Nutcracker in the Castle is back at the Paine Arts Center and Gardens. The Nutcracker in the Castle tours bring visitors inside the classic Christmas story as they follow the journeys of characters Clara and the Nutcracker prince.
The museum has been doing Nutcracker in Castle tours for the past 15 years. The tours take visitors through over 20 rooms of the historic estate, with each one decorated to recreate a different scene in the story.
From the Land of Sweets to the Lands of Afar, visitors can experience each part of the fairytale. While the guided tours and candlelight tours are sold out for the season, self-guided tours are still available, where visitors can walk through the estate and read the story while also seeing each scene come to life.
On the first floor, each setting features a large storybook with illustrations that reveal a portion of the fairy tale. On the second floor, the rooms portray the home and lifestyle of the Stahlbaum family, as well as the workshop of Godfather Drosselmeyer and a wide variety of wooden Nutcrackers.
“We get people of all sorts in here. People who have never experienced the Nutcracker before, people who have been going to the ballet since they were little, people who have been coming here since they were little," said marketing manager Noell Dickmann. "So there’s a lot of different mix of familiarity with the Nutcracker but know that if you’re going to come through Nutcracker in the Castle, you’re going to learn the story and you’re going to pretty much be an expert by the time you come through here.”
The Nutcracker in the Castle will run Monday through Friday from 10 a.m to 4 p.m until January 10th. To learn more about the tours' dates and times and how you can make a reservation, click here.
