Summary of Events
Circa 1886:
4 for $49 (Jan) , All Dessert Dinner (Feb) , Valentine's Dinner (Feb) , Manager's Favorite Wine Finds (Feb) , BB&T Charleston Food + Wine Festival (March) , Historic Charleston Foundation Wine Tastings (March) , Spoleto Festival Pre- and Post-Dinners (May) , 4 for the 4th (July) , July 4th Sizzling Summer Celebration (July) , Christmas in July: Charleston's Cookie Contest (July) , Progressive Dinner (Dec) , Dickens Dinner (Dec) , New Year's Eve Dinner (Dec) .
Wentworth Mansion:
Luxury 2009 package (all year), 4 for $49 (Jan), Sweetheart package (Feb), Mommymoon Getaway! (May), Cap and Gown Celebration, Sizzling Summer Celebration package (July), Progressive Dinner pacakge (Dec), Dickens Dinner package (Dec), New Year's Eve package (Dec)
CHARLESTON, S.C.—From a Mommymoon getaway to a chance to create the top cookie in Charleston, the city’s AAA Five Diamond Wentworth Mansion® and its AAA Four Diamond, Mobil Four Star on-site restaurant Circa 1886 are offering fun and food throughout 2009. Below is a list of events and packages on tap for the coming year:
January
Luxury 2009 Package
Jan. 1-Dec. 31, based on availability
Guests can enjoy luxury for less at the Wentworth Mansion® and Circa 1886 restaurant with the Luxury 2009 package. The package, available for only $2009, lets a couple enjoy three nights in a Mansion Suite with a specially-prepared dinner from Circa 1886 customized to their tastes and paired with wines served in their room. Also included is an in-room couples massage and a private carriage ride through Charleston’s historic district. The package, a $2240 value, does not include room tax and is available throughout the year based on availability.
Circa 1886 Ninth Anniversary Celebration – Four Courses for $49
January 9-31
In honor of the restaurant’s ninth anniversary, Circa 1886 is offering guests any four courses from its winter menu for just $49 per person, excluding tax, gratuity and beverages. Wentworth Mansion® is also offering a variety of packages in conjunction, including the dinner for two plus a one-night stay for $495 per couple, a two-night stay for $795 per couple and a three-night stay for $1095 per couple, excluding tax. The packages include tax and gratuity for the dinner, but not beverages. The John Rutledge House Inn, a sister property of Circa 1886 and the Wentworth Mansion®, is also offering a package for $550 for a two-night stay at the Inn, the 4 for $49 dinner for two, and a rickshaw ride to and from the restaurant.
February
All Dessert Dinner
February 1-28, excluding February 14
Forget the box of chocolates for your Valentine this February; Circa 1886 is inviting you and your sweetheart to instead enjoy an entire dinner of sweets. The restaurant will offer as a menu item a choice of three desserts from its winter menu for $25 and an optional wine pairing for an additional $25 throughout the month.
Valentine's Day Dinner
February 14, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Sweethearts can enjoy a special five-course dinner at Circa 1886 on Valentine's Day for $100 per person. The dinner is available during two seatings, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., and excludes beverages, tax and gratuity. The menu features a chilled poached prawn, tomato chive geleé, orange and celery relish with horseradish foam as the first course; white cheddar cheese truffle soup with leg of lamb confit as the second course; sliced parma prosciutto organic greens, cucumber and a smoked honey banyuls dressing for the third course; a choice of braised wagyu beef short ribs, Yukon Gold potato cake, baby vegetables with Cabernet Sauvignon demi glace or crab-stuffed salmon filet, asparagus, bacon studded waffle with American caviar hollandaise as the fourth course; and passion fruit, champagne and raspberries and chocolate for dessert.
Sweetheart Package
February 1-28
The romantic Wentworth Mansion® hotel, where guests frequently get engaged, married and honeymoon, will offer a special Valentine’s package for two throughout the month of February. The package includes a one-night stay, a dozen red roses delivered to your room, a candlelight turndown and a $150 gift certificate for Circa 1886. The cost is $595, including tax and gratuity for dinner, but excluding beverages and room tax. On Valentine’s Day weekend, Feb. 13-15, the same package is available for $995 but requires a two-night minimum stay. It also includes dinner for two at Circa 1886 on Valentine’s Day instead of the gift certificate.
