The holiday season on Amelia Island begins with the Christmas Tour of Bed & Breakfast Inns on December 7-8. Ten festively decorated B & B's will be on display from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Innkeepers dressed in authentic Victorian costumes will greet you as you enter, and guides well-versed in the historic lore of these old and beautiful mansions will explain about custons of the families that lived in these homes in years past.
     Tickets for the Christmas Tour are $15. For information call 1-866-4AMELIA or visit www.ameliaislandinns.com.
     On December 6 and 7 at 8 p.m., the Amelia Island Museum of History will give a Luminary-led Tour of the Historic District. Call (904) 261-7378 to make your reservation.
     Also on the weekend of December 7 and 8, enjoy an evening of festive holiday music from the Amelia Island Arts Academy with the Amelia Island Chorale at the Middle School Auditorium. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Chamber music will fill the air on December 8 at the Historic Courthouse. (Photo courtesy of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival)
________________________________________

     On December 8, the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival will present Musical Gifts from Vienna at 7:30 p.m. at the Historic Court-house in downtown Fernandina Beach. Artistic Director Christopher Rex and violinist Beth Newdome are returning, and will be joined by pianist William Ramson, clarinetist Laura Ardan, violinist Pamela Ryan and bassist Melanie Punter. The program includes selections from both the Beethoven and Brahams trios, Mozart Clarinet Quintet and the Schubert (Trout) Quintet. For more information call (904) 261-1779.
     On Sunday night, December 15, the holiday classic "Amahl and the Night Visitors" will be presented at the Amelia Plantation Chapel. This one-act opera tells the story of how, on a night when the three kings stop to rest at the home of a poor woman and her crippled son Amahl, the power of forgiveness and love combine to bring forth a miracle that will move young and old alike. Admission is by donation and only groups of 20 or more will have reserved seating. For more information, call the chapel at (904) 277-4414.
     Rounding out Amelia Island's winter season events is the 26th Annual Antiques Show and Sale, to be held on the weekend of February 21-23, 2003 at the Atlantic Avenue Recreation Center. Hours for the show are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Food will be available. All proceeds from this show benefit the Amelia Island - Fernandina Beach Restoration Foundation. For more information please call King Antique Shows at (904) 269-2431.