While it`s not even spring, now is the time to think Christmas at Virginia`s Colonial Williamsburg. Because Christmas at Williamsburg is so popular, the historic area is starting its yule season on Dec. 4 for the first time.
Festivities will get underway that day with the Grand Illumination of the Historic Area. Other events include 18th Century fireworks, outdoor live performances, special dining events and special concerts. The holiday events run through Jan. 2, 1989.
For additional information on the Christmas program and for a copy of the Colonial Williamsburg Vacation Planner, write to Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Va. 23187, or phone 800-HISTORY.
NEW ENGLAND TREKS Hikers will cover a variety of terrain on four-day trips in June and September to Maine`s Acadia National Park. They`ll visit Mt. Desert Island-named for the lack of vegetation on its mountain slopes-as well as park trails along mountain ridges and along the shoreline and sandy beaches.
The Acadia trips are available from New England Hiking Holidays, which also offers tours of the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where hikers will find waterfalls, cliffs and lakes. Parts of the White Mountain trips may remind trekkers of major mountain ranges in America`s West.
Trips vary in length from two to five days, and take place from May to October.
No more than 16 people go on each trip, which generally covers from 5 to 9 miles a day. Hikers can maintain a slow or fast speed as there are two guides per trip to accompany them.
Nights are spent in accommodations that include a newly renovated stone mansion on 400 acres of forestland, a Victorian guest cottage on one of Bar Harbor`s historic avenues or an elegant inn that was built as an 18th Century resort in the White Mountains and now offers tennis, a pool and stables.
Food may be home cooking, French or something in between.
Tours are priced (per person, double occupancy) from $185 for a two-day weekend in the White Mountains of New Hampshire to $499 for a three-day trip to the Mt. Washington Hotel, also in New Hampshire.
For more information, contact New England Hiking Holidays, Vermont R.R. 2, Box 542, Stowe, Vt. 05672, or call 802-253-8017.
IN THE WILD Horseback riding, canoeing, rafting, fishing and kayaking excursions in wilderness areas are among the 48 trips available from the American Forestry Association`s (AFA) Trail Riders of the Wilderness program.
Accommodations vary from camping in tents to staying in lodges. Locations range from trips to New York`s Adirondacks to Alaska to the Superstition Wilderness in Arizona to Manu National Park in Peru and Copper Canyon in Mexico.
There are trips to Zion National Park in Utah, the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, Teton Wilderness in Wyoming, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota and the River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho.
Colorado has several locations: Flat Tops Wilderness, San Juan Mountains and Maroon Bells Wilderness.
More than 15,000 persons-from children to senior citizens-have taken part in the Trail Riders program since it was begun in 1933 by the American Forestry Association.
Trips run from March to December, and prices range from $500 to $2,000 a person.
For more information, call the American Forestry Association at 800-368-5748, or write to Trail Riders of the Wilderness, P.O. Box 2000, Dept. W, Washington, D.C. 20013.
CASTLES AND COTTAGES Vacationers bound for the United Kingdom in search of alternative accommodations-some place gracious-can think in terms of castles, country homes and cottages.
An assortment of these places are in England and Scotland. For instance, a Scottish castle accommodating 12, fully staffed with a Cordon Bleu cook and a domestic staff, would cost $7,620 for a week, or $91 a night per person.
For a Cotswold country house, accommodating eight, the cost per person runs from $165 to $218 a person. A more modest thatched cottage for four ranges from $110 to $150 per person per week.
For more information about these homes and booking them, write Blandings, 2841 29th St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008, or phone 202-328-1353.
NEW ORLEANS JAZZ Long noted for its music, New Orleans is gearing up for its 19th annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival April 22-May 1.
The jazz fest will include Pete Fountain, James Brown, B.B. King, the Neville Brothers, Irma Thomas, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the Radiators, Alice Coltrane, the Michael Brecker Band and hundreds of other musicians. Special evening concerts range from gospel to ”La Noche Latina.”
For details about the event, write to New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 1205 N. Rampart St., P.O. Box 53407, New Orleans, La. 70153. For ticket information, call 504-568-0251. Tickets to all Jazz Festival events are on sale at all Maison Blanche/Ticketmaster outlets. To charge tickets outside Louisiana, phone 800-535-5151.
SAVANNAH INSIGHT In a week or so, Savannah will be abloom with spring. Its popular tour of homes and gardens is scheduled for March 22-24, followed by a busy calendar extending through May. Travelers heading to the Georgia city can get four new color brochures-a combination map/restaurant guide, an events calendar, accommodations listing and a recreation guide. A visitor`s packet is available by writing to the Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 222 W. Oglethorpe Ave., Savannah, Ga. 31499, or phoning 912-944-0456.
FREE FOR THE WRITING For a 1988 travel guide to New Brunswick as well as other literature on the Canadian province, write to Tourism, Recreation and Heritage, P.O. Box 12345, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada E3B 5C3. . .For ”Money Sense Overseas” send a long (No. 10) self-addressed, stamped envelope to Unicon Enterprises, 3602 W. Glen Branch, Peoria, Ill. 61614. . .A free copy of Mystic Seaport`s 1988 calendar of events, from Public Affairs Office, Mystic Seaport, P.O. Box 6000, Mystic, Conn. 06355. . .For a state of Delaware calendar of events, write to the Delaware Tourism Office, 99 Kings Hwy., P.O. Box 1401, Dover, Del. 19903.
A CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR THE MIDWEST
ILLINOIS Wyatt Earp`s 140th Birthday Buffet and Show, Monmouth, March 19. Food, entertainment, look-a-like contests, square dancing; 309-734-6419 or 309-734-3181.
INDIANA Maple Sugar Time, Porter, March 19-20. Maple syrup making and tasting and Indian and pioneer methods demonstrated; 219-926-7561.
Indiana Amish Quilts Collection, Indianapolis, through Sept. 25. 277 full and crib-sized quilts from the Pottinger Indiana Amish Quilt Collection on display at the Indiana State Museum; 317-232-1637.
MICHIGAN Maple Syrup Festival, Bloomfield Hills, March 19-20. 313-645-3149. Gem & Mineral Show, Benton Harbor, March 18-19. 616-927-1000.
Amish Country Show, Bridgman, March 19-20. 616-983-2028 or 616-465-6101.
Antique Gun Show, Kalamazoo, March 19-20. Antique guns, military uniforms and Indian artifacts; 616-327-4557.
WISCONSIN Magnificent Voyagers: The U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842, Milwaukee, through April 24. An exhibition at the Milwaukee Public Museum re- creating the history of an epic American expedition to the South Seas and Antarctica; 414-278-2702.
Craft Today: Poetry of the Physical, Milwaukee, through April 10. More than 300 handmade crafts by artists from 36 states on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum; 414-271-9508.
