Tea Tours, Dancing, Crafts and Free Gardens Planned for
Saturday, June 8
Spend an afternoon amid the beauty and elegance of the Regency era as Tryon Palace hosts Jane Austen in June. Held from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 8, this new event includes tea tours, period dancing, games, crafts and free garden admission.
Joined by the Jane Austen Society of North America’s North Carolina regional group and the Regency Assembly of North Carolina, Jane Austen in June is a celebration of Austen’s great works – including the timeless novel Pride and Prejudice, which celebrated its 200th anniversary earlier this year. Jane Austen in June also invites visitors to experience life in Eastern North Carolina as it would have been during the time period of Austen’s novels.
Below is a detailed list of events that are scheduled throughout the day. Please note that the events below are divided into three categories: free, included with cost of admission and requiring an additional ticket. Additionally, registration for tea tours and dance classes are due by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4.
Free Gardens and Discounted Passes: All visitors will be admitted to Tryon Palace’s gardens at no cost from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Regular Passes will be available at discounted rates as follows: One Day Pass is $15 (adults), $6 (students grades 1-12); Galleries Pass is $10 (adults); $3 (students grades 1-12).
The Regency Era in Eastern North Carolina:
When: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: Stanly House
Cost: Included in regular site admission.
Description: Tour the Stanly House to learn about what life was like for the Stanly family and the other people living in Eastern North Carolina during the Regency era.
Crafting and Gaming in the Regency Era
When: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Where: Stanly House Garden
Cost: Free
Enjoy your time with family and friends whilst making a Regency era craft or playing a popular game of the time.
Dancing in the Regency – Dance Classes
When: 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Where: Commission House Rear Parlor
Cost: Included with regular site admission (preregistration is highly suggested due to limited spacing – 20 participants per class.)
Description: Dancing played a very important role in society in Jane Austen’s life and books – just as it did here in Eastern North Carolina. Come and learn about Regency era dancing and please feel free to put your best foot forward and join the Regency Assembly of North Carolina for a dance or two. To register for your spot, please call 252-639-3524 or 1-800-767-1560 before 4 p.m. on June 4. Extra openings to the dance classes will be filled the day of the event on a first-come first-serve basis at the North Carolina History Center’s ticket desk.
“All About Tea” Tour and Tea
When: 10:15 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 1:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.
Where: Governor’s Palace
Cost: $25 per adult, $19 per Tryon Palace Foundation Member (Ticket includes Tea Tour of the Governor’s Palace, light tea and all Jane Austen in June activities)
Description: This special tour will take you into the Royal Governor’s Palace and explore the culture surrounding tea in Britain and early America during the Colonial and Regency eras. A light tea will be served at the tour’s end. Preregistration is highly recommended as space is limited to 20 participants per tour. To register for your spot please call 252-639-3524 or 1-800-767-1560 before 4:00 p.m. on June 4. Please make sure to tell them if you would like to attend the dance class as well. Extra openings to the Tea Tour will be filled the day of the event on a first-come first-serve basis at the North Carolina History Center’s ticket desk.
Women, Wildness and Gardens: Jane Austen’s Picturesque
Guest Speaker: Dr. Inger S. B. Brodey
When: 3:30 p.m.
Where: Cullman Performance Hall
Cost: Included with regular admission ($6 per adult, $3 per child if purchased without regular site admission)
Description: Join Tryon Palace and the Jane Austen Society of North America’s North Carolina regional group as they present a special lecture by guest speaker Dr. Inger S. B. Brodey in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s beloved novel, Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen’s brother wrote following her death “She was a warm and judicious admirer of landscape, both in nature and on canvas. At a very early age she was enamored of Gilpin on the Picturesque; and she seldom changed her opinions either on books or men.” Jane Austen not only loved to read William Gilpin, but was also engaged in the landscape issues of her time, particularly the movement away from the baroque, French style of landscape gardening towards the “English” naturalistic garden. In her novels, she presents her fascination with the picturesque aesthetic in landscape, as well as a “human” picturesque. Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice shows similar knowledge of the picturesque and uses it to her own advantage. This discourse on the picturesque and references to wildness in the novel help us to understand not only Austen’s own visual aesthetic, but also important moral and political content of her most beloved novel.
Dr. Brodey is the Bank of America Distinguished Term Professor in Honors, an Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature, an Affiliate faculty in the Department of Asian Studies, an Affiliate faculty in Global Studies and the Director of the Comparative Literature Program at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is also the author of Ruined by Design: Shaping Novels and Gardens in the Culture of Sensibility.
2nd Saturdays are held across the state of North Carolina with help from the NC Department of Cultural Resources. For more information on these statewide events, visit http://www.ncdcr.gov/2ndSaturdays.aspx. Remaining 2nd Saturdays at Tryon Palace include Fresh from the Past on July 13 and Celebrate the Old North State on Aug. 10. For more information about these programs visit http://www.tryonpalace.org/2ndsaturday.
Submitted by: Craig Ramey, Tryon Palace Marketing and Communications, Manager