seasonal traditions, Ice Dance International’s Currier and Ives vintage Christmas skaters and more at this year’s Candlelight Stroll.

“The 1790 story has our role players excited about new goods which have arrived and making barley candy, while the 1950 half shows a family immersed in Christmas, complete with bubble lights, white tree and color wheel,” she says. “It’s a wonderful juxtaposition of how things were at different times.”

Role players are an integral part of the Banke experience year-round, as they portray real people from the past. During the stroll, those who help year-round are joined by junior role players and professionals who play composite figures who lived and worked in Puddle Dock; this creates a layered visitor experience. 

In 2023, 10 professionals were brought in to create various casual encounters such as the town crier, Father Christmas, a fish monger and air-raid warden. Some of the museum’s role players, such as those portraying the Shapiro family and life in a turn-of-the-century Jewish home, have portrayed these characters for years and are fully immersed in their parts. 

According to Katie Raynes, role-playing coordinator, the role players don’t memorize lines, but are given extensive background information on which to build their character and then prepare for typical visitor questions. Junior role players are young people who have attended the Banke’s two-week summer camp and learned the art of role-playing. Participating in the Banke’s fall and holiday events is a highlight. 

While the homes are beloved, Candlelight Stroll captures the sights and sounds of Christmas in myriad ways, with music and skaters in period dress on the Banke’s rink. Cave brings in as many as 19 musical performers during the stroll, ranging from fife and drum acts to choral groups. Impromptu performances occur in gardens, on street corners and on the green. Families may skate on the rink when the professional skaters are not performing, and crowds are often three-deep around the rink as the pros gracefully whirl and leap — even in long skirts. The First and Second New Hampshire Regiments also did Revolutionary War encampments at the stroll.

Last year marked the 44th Candlelight Stroll, and the event saw nearly 13,000 in attendance over the nine nights, with visitors coming from 36 of the 50 states. In fact, the Banke added five nights in recent years to accommodate the escalating numbers. Tickets must now be purchased in advance and go on sale in early November. Veronica Lester, marketing director, sees numbers only going up. 

“Portsmouth is a Christmas destination, and Candlelight Stroll is an essential part
of creating that holiday magic. We partnered with The Music Hall and the City back in 2005 to create Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth and, for many, it’s not the holidays without visiting Portsmouth and Candlelight Stroll.” 

For more information about Candlelight Stroll and Strawbery Banke, or to buy tickets, visit strawberybanke.org or call 603-433-1100.

Strolling for 45 Years 

The Candlelight Stroll invites visitors to step into the past and experience 350+ years of seasonal and holiday traditions in the Puddle Dock neighborhood. Visitors call upon the many families who once lived in the waterfront neighborhood — portrayed by costumed role players — who share stories, customs and seasonal traditions. 

Enjoy hot apple cider, a warming bonfire, an old-fashioned holiday shopping experience at Pickwick’s at the Banke, and Ice Dance International’s Currier and Ives Vintage Christmas Skaters for several performances each night of this treasured event. This year’s stroll is being dedicated to the memory of Carol M. Monte. Carol was a beloved, longtime friend of the museum who passed away on March 16, 2024. Carol and her husband, George, whose handcrafted tin lanterns and ornaments have been a staple of the event, spent each holiday season at the Museum for Candlelight Stroll.
Tickets: $8-$32.
Times: 4:30-6:30 p.m. and 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Fridays: Dec. 6, 13 & 20

Saturdays: Dec. 7, 14 & 21

Sundays: Dec. 8, 15 & 22

NEW! Accessible and Sensory-friendly Stroll:
Sunday, Dec. 15 from 2-4 p.m.