Snuggle up with some holiday cheer as OnMilwaukee shares stories of everything merry and bright in the spirit of the season.
The OnMilwaukee Ho Ho Holiday Guide is brought to you by Educators Credit Union, Harley-Davidson Museum and MolsonCoors.
Old World Wisconsin, the state's largest living history museum, celebrates the holidays with its annual Home for the Holidays event in December.
The event is slated for 10 a.m.-3 p.m on three weekends: Dec. 2-3, 9-10 and 16-17 at the museum, W372 S9727 Hwy. 67 in Eagle.
The old world village and farmsteads will be adorned with festive greenery and cheerful décor, and the whole place will be alive with the scents, sounds and sights of a 19th and early 20th century holiday season.
There will be horse-drawn carriage rides, a chance to meet the bearded man in the red cap and more.
As always, there will be enactors and lots of hands-on activities, plus you'll be able to take part in a number of special features, including:
A traditional St. Lucia’s Celebration at the 1910s Finnish Farm at 2:30 p.m., which, Old World Wisconsin notes, draws on Finnish and other Scandinavian traditions. "A costumed staff member dressed as the saint in white robes and candle-lit wreath crown will lead the celebration with festive songs and gifts. Guests can also experience a traditional Finnish outdoor sauna."
Visit the Winter Cheer Garden inside the heated Clausing Barn and enjoy on seasonal treats like hot cocoa and fresh kringle, as well as beer and brats available for purchase. Food trucks will also be on site with food for sale.
Gather around the bonfire at the 1880s horse stable to hear Fireside Stories and tales of yesteryear, as well as live readings of favorites like “The Nutcracker” and “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
Visit the Holiday Craft Tent, where you can make a Victorian paper ornament and write a letter to Santa. Other crafts on-site include creating a leather ornament to take home for your home holiday decor.
And, take care of some holiday shopping opportunities at the Crossroads Christmas Shoppe, which will have unique holiday gifts, including the new collectible Old World Wisconsin Holiday Village Collection.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
