- Last Updated on Monday, 30 July 2018 02:18
Victorian etiquette will be explored when the Elizabeth Township Historical Society exhibits vintage fashions from its collection at summer tea parties at The Betsy Shoppe in Elizabeth Township.
Teas will be held at 12:00 noon on Friday August 10 and Saturday, August 11. Sandwiches, cakes and tea will be served. Tea reservations are $25, and are being taken at 412-751-6695.
Modern day tea parties began with Queen Victoria who then hosted the first Royal Garden Parties in the 1860s. The tradition continues with Queen Elizabeth hosting three each summer at Buckingham Palace in London and one at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. The evolution of teas first held in formal parlors in the late 19th century to garden parties around 20th century pavillions and croquet courts will be revealed.
The fashions on display will show the changes from exotic Victorian tea gowns to white eyelet cotton dresses of the Edwardian period. Rules for hosts and guests will be listed like arranging chairs and tables in small groups to encourage conversation and not placing cake or scone on saucer which would be considered “very vulgar”.
The teas are fund-raisers for the society and its efforts to restore a 1790 log house in the Greenock area where community yard sales will be held Saturday, Aug. 18. Individuals and vendors may rent space to sell items that day at the log house located at 1215 Greenock Buena Vista Road.
The search is also on for artists and crafters to participate in ‘Greenock Log House Days’ which will feature re-enactors for the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment of the Continental Line Saturday, Sept. 22.
To reserve space for the yard sale and Greenock Log House Days, call 412-751-5389 or e-mail betweentworivershistory@gmail.com.
