Dec. 7, 2017
WHEELING, W.Va. – West Virginia Independence Hall (WVIH) in Wheeling welcomes 11 members of the Christ United Methodist Church Hand Bell Choir to help ring in the “Holidays at the Hall.” The hand bell choir will play a variety of Christmas tunes on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 2:30 p.m. The program is free and open to the public.
Visitors are invited to come early and enjoy refreshments on the lower level of WVIH beginning at noon. A craft activity also will be available for the younger crowd.
Directed by Harald Wiesner, bell-ringers include Carole Adams, Judy Allison, Katherine Flaherty, Stephanie Gates, Martha Hon, Winnie Hurd, Janet Metzner, Jim Paree, Frances Smaltz, Bill Stephens and Dan Tyska.
Following the hand bells performance, other musicians will play, including the trio of Christine Gold on piano, Caitlin Skiba on cello and Tyska on hand bells. A flutist also will perform.
For more information about the musicians, contact Janet Metzer at (443) 632-7793.
For more information about the event or WVIH, contact Debbie Jones, site manager, at (304) 238-1300 or Deborah.J.Jones@wv.gov.
West Virginia Independence Hall has been on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) since 1970. It was originally built as a federal custom house in 1859, served as the home of the pro-Union state conventions of Virginia during the spring and summer of 1861 and as the capitol of loyal Virginia from June 1861 to June 1863. It also was the site of the first constitutional convention for West Virginia. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1988, the museum is maintained and operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, with the cooperation and assistance of the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, with the exception of major holidays. The museum is located on the corner of 16th and Market Streets in Wheeling.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is proud to be able to present its programs at no charge to the public, but without a solution to the state’s budget situation, this could be the last year that programs of this type could be offered. The division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, is an agency within the Office of Secretary of Education and the Arts with Gayle Manchin, cabinet secretary. It brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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