Tour Hours
Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Special candlelight tours will be offered on Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Chinqua Penn will be closed Christmas day.
About The Holiday Tradition
Thomas and Beatrice Penn built their estate, called Chinqua Penn Plantation, in the 1920s with the idea of grandly entertaining friends, family and business associates. The current owners of the Rockingham County estate will continue the tradition this holiday season by hosting the annual Holiday and Candlelight Tours from Nov. 27 to Jan. 3.
At least 13 theme-decorated Christmas trees will be scattered throughout the 27-room mansion, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Included will be a 14-foot live North Carolina Fraser fir in the massive living room of the house. Hundreds of live poinsettias will be displayed throughout the house. Holiday lights and decorations will be installed across the 22 acres of grounds.
Lisa Phelps oversees the decorations each year. She and her husband, Calvin, bought Chinqua Penn from the state in 2006. Beatrice Penn bequeathed the estate to the 16-campus University of North Carolina system in 1959.
Performance Schedule
Live music during those tours will be performed by
- Nov. 28, Jonny Colley.
- Dec. 5, Mt. Zion Caroleers.
- Dec. 12, Shana Tucker-Williams, with Tad Morrison on guitar.
- Dec. 19, Shana Tucker-Williams, with Katheen Krull on viola.
- Dec. 26, Colley.
- Jan. 3, Veronica Jones.
Ticket Information
Admission is $25 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, the military and students, and $10 for youth (6 - 16). A "family pack" that admits two adults and two youngsters is available online only for $50.
You may purchase tickets online here
For more information about the holiday tour, call 336-349-4576.
