Centennial calendar for Hills & Dales Estate

Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 2, 2016

Staff report

Here’s a rundown of events planned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Hills & Dales, the Fuller E. Callaway family home in LaGrange in 2016.

Jan. 5: Lecture and book-signing featuring Buckner F. Melton and Carol W. Melton, authors of “Fuller E. Callaway: Portrait of a New South Citizen,” the newly released first biography of the builder of Hills & Dales.

March 8: Lecture by antiques expert Spalding Nix, with an emphasis on evaluating family heirlooms, plus a small exhibition of antiques from Hills & Dales that Nix will analyze and interpret.

April 28: Invitation-only Centennial celebration for annual pass holders and invited guests, featuring period music, historical interpretations and the introduction of an illustrated souvenir book, “Callaway’s Great Estate.”

May 7: Picnic in the Garden, Free admission to all with blankets and picnic baskets for an afternoon of old-fashioned games, pony rides, tethered hot-air balloon rides and live music.

June 4-5: Free admission to house and garden plus a centennial flower show staged by local garden clubs.

Sept. 22: Renowned silver specialist Joseph P. Brady will present a lecture on decorative silver accompanied by an exhibition of silver objects from the community.

Oct. 4: Georgia first lady Sandra Deal hopes to join historians Jennifer Dickey and Catherine Lewis in speaking about their book, “Memories of the Mansion: The Story of Georgia’s Governor’s Mansion.” Attendees will receive a historic boxwood plant propagated on the estate.

Oct. 17: Stories in the Garden: In partnership with the Azalea Storytelling Festival, Hills & Dales will host entertainer Fred Newman, sound effects performer for Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion,” for a free afternoon of stories in the pecan grove.

Dec. 5 – 26: The Callaway home will be decorated with all fresh greens, a 1916-style Christmas tree and a scaled gingerbread replica of the Neel Reid-designed home.

Dec. 17: Children’s Christmas Celebration, featuring gingerbread houses, Santa, stories, sing-along and Christmas crafts, including an ornament with a 100th anniversary theme.

For exact times and additional information, check hillsanddales.org.

Reach the LaGrange Daily News at 706-884-7311.