$20 per Viewer
Tour will be Password-Protected
Advance Registration is Required
Presented by Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
and Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary
Hosted by:
Catherine Turnbull, Chair, Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary
Gregory Wittkopp, Director, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
Presenters:
Kevin Adkisson, Associate Curator, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
Camille Breen, Docent, Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary
Randy Forester, Fund Development Chair, Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary
Joyce Harding, Docent Scheduling Chair, Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary
Judy Lindstrom, Gardens Operations Chair, Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary
Proceeds from this event equally support the educational programs of the Center and the House & Gardens Auxiliary.
ABOUT THE EVENT
This holiday season, experience Cranbrook House in a whole new, festive way. In a virtual tour broadcast live from the family home of Cranbrook’s founders George and Ellen Booth, Associate Curator Kevin Adkisson will bring you and your family on a holiday-themed journey through the century-old house and its collection of fine art and decorative objects.
Along the tour route, Cranbrook House & Gardens volunteers will join Kevin (virtually) to share fascinating stories of holidays past, including the Christmases and New Years the Booths celebrated in the house. We’ll learn about the family's holiday luncheons and buffet dinners, about skating and bobsledding around the estate, and about the many memorable gifts exchanged—including the Christmas when son James Booth gave his parents a colorful parrot (and the destruction, and hilarity, that ensued). Notable objects from the founder’s personal collections and photographs and documents from Cranbrook Archives will help to tell these enchanting stories.
The tour concludes with a virtual walk around the magnificent Cranbrook House Library, where a unique tree, recreated from Booth family memories of the earliest Christmases in the house, will be on display.
Cranbrook House is closed to all visitors and volunteers through at least December 2020. While we can’t gather in person in Cranbrook House for the Auxiliary’s annual Holiday Splendor fundraiser, we hope this virtual holiday tour will bring you joy, history, and beauty during this most unusual year.
VIRTUAL LECTURE LOGISTICS
Prior to the program date, registered participants will receive an email with instructions on how to join this virtual experience. As this program benefits the operations of both Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research and Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary, both not-for-profit organizations, we ask that you do not share the login link with others. Registrations are non-refundable. The program will begin promptly at 3:00pm Eastern Standard Time (EST).
For additional information in advance of the program, please email center@cranbrook.edu or call the Center at 248.645.3307 and leave a message. The Center’s Administrative Office is open Tuesday through Friday, 10:00am to 5:00pm.
ABOUT CRANBROOK CENTER FOR COLLECTIONS AND RESEARCH
Established in 2012, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research centralizes the Cranbrook story to increase awareness of—and access to—the diverse art, architectural, landscape, design, and historical resources that comprise the Cranbrook legacy. The Center—which includes Cranbrook Archives—serves broad regional, national, and international audiences through its research initiatives and educational programs that include on-site and online tours, lectures, and numerous behind-the-scenes opportunities.
ABOUT CRANBROOK HOUSE & GARDENS AUXILIARY
Established in 1971, Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary is a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to preserving, restoring, and maintaining Cranbrook House & Gardens and related cultural properties for the enjoyment, education, and cultural enrichment of its members, the Cranbrook community and the public.
PHOTO CREDITS
Holiday Splendor at Cranbrook House, December 2018. Photograph by Eric Franchy. Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary.
Winter Sleighing Party at Cranbrook House, ca. 1915. Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.
David, Stephen, Carolyn, Henry, Grace (nurse), and Cynthia Booth Celebrating Christmas in San Remo at the Villa Eveline, December 1933. Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research display “Cranbrook Sons Head Off to School” for Holiday Splendor at Cranbrook House, December 2018. Photograph by Eric Franchy. Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary.