Canal Christmas open house this weekend
By Jennifer Archibald

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, take time out to relax and enjoy an Old Fashioned Christmas at Canal Park in Delphi.

The annual Christmas open house will be Dec. 9 and 10. Hours will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

All buildings in the park will be open and decorated for the Christmas holiday. In the canal village, decorations will be in the spirit of the 1850s canal era, and fresh potpourri will fill the air.

Music will lend a festive spirit to the event. Singer Kathy Mc- Graw, dressed in Victorian costume, will perform both days in the Canal Center. Saturday's performances will be at 1 and 3 p.m., and Sunday's will be at 1:30. Other music will be provided by the Carroll County Community Band both days and by Sharon McKnight on Sunday.

Free refreshments will be offered in the Reed Case House, along with a tour of the restored 1844 structure. Guests can see the new green marble plaque that was awarded to the Canal Association for its preservation of the house.

Canal contractor Reed Case lived in the house, and it also served as a canal inn. A later occupant of the house was Walter B. Rogers, who left Delphi to play in the John Phillip Sousa Band.

An additional building for visitors to see this year is a oneroom log schoolhouse. It was recently moved to the park, and there are plans to develop its furnishings for future canal festivals and for school tours. Right now, visitors can peek inside and see the rows of split log seats.

Pioneer craft demonstrations and displays will remind guests they are visiting the past. Broom making will be demonstrated in the Kuns Cabin. Other crafts will be in the Canal Center and at other places throughout the park. Examples are wooden bowl making, copper-wire angels, oldfashioned soap making, and wooden toys. Textile demonstrations and displays will include weaving by Wabash Weavers, woven alpaca wool products, and knitted items and fleece blankets. A blacksmith will be busy at work in the blacksmith shop.

The Bowen log cabin houses the Cabin Crafts Gift Shop, with hand-made items for Christmas giving.

Delphi and area artists will display their work in the Canal Center conference

room, and hot apple dumplings and cookie sales also will be offered there.

The Interpretive Center will be open both days for a self-guided glimpse of canal history and a look at Delphi in the canal era.

The faade of the museum resembles 1850s Delphi storefronts. To learn more about these businesses, take a tour around the building with Brian Stirm at 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

A tour around the park is offered in Marilyn Moore's white horse-drawn carriage.

There is no admission charge to the canal open house, but donations are appreciated and go toward the Canal Association's efforts of preservation, restoration, recreation, and education.