programs

Glorious Garden Festival-Garden Walk
Always the third weekend in June

The Glorious Garden Walk offers self-guided tours through some of the loveliest private gardens in the Bloomington-Normal community. This breathtaking adventure allows you to appreciate the beauty of the gardens, while taking the time to gather ideas and enjoy the many gifts that nature has to offer.

You may visit the gardens in any order on either Friday, June 19, from 1 to 8 p.m., or Saturday, June 20, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Maps and program books describing the gardens may be picked up during Garden Walk hours at the convenient, drive-up Garden Walk booth on the grounds of the David Davis Mansion, 1000 E. Monroe Dr., Bloomington.

The Garden Walk is a fundraising effort that benefits the David Davis Mansion Foundation. Funds raised help the David Davis Mansion restore its historic garden and provide educational programs.

Tickets:

Tickets the weekend of the event cost $15 for adults and $7 for children.

Sponsors:

The David Davis Mansion Foundation would like to thank its many supportive sponsors. View a list of our Corporate and Supporting Sponsors.

Volunteer:

The David Davis Mansion Foundation would not be able to host this event without the terrific support of volunteers. More than 100 volunteers support this event by staffing the gardens to ensure an enjoyable time for participants. Anyone interested in volunteering may call the mansion at (309) 828-1084 or email

Looking for Lincoln and Davis

Special exhibits and educational programs related to Abraham Lincoln and David Davis are part of a statewide tourism program. Call (309) 828-1084 for information.

Victorian History Program and Tour

Join The Tea Ladies© as they present an entertaining 30-minute program and mansion tour while dressed in Victorian-era costumes.

You may choose from among six different tea programs:

The Titanic: Teatime on the Titanic. Elegant Edwardians such as Lady Astor and Mrs. J.M. (Molly) Brown were in attendance. Join us for tea as we embark on the most fascinating voyage of an era. Guests participate in this program.

Outrageous Etiquette: Outlandish etiquette rules from the 1890s. The Tea Ladies share rules of Victorian etiquette you just won't believe. What fun! The audience participates in this program!

Victorian Bridal Traditions: This program features Victorian wedding traditions and bridal etiquette. Then we dress a Victorian bride from her corset to her gown.

A Garden Party. Garden hats, picnic graces and flower theme teas are discussed and demonstrated. Sarah Davis's heirloom garden is discussed and a garden tour is provided.

My Grandmother's Apron Bring your favorite vintage apron (or wear it!) and join us as we recall household duties of decades past, such as hanging laundry, canning, filling button boxes, stocking the pantry and sharing recipes. Truly a teatime for all the special ladies in our lives.

Hoop Skirts & Teacups. Civil War Women in Illinois. Teatime with a presentation from ladies' civil war letters and journals and some amusing stories about hoop skirts and other feminine finery.

Cost:
The cost of this Victorian History program is $200.00 for any one bus group. Groups larger that 40 are split and half the group tours the mansion while half the group hears the program, then the process is reversed. There is an additional $4.00 per person charge for the tour of the mansion that is paid directly to the museum at the end of the tour.

Your Victorian History Program and Tour will be scheduled on the basis of the availability of the site/staff on your requested tour date. Every effort will be made to accommodate your first-choice date, but emailing a request does not guarantee confirmation. All tours are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis; reservation requests will be processed in the order that they are received.

Tea Service with Tea Program & Tour: A combined tea party and Victorian program is available at the rate of $22.00 per person (minimum 25 guests, maximum 50 guests). Guests enjoy an entertaining Victorian program and a "light tea" in the mansion's beautiful formal parlor. Light tea consists of hot brewed tea and an assortment of sweet tea treats. Guests are seated at tea tables covered with fine linens and all the proper tea appointments; a "Victorian maid" will also be at your service. The parlor accommodates a maximum of 30 guests seated at 5 tables; larger groups will be divided into two seatings. Please book the tea party, program and tour two months in advance. All Victorian programs are presented by The Tea Ladies. Call Nancy Perzo at (309) 827-2200 to book a reservation and visit The Tea Ladies website.

Lunch is also available for $27.00 per person. Please call Nancy Perzo at (309) 827-2200 for information and menu choices.

Sarah's Garden

Click here for information about programs and tours related to Sarah's Garden.

An Afternoon or Evening with Sarah Davis

Join us for An Afternoon or Evening with Sarah Davis, and enjoy a theatrical experience you won't want to miss.

Humorous and original, this one-woman play based on the letters of Sarah Davis, takes the audience back to America's Gilded Age and makes history truly come alive. Patricia Schley, dressed in period Victorian costume, portrays Sarah Davis in a half-hour presentation.

This program is available weekdays and evenings year-round at the David Davis Mansion or off-site and is available for businesses and organizations of all kinds, including motor coach tour groups. Reservations are required.

Cost: $25 for a half-hour program

Description:
Sarah Davis was a fascinating Victorian "lady," who lived in an era of horse-drawn carriages, flickering gaslight, and stately mansions. She was a friend of Abraham Lincoln and of many other famous Americans as well. Bloomington was a sleepy frontier-town when she arrived here in the 1830s, the bride of a fledgling, young attorney. By the time of her death forty-one years later, the city had grown to several thousand, and Sarah was the wife of a millionaire.

Although she led a very private life, Sarah Davis played an important public role. She was a dutiful wife and mother, but she was also the manager of a large country estate. She vigorously opposed women's suffrage, but she also helped to pave the way for women's changing roles in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Antique Auto Exhibition

Always the first Saturday of August

Free. Donations requested

The event is co-sponsored by the David Davis Mansion Foundation and the Mclean County Antique Auto Club. Vehicles from Model T's to SmartCars are featured, along with costumed volunteers strolling the grounds. Food, music, and fun.