Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine and Youth Museum Christmas Events
Christmas time is almost here and the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine will hold the popular Appalachian Coal Town Christmas event on two consecutive weekends this year, November 29 – 30 and December 6 and 7.
Horse & Buggy Rides at the Appalachian Coal Town Christmas
The Exhibition Coal Mine and the Youth Museum have been celebrating Christmas in this special way for more than a decade. Back when the festival started, HGTV came and produced a Christmas special that featured the above ground lights and unique underground tour. Over the years there have been numerous magazines and newspapers that have written stories about the event as well. It truly has become a southern West Virginia holiday tradition for many, many people.
Appalachian Coal Town Christmas will be held both weekends from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm. The cost is $10 per adult and $5 per child and will include:
- Guided underground tours
- Marshmallow roast
- Horse drawn carriage rides
- Caroling in the church
- The Youth Museum’s hands-on exhibit, “Young Architects”, planetarium presentations at 6:00, 7:00 and 8:00 pm and a Christmas craft in the Museum’s classroom
All of the Christmas lights and decorations will be above ground; the underground will not be decorated with lights. The Gift Shop will be open and selling unique coal creations, jewelry, Christmas items and fabulous freshly made fudge.
The Youth Museum will also be presenting the Theater IV performance of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” at the Raleigh Theater and Playhouse on December 1 at 4:00 and again at 6:00 pm.
The family oriented performance is a heartwarming and hilarious, charming Christmas musical complete with a jolly Santa, reindeer on the roof, moonlight on the snow, Ma and Pa in their caps, and sugarplums dancing in the dreams of hopeful children. This is the second year that the Museum has presented a Christmas show in conjunction with the Raleigh Theater and Playhouse and it was so popular it seems another tradition is starting. Tickets are available at the door for $5 per person. The doors of the Theater will open an hour in advance. The Raleigh Theater is at 403 Neville Street, Uptown Beckley.
The Youth Museum will also be offering a series of “Pre-School Holiday” art classes beginning November 14. The classes will be held Nov 14, 21 and December 5, 12, and 19. The classes will be from 1:30 – 3:00 and will include art activities, songs, stories, playtime and holiday inspired crafts. The five week series is $25 for members and $35 for non-members. Be sure and pre-register – class size is limited.
Do you know of any other cool events going on in the Beckley area for the holidays?