March
BB&T Charleston Food + Wine Festival
March 5-8
Executive Chef Marc Collins and Circa 1886 will take center stage during the fourth annual BB&T Charleston Food + Wine Festival, a four-day celebration of food, wine and all things Charleston. Chef Collins, who co-founded the festival, will host Chef Jean-Robert de Cavel of Jean-Robert at Pigall’s in Cincinnati, Ohio, at Circa 1886 during the festival’s Restaurant Dine-Around on March 6. Featured wines are Clos Du Val Winery from Napa Valley, Calif., and Chehalem Winery and Elk Cove Vineyards, both in Willamette Valley, Ore. In addition, Circa 1886 Pastry Chef Scott Lovorn is participating in the festival’s Bubbles & Sweets event. For more information, visit www.charlestonfoodandwine.com.
Fifth Annual Historic Charleston Foundation Wine Tastings
April 13 and 17, 5 p.m.
During the Historic Charleston Foundation’s popular Festival of Houses and Gardens March 19 through April 18, where guests can tour the many of city’s historic private homes and gardens, Circa 1886 will host two wine and hors d’oeuvres events to benefit the organization. Tickets, available for $45 per person, per event, may be purchased by contacting the Historic Charleston Foundation at 843-723-1623 or visiting www.historiccharleston.org.
May
Mommymoon Getaway!
May 1-31
If Mom has been saying “Calgon, take me away!” a bit too much lately, perhaps it’s time to give her a much-deserved break in honor of Mother’s Day with a getaway to the Wentworth Mansion®. Just imagine, no little feet underfoot while touring the town, a quiet romantic dinner, and a chance to take an uninterrupted bath in one of the hotel’s Jacuzzi tubs. The Mommymoon getaway includes a two-night stay at the Wentworth Mansion®, a three-course dinner for two at Circa 1886 (includes tax and gratuity but not alcohol), a 90-minute lemongrass and ginger massage at the hotel’s on-site spa and as many baths as she’d like. The complete package costs $1,175 with additional nights available for $425 per night
Cap and Gown Celebration
May 8 – June 8
Celebrate all you did to get your child through college with a retreat at the Wentworth Mansion®. Enjoy two nights in a Mansion Room, a couples’ spa treatment at the Spa at Wentworth Mansion®, an afternoon sail on the Schooner Pride and a carriage ride with Palmetto Carriage (not private). The package also includes breakfast; afternoon refreshments; wine and hors d’oeuvres in the evening; sherry, port and brandy in the library; evening turndown; wireless Internet access; parking; and passes to a local health club. The package is $1,050 plus tax, with additional nights available for $400.
Spoleto Festival USA Pre-and Post-Theater Dinners
May 22 – June 7, 5-10 p.m.
To accommodate those attending Spoleto Festival USA, one of the world's most recognized arts festivals, Circa 1886 will open a half-hour earlier at 5 p.m. and close a half-hour later with the last seating at 10 p.m.
July
Four for the Fourth
July 1-31
In honor of July 4th, patrons can enjoy any four courses from Circa 1886’s seasonal menu for only $49 per person throughout the month of July.
Fourth Annual Sizzling Southern Celebration
July 4, 7:30 p.m.
Join Wentworth Mansion® and Circa 1886 in celebrating Independence Day in true southern fashion with libations and delicacies hot off the grill, all accompanied by a live jazz soloist. Afterward, guests head to the Mansion’s cupola with panoramic views of the city to watch Charleston’s fireworks display. The cost is $70 per person, including a glass of champagne, but excluding tax, gratuity and additional beverages. Wentworth Mansion® is also offering a package for those who want to stay overnight, including a two-night stay for $975 per couple, excluding tax. The package includes the Sizzling Southern Celebration for two, as well as tax and gratuity, but not beverages for dinner.
Christmas in July: Charleston’s Cookie Contest
July 6-31
To follow up its successful Charleston’s Choice Ice Cream Contest and the winning Seersucker flavor, Circa 1886 is asking the question: If Charleston were a Christmas cookie, what would it be? Locals are invited to concoct their own cookie that best represents our historic city. The winning cookie, as selected by restaurant chefs and guest judges, will be served as the holiday cookie on the restaurant’s dessert menu throughout December. The winner will receive a complimentary dinner for four at Circa 1886, excluding alcoholic beverages and gratuity, and, of course, bragging rights for creating the Charleston’s own Christmas cookie. Recipes will be accepted throughout July at www.circa1886.com.
