Candlelight Tour set for Dec. 7, 8

Local residents will have the chance to take a step back in time about 150 years to the events that forged a nation and a town during the 26th Annual Candlelight Tour at the Fort Scott National Historic Site.

Tickets will go on sale Saturday for the tour, which is scheduled for Dec. 7-8. Advance purchase of tickets is recommended as there are a limited number of tickets available. Tickets may be picked up at the fort, or reserved by calling the site at (620) 223-0310. All tickets are non-refundable. Payments can be made by cash, check or charge. Tickets cost $7 for adults, and children 5 years of age and under will be admitted free of charge.

The tour is sponsored by the Western National Parks Association. Proceeds generated cover the cost of conducting the tour.

Each year, the National Park Service strives to portray events that are historically significant and culturally invigorating with new stories and fresh perspectives. The theme of this year's tour is slavery and how it divided the nation.

The practice of human bondage was debated honorably in the beginning. Visitors will see such a debate in the first of six scenes that make up the tour. Honorable debate soon turned to greed and bloodshed in the guise of freedom. This is depicted in the second scene where violence is being plotted, while the third scene stirs the boiling pot when guests of the Free State Hotel confront that violence.

Scene four illustrates the courage of Fort Scott's women during the Bleeding Kansas period. In the fifth scene, the Ladies Hospital Aid Society will be meeting to discuss the conditions of Fort Scott during the Civil War. Soldiers of the First Kansas Colored will be portrayed in the sixth and final scene. These scenes, both new to the tour this year, will portray the ultimate violence that wreaked havoc on the nation, as the chains of bondage were broken and a new definition of liberty emerged.

The tour will end with music and refreshments in the Grand Hall at the fort. For more information, call the fort or e-mail inquiries to fosc_interpretation@nps.gov.