Time Machine

In the 21st century, some people don't even know what a chestnut is, let alone what one tastes like when roasted on an open fire, notes Four Mile Historic Park spokeswoman Laura Hiniker. That's one reason – of many – that the rustic living-history park throws its family-friendly A Colorado...

By Susan Froyd

December 11, 2014

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In the 21st century, some people don't even know what a chestnut is, let alone what one tastes like when roasted on an open fire, notes Four Mile Historic Park spokeswoman Laura Hiniker. That's one reason – of many – that the rustic living-history park throws its family-friendly A Colorado Christmas every year. A veritable snow globe from the past, the event immerses participants in a Victorian holiday world of popcorn strings, Father Christmas, sleigh rides (weather permitting) and yule-log hunts, along with offering a primer on eating roasted chestnuts, cookies baked in a wood stove and sugar plums, which Hiniker calls a delicacy that people mostly only know from fairy tales and “The Night Before Christmas.”

“Sometimes people who come really connect to their own family traditions that they also continue to observe to this day,” Hiniker says. “It's a really fun way to get into the holidays, and the park will be decorated for the season.”

Bring the family and go back in time at A Colorado Christmas today from noon to 4 p.m. at Four Mile Park, 715 South Forest Street; admission is $3 to $5 at the gate (and free for members and children ages six and under). Learn more at fourmilepark.org or call 720-865-0800.
Sun., Dec. 14, 12-4 p.m., 2014

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Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

Contact: Susan Froyd

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