City: Indianapolis, IN

Category: Annual Events & Festivals

Telephone: (800) 966-1836

Address: 13400 Allisonville Rd.

Description: By lantern light, follow a costumed interpreter down a wooded path to the historic 1823 William Conner home. In the Conner kitchen, warm yourself by the fireplace before you help prepare the evening’s meal. Everything centers on the hearth for this 19th-century food preparation. Hearthside Suppers began in 1984 and are a popular winter activity at the living-history village north of the city. Learn to eat with a knife (forks weren’t in use yet), sip on hot cider, and enjoy a delicious multicourse meal that you helped fix with low-tech cooking methods. With foods that would have been available during the Indiana winter months, the meal might consist of chicken pie, barley soup, cabbage salad, sliced cheese, hearth bread, apple butter, brandied peaches, and orange fool (a spongy cake). After dinner, play old-fashioned parlor games and tour the restored home. Guests leave with a full stomach and a copy of receipts (recipes) for the evening’s meal. The cost is $55 per person. Reserve early for these popular dinners, which continue through March.