For a true “country Christmas” experience, Galena should be top of your list to visit. With several different types of ways to spend your evenings and weekends, Galena is the perfect place to visit and spend time with those you love before the holiday season infiltrates all your free time.
11/9 Dinner Date with History
Join Galena’s premier bed and breakfasts for an evening of history, food, and live entertainment. This dinner date lasts from 4:45 – 8 p.m. and will take you on a small tour of the local B&Bs and Inns. At 4:45 p.m., you’ll enjoy appetizers at the Goldmoor Inn, one of Galena’s Premier Inns. From there, guests will break into small groups and head to different bed and breakfasts for a harvest dinner while dining with a historical figure sharing stories of the past. After dinner, the small groups will head on to another bed and breakfast for the final treat of the night – dessert. This is the perfect date night for people who want to experience a variety of places and foods throughout their night. Reservations are required and the cost is $60 per person for a 3-course meal and live entertainment. Simply call 815-777-4100 to secure your place for this fun and unique date night.
11/14 – 11/17 The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, Radio Play
Galena’s Center for the Art is the place to experience an extended story of the classic, A Christmas Carol. The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge is a humorous extension that features Ebenezer Scrooge reverting to his old ways and suing the ghosts of Christmas past for breaking and entering, kidnapping, and attempted murder. The play is presented as a radio show with live sound effects and music. With four different options to experience this play, it’s almost impossible to miss it. November 14, 15, and 16 the show goes from 7 – 9 p.m. and on November 17, it’s a matinee from 2 – 4 p.m. Tickets are $8 for children and $16 for adults.
11/22 – 11/23 Annual Nouveau Weekend
Every November, Galena hosts the Annual Nouveau Weekend based on the French Beaujolais Nouveau celebration. Galena Cellars started this celebration in 1985 to show the annual release of Le Beaujolais Nouveau, which is the bottling of the first wine of the harvest just a few weeks after fermentation. Starting Friday and going into Saturday, this weekend will be all about wine. Friday for lunch, the Lawlor Family will unveil the 2019 Nouveau wine at Galena Cellars in downtown Galena. Anyone can join that lunch if they secure a reservation for lunch prior to the day of. After the unveiling at 2:30 p.m., a traditional horse-drawn wagon will deliver the wine to local restaurants and businesses in downtown Galena. Throughout the rest of the night, there will be wine tours, dinners that incorporate the 2019 Nouveau wine, live music, and celebrations happening at various restaurants and businesses throughout downtown. On Saturday, you can experience public tours and tastings at Galena Cellars’ Vineyard to discover where and how the wine gets made. There will be more dinners and celebrations throughout Saturday, giving you multiple ways to try the new wine. So, head to Galena, raise a glass, and toast to the 2019 Nouveau wine and all that the celebrations include.
11/29 Opening Day of Chestnut (weather permitting)
Opening Day of our 60th anniversary season is anticipated to be November 29th, weather permitting. Because of the uncertainty, make sure you follow our Facebook page or check in with our website for updates. For the start of our 60th Anniversary, we will offer a discounted $20 lift ticket that will begin on opening day and continue until December 13th. So, make sure you check our website and social accounts frequently so you can be here on opening day to help us celebrate our 60th season on the mountain!
11/30 Galena’s Holiday Kick-Off
On November 30, Galena is kicking off their holiday season with visits from Santa, a tree lighting, and more. Beginning at the Old Market House, Santa will be there from 1 – 3 p.m. to meet and greet the kiddos and families who want to tell him what they want for Christmas. After that meet and greet, head out to Main Street to watch Santa make his way toward the Galena Christmas tree, interacting with everyone watching from the sidewalks. This will start around 4:30 p.m. with the tree lighting at 5 p.m. After the tree lighting, there will be another meet and greet in the Old Market House until 7 p.m. for those who missed the opportunity earlier in the day. It sounds like the perfect chance for kids to let the big guy know what they want while experiencing the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree. Make plans to experience the start of the holiday season on November 30th in Galena.
November is when the holiday season kicks off but there is a lot yet to come in December. Be sure to save the date for these fun and unique December weekend activities – particularly the Night of the Luminaria and Living Windows on December 14th. Stay tuned for our Get to Galena in December to learn more about these upcoming events!
12/7: Mistletoe Stroll Holiday House Tour
12/7: Holiday Fire in the Sky
12/13: Dark Side of the Yule
12/14: Night of the Luminaria and Living Windows
12/15: Galena Festival of the Performing Arts: Christmas Concert
12/20: Christmas Carols & Cookies
12/21: Snowflakes and Sweets
