March 15, 2010

Family Day at Homewood Museum offers ride to the past

Homewood Museum will offer visitors a ride to the past at a Family Day from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 21, when its wine cellar will take on the ambience and community spirit of a 19th-century tavern, and horse-drawn carriage rides will be available.

The half-day of educational fun is presented in conjunction with the museum’s current focus show, On the Road: Travel and Transportation in Early Maryland. Visitors will experience the kind of hospitality travelers enjoyed in Baltimore’s early taverns, which served as places to relax, refresh, meet friends and gather news.

Participants can sing along to tunes played by David K. Hildebrand of the Colonial Music Institute. The historic tavern games of dominoes, checkers and whist will be taught and can be played by visitors, who also can peruse local newspapers and maps of the period. Light snacks and drinks fashionable in early Maryland will be available, including popcorn, ginger cookies, beer, hard cider, hot chocolate, apple and pear ciders and coffee. (Visitors must be over 21 and have proper ID to sample alcoholic beverages.)

Horse-drawn carriage rides will operate every 20 minutes from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., departing from the museum and journeying around the Keyser Quadrangle.

Tavern music and activities are free with museum admission. Carriage ride fees include admission and tavern programming: group rides are $10 adults and $5 children 2–11; private rides are $50 for a six-person carriage. Advance reservations are requested for rides, which last 20 minutes. For more information or to reserve, call 410-516-5589.