December
24th Annual Progressive Dinners
December 1-5, 7-12, 14, 15, 17-19, 21-23, 5:30 p.m.
The restaurant’s Progressive Dinner is an annual tradition that takes visitors by horse-drawn carriage to three of Charming Inns' historic and elegant establishments -- the Kings Courtyard Inn, Circa 1886 and the John Rutledge House Inn, all decorated in grand style for the holidays -- for different courses of a four-course gourmet meal. The cost of the dinner is $95 per person, including tax and gratuity, but excluding beverages.
Make it a holiday event with a Progressive Dinner Package. The package, for two people, includes accommodations at the John Rutledge House, the Progressive Dinner (excluding tax and beverages), a rickshaw ride to Kings Courtyard Inn and a Junior League Party Receipts Cookbook. Cost starts at $349 per night. Or stay at the Wentworth Mansion® Monday through Thursday from $489 per night. The package includes the Progressive Dinner for two, excluding tax and beverages.
Dickens Dinner
December 16, 6:30 p.m.
Circa 1886 will take guests back to Victorian England for storyteller Tim Lowry’s lively retelling of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" while they enjoy a four-course dinner inspired by the novel. The dinner is $70 per person, excluding tax, gratuity and beverages. To complement the dinner, Wentworth Mansion® will offer a special "A Christmas Carol" package for two guests, including the Dickens Dinner (tax and gratuity included, but excluding beverages) and one night’s accommodation. The cost is $475 per couple, not including room tax.
New Year's Eve
December 31, 6:30, 9 p.m.
Guests can count down the New Year at Circa 1886 during two different seatings, 6:30 and 9 p.m., at the restaurant’s New Year’s Eve dinner. Circa 1886 will serve a five-course meal with a glass of champagne for $100, excluding tax, gratuity and additional beverages. Wentworth Mansion® is also offering a special two-night package, starting at $1,050 (room tax not included), to coincide with the dinner for visitors who want to continue the celebration into the night. It includes dinner for two at Circa 1886 on any night besides Sunday, two commemorative etched champagne glasses and a bottle of champagne. The package includes tax and gratuity but excludes additional beverages.
About Wentworth Mansion®
Located in the heart of historic downtown Charleston, S.C., the Wentworth Mansion® is a 21-room, AAA Five Diamond luxury hotel that offers guests a taste of southern hospitality in an intimate setting. Elegant rooms and expansive suites feature gas-lit fireplaces with their original marble mantels, king-size sleigh beds with European linens, inlaid design floors, whirlpool tubs and double, glass-walled, walk-in showers. Guests can relax at the Spa at the Wentworth Mansion®, a full-service on-site day spa, enjoy a 360-degree view of the city from the hotel's rooftop cupola or dine on sophisticated southern cuisine with a twist at Circa 1886 restaurant located on the hotel grounds. For more information and reservations, please call 1-888-466-1886 or visit www.wentworthmansion.com.
About Circa 1886
Set inside the historic carriage house for the award-winning Wentworth Mansion® hotel at 149 Wentworth St. in Charleston, S.C., Circa 1886 is a AAA Four-Diamond, Mobil Four Star restaurant offering traditional southern cuisine with a modern twist in a sophisticated, historic setting. Executive Chef Marc Collins, named by Esquire Magazine as a chef to watch in 2001 and co-founder of the successful BB&T Charleston Food + Wine Festival, presents innovative southern dishes, which draw on the rich culinary history of Charleston during the time period when the Mansion was originally constructed. Collins also brings a French influence and a touch of 21st century culinary artistry to his creations. Circa 1886 has received numerous accolades, including the DiRoNA award for fine dining in North America, as well as the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
The restaurant is open for dinner Monday through Saturday from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., and prices range from $9 to $16 for first courses, $21 to $37 for featured courses, and desserts start at $9. For more information and reservations, please visit www.circa1886.com or call (843) 853-7828.
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Editor’s Note: High-res images of some events are available upon request.
