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Christmas Candlelight Tour & Open House at Eden Gardens

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What: Christmas Candlelight Tour & Open House at Eden Gardens
When: Saturday, December 14, 2019
Time: 6:00 pm to 8:45 pm
Where: Eden Gardens State Park

The Friends of Eden Gardens State Park invite the public to the annual Eden Gardens Christmas Candlelight Open House on Saturday, December 14th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Enjoy an evening in Eden Gardens State Park for the traditional holiday tour of the historic Wesley House. This event is free and open to the public. Park entry fees will be waived for this event.

The park will be illuminated with over 2,000 luminaries. Take a stroll through the candlelight to the historic Wesley House. Enjoy a free tour of the house and admire the beautifully decorated rooms, each designed in different holiday themes by local businesses and organizations. 

You'll be greeted by carolers and guided throughout the house to see and hear about each beautifully decorated room. Guests can even vote on their favorite room. After the tour is complete, guests can vote on their favorite room and enjoy refreshments provided by the Friends of Eden in the pavilion.

Many thanks to Friends of Eden Gardens State Park, volunteers, local businesses, decorators, and many others from throughout the South Walton community for contributing your time and resources and making this Christmas holiday tradition so magical.

Members from the Pt. Washington Historical Society will be placing hundreds illuminations lining the drive into the park and around the mansion. This group of merry men and women comes together at Eden Gardens year after year, creating lighted pathways in and around the park.

Everyone's invited! Admission fees to the park are waived for the event. Donations to the Friends of Eden are welcome. Eden Gardens State Park is located in historic Point Washington, north of Hwy 98. There is ample parking available within the park. For further information call 267-8320. 

MORE INFO & PHOTOS
Every year park rangers and Friends Of Eden Gardens State Park deck the halls and open the doors of the historic Wesley Mansion at Eden Gardens State Park. Local schools and groups are assigned a room in the house and take on the task of decorating a unique Christmas Tree with all the trimmings.

For one December night each year a festive group of locals gathers for food, drink , and music just outside the gates of the park. For the next several hours and into the night they create, place, and light luminaries all around the house, grounds, trails, and roads.

The open house has to be experienced first hand! Carolers in period costume serenade the shining faces of all ages lined up to get inside. Excited visitors exit a short time later after wandering in and out, up and down, hearing stories in each room of the first Christmas memories created long ago in the stately home. Upon leaving everyone is filled with wonder and there is no doubt that it is Christmas time in SoWal!

This local tradition is a sight to behold each and every year in South Walton, Florida.

PHOTO GALLERIES:
SoWal.com Photos: Eden Christmas Candlelight Tour 2013
SoWal.com Photos: Eden Christmas Candlelight Tour 2014
SoWal.com Photos: Eden Christmas Candlelight Tour 2016

EDEN GARDENS STATE PARK
Eden Gardens State Park is a treasure in South Walton, Florida. It's located bayside in Point Washington just north of Hwy 98 via County Road 395. Park Hours are from 8:00 a.m. until sunset, 365 days a year. 

The focal point of this park is the beautifully renovated, two-story house with elegant white columns and wrap around porch. In a setting of moss-draped live oaks, the 1897 mansion recalls a prosperous era before the virgin forests of longleaf pine and cypress were exhausted in this part of the state. In 1963, Lois Maxon bought and renovated the home, creating a showplace for her family heirlooms and antiques. Visitors can come and enjoy a guided tour of the Wesley House, meander through the gardens, bring a picnic, walk trails, or go fishing off the dock in Tucker Bayou.

Guided tours of the historic Wesley House are available hourly Thursday through Monday. Visitors can enjoy the grounds, gardens, and picnic area daily from 8 A.M. to sunset. The Friends Of Eden State Gardens, in addition to maintaining the grounds, house, and gardens operate a small gift shop in the mansion. They also sell shrubs and ornamental plants, including camellias.

At the gift shop, be sure to pick up a copy of the 1972 low-budget eco-horror film Frogs, filmed in the house and on the grounds. Eden Gardens State Park has a small boat launch and several picnic pavilions, as well as a nature trail along Tucker Bayou.

Annual events at Eden Gardens State Park include the Camellia Festival in February, Fall Film Series in October, and the Christmas Candlelight Open House in December.

Learn more at Florida State Parks | Eden Gardens State Park

 

 

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More Events at Friends of Eden Gardens State Park
October 10, 2024
6:30 pm Eden Gardens Fall Film Series Friends of Eden Gardens State Park
October 17, 2024
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October 24, 2024
6:30 pm Eden Gardens Fall Film Series Friends of Eden Gardens State Park
December 7, 2024
5:00 pm Eden Gardens Christmas Candlelight Open House & Luminaries Friends of Eden Gardens State Park

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