Jane Austen Festival moves to Cincinnatti: Location changes but traditions remain with hot temps, hot tea and a sizzling Mr. Darcy!

Jane Austen Festival moves from Louisville to Cincinnatti in 2025

Despite a new location, a new host and a few year's hiatus, the Jane Austen Festival traditions continued this weekend with hot temps, hot tea and a sizzling Mr. Darcy - and just in time for the 250th anniversary of the celebrated author's birth.

Rachel, Barb & Cara sharing old and new Austen traditions at Heritage Musuem

My daughter, Rachel, and I began attending the Jane Austen Festival, originally hosted by the JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) Louisville Chapter in 2009 - it was their second and our first - and we watched as the weekend event grew and prospered.  

Afternoon tea in Louisville, Festival 2010

                  

                     Tea set up at Heritage Village 2025

Rachel and I made it our own tradition for a decade, traveling south to Louisville every July to enjoy the events the Louisville Chapter assembled at the historic Locust Grove estate. We reserved our afternoon tea, shopped the stores in "Meryton" and took our seat under the big tent for featured speakers and, what came to be one of our favorite features, "Dressing Mr. Darcy".

Welcome Reception, 2025. Prior to 2019, Barb & Rachel missed only one festival in 2011 (but "improvised" in England).

(The only Louisville festival we skipped was 2011, when I joined Rachel in England that same summer for a week during her study abroad and we conducted our own Jane Austen excursion in Chawton and Winchester. With a bit of a twist, we still kept the JA July tradition.)

Over the years, we met up with some impressive guest speakers, including authors, John Mullans and Jo Baker, as well as Patrick Stokes, a direct descendant of Jane Austen's youngest brother, Charles.

So, we were eagerly awaiting the revived Jane Austen Festival for 2025, not exactly sure what awaited us at Heritage Village in Sharonville, a suburb of Cincinnati.   We were keenly aware, however, of  the delightfully personal advantages for us at this new venue. Not only did this location reduce our travel time by two hours, but it is a most  convenient ten minute drive from the home of our dear sister/aunt, Cara, who was both our host and our guest for the weekend.

Together, we journeyed to Friday night's "Welcome Reception".  An earlier post on the event's website stated that many tickets sent after registration were not downloadable and, in lieu of a paper receipt,  a list of names would be used for checking in guests. That was a tip off that the entry process may be a bit slow. And, predictably, it was. 

Rachel and Cara sampling Austen blends from Churchill's fine teas.

But once past the contained chaos, we helped ourselves to a charcuterie cup, a sweet treat and a beverage of choice and found our way outside to Meryton.  Here we were given an advanced, exclusive opportunity to meet with the Austen-themed vendors. We sampled and purchased the Jane Austen collection of teas from Churchill's (a future blog story!) while "window-shopping" through a sea of white-tented storefronts. 

Brian Cushing, aka "Mr. Darcy", was a highlight (as always) of the Austen Festival.

Saturday, we returned for the full-on Jane Austen Festival and, after a few misguided directions and another slightly confusing check-in process, we were at last within the Historic Village and thrilled to see our Mr. Darcy was the first presenter at the Somerset Church, a small, but (bonus!) air-conditioned building at the end of the tiny town.

Brian Cushing, who we've followed throughout the JA Festivals, has been demonstrating the art of dressing and undressing Mr. Darcy for almost twenty years. His talks never disappoint, but this weekend's address hit it out of the park - or should I say, a hearty thwack of the mallet through a Pall Mall wicket? Cushing's dissertation was as layered as his gentleman's attire which included hat, jacket, waistcoat, breeches, stockings, boots and a cravat tied to the neck of the shirt.

Mr. Darcy 2009

Miss G. and Mr. D, 2009

And, of that last item it was the women who made the many shirts of the gentleman's wardrobe - which prompted a question from an astute participant in the back. She asked if this person would be a "gentlelady" or a house servant.

Cushing noted the shirts were typically made by the ladies of the house (although staff could certainly be given the task). He continued to explain that sewing was a skill and an occupation of accomplished ladies, adding that after King Henry VIII removed his first wife, Catherine from his palace, she continued to make shirts in exile. (That's a following a thread of thought, literally.)

Jane Austen Festival guests at Heritage Village

Back in the Village, we toured a number of homes with varying degrees of Austen connections and insight and took in one more presentation at the church where the air conditioning was the true star. Though the Festival moved to another state, weatherwise, southern Ohio has much in common with Louisville and we were once again reacquainted with the region's toasty temps of the season. 

But, as mentioned above, it's part of the traditional trio: hot temps, hot tea and, oh, so sizzling, Mr. Darcy. 

Jane Austen Festival in Cincinnatti:  We'll be back in 2026 with fan!

And, as for a few bumps in the country roads of this year's Jane Austen Festival, we attribute those to "growing pains" for a new venue, a new host and an extended break. We look forward to Heritage Village's Jane Austen Festival, 2026 and we'll remember to pack a fan in our reticule to keep cool from all the Festival's essential elements!

A memorable Jane Austen afternoon: BTS presents an Austentacious Tea at Bacon Memorial Library

Barb's Tea Service: Barb G. & Megan O. at Bacon Memorial Library and the Bacon Ford home

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a library, with the good fortune to be in possession of a lovely Victorian home, must be in need of an afternoon tea.

This past weekend, Barb's Tea Service presented an "Austentacious Tea" at the Bacon Memorial District Library for a room full of guests as charming as the venue. A unique feature of this library - located in Wyandotte, a "Downriver" city eleven miles south of Detroit - is its literal connection to the Ford Bacon home, an elegant turn-of-the-last-century abode with many of its original features including wood paneling and dentil molding. 

The front parlor quickly became both the presentation and tea room.

Our first time to Bacon Memorial Library, we - BTS' newest team member, Megan O. and myself -  were given a quick tour of the presentation room in the main building and then just up the stairs and through another door, to the attached grand home. This is where the library had set up a buffet of tea snacks. 

Instantly enamored with the historic home, we wondered if we couldn't make it work for both the presentation and hot tea serving. Megan assessed the layout quickly and declared it was possible with just a little furniture rearranging. 

Incredibly, within an hour & some Meg-ingenuity, the front parlor was ready to seat almost 2 dozen guests.

Although the front parlor wasn't terribly large, it had a lot of curves and nooks, which Megan adeptly took advantage of by tucking a few upholstered chairs and small table in an alcove by the staircase and shoring up bench seating along the front window. Then, pulling a pretty mishmash of dining tables and chairs from assorted