Victorian Tea and Etiquette Program

Massillon Museum Hosts Victorian Tea and Etiquette Program

On Sunday, March 29, at 4:00 p.m., the Massillon Museum will host afternoon tea at Five Oaks, where guests will be surrounded by the splendor of Massillon’s finest Victorian mansion. The event, part of “The Big Read: Western Stark County Reads The Age of Innocence," accents the novel’s frequent allusions to etiquette rules of socially elite New Yorkers of the late 1800s.

“This will be a proper tea,” says Museum Educator Jill Malusky Bacon, who developed an appreciation for the tradition in England, while she studied in Manchester and managed a medieval hall in York. She says that three courses will be served in tiers: scones and cakes, tea sandwiches, and desserts.

“Having tea at Five Oaks will help guests feel the opulence described in The Age of Innocence, says Museum Executive Director Christine Shearer. J. Walter and Flora McClymonds built their Five Oaks mansion in 1894, at the height of The Gilded Age. Exquisite handcarved woodwork, gold-leaf wall decoration, a Tiffany window, the Moroccan leather billiards room, a ballroom, and a grand staircase made the home a model of wealthy Victorian life.

Following the tea, guests will learn about the intricacies of those etiquette rules from a national ettiquette expert Marja Barrett of Cincinnati. Barrett is an author, national speaker, trainer, and consultant on etiquette and social skills to top businesses—Fortune 500 corporations, health care and financial institutions, federal government agencies, schools, the hospitality industry, and universities. She has been honored by the YWCA, Administrative Management Association, the Internal Revenue Service, Central Region Federal Women’s Program, The House of Representatives, Commonwealth of Kentucky, City of Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Enquirer as a “Woman of the Year” recipient. Barrett started her business in 1985 after a successful career as a professional model and managing director of the Kathleen Wellman School of Fashion and Modeling in Cincinnati.

The tea and etiquette program are open to the public. "If you have read or are reading The Age of Innocence, the tea will transport you for an afternoon to the era of the book. If you have not delved into the novel, perhaps the tea will inspire you to read it," says committee member Margy Vogt. Tickets, $25 per person, may be purchased in person at the Museum Museum or by phone at 330-833-4061. The Museum accepts cash, checks, Visa, and Mastercard. Reservations should be made by March 20.

The Big Read is a month-long celebration of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, funded by a competitive grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Massillon Rotary Foundation has provided additional funding to purchase copies of the book for classroom use. 2009 marks the second year the National Endowment for the Arts has granted funding for the Massillon Museum’s ambitious participation in The Big Read—a national initiative to help Americans return to reading for leisure.

The Big Read, the largest federal literature program since the W.P.A., is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

Five Oaks is located at 210 Fourth Street, at the heart of Massillon's National Register historic district. The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon.

For more information about western Stark County’s Big Read project, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org or www.NEABigRead.org.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer - Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Margy Vogt - Massillon Museum PR Coordinator - 330-844-1525