Historic Harmony to usher in the coming year with pork dinner, 5K race
Historic Harmony president Rodney Gasch talks about the good luck blessings of the pork dinner in Historic Harmony drom 2019.
“It’s a German tradition that having pork and sauerkraut is good luck,” Gasch said. “I don’t think anybody thinks 2020 was a good year.”
He laughed.
“But that’s a tradition, and so I’m sticking by it,” he said.
Historic Harmony will host its 16th annual Silvester Celebration for New Year’s Eve on Dec. 31, an event that will combine that auspicious pork dinner with music, foot races, Christmas tree tossing contests, Christmas wreath tossing contests, a train display, a traditional hot mulled cider known as Glühwein, a ball drop and fireworks.
“I think it’s a fun family event that you could take the family out, participate in the tree and wreath toss, and browse in and out of shops, and then enjoy wonderful fireworks and you’re home by 6:30,” Gasch said. “That’s a pretty good deal.”
“People are in a festive mood for the holidays,” Gasch said. “We’re always hopeful that we have nice, cool weather with big snowflakes. That doesn’t always happen, but that’s what we aim for,” he said, laughing. “But it gets to be a big crowd, so people will be congregating. And we’re also selling Glühwein, so that’ll be there to warm you up as well.”
The Silvester 5K or 1-Mile Fun Run/Walk will also kick off that same day at 3:30 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. Those who want to participate register at Grace Church gymnasium, off Main Street, in Harmony, as late as between 2 and 3:15 p.m.
The pork dinner costs $17 per person, and people interested in reserving or pre-paying must do so at HarmonyMuseum.org or by calling the museum at 724-452-7341 before Tuesday, Dec. 27. The meal, hosted at Stewart Hall on Mercer Street, will include roasted pork loin, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, gravy, cucumber and sour cream salad, applesauce, a roll with butter and a ginger cookie. Dine-in seating times include 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., while carry-out pick-up times run from 4 to 4:30 p.m., 5 to 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 to 6:30 p.m.
The Christmas tree and wreath toss will occur at 3 p.m., the foot races at 3:30 and 4:15 p.m. Visitors who buy Glühwein can buy souvenir mugs after 3 p.m. or bring Christmas Market mugs from prior years for refills. They can catch a glimpse of the train display through the Wagner Haus windows on Mercer Street.
Concerns over indoor crowding mean the museum will host no wine cellar movie.
“We do offer free parking in municipal and commercial lots around town because the businesses are closed,” Gasch said. “Just dress for the weather, and look forward to having a good time.”
The community will usher in 2023 with the ball drop and fireworks at 6 p.m., which will mark the passage of midnight in Germany.
Many Germans would commemorate New Year’s Eve in Germany on the feast day of Pope Sylvester I, who died on the last day of 335.
“He became a Roman Catholic saint, and so it’s kind of like Valentine’s Day,” Gasch said. “That day became known as Saint Sylester Day, and it kind of morphed into the New Year’s celebration being called Silvester.”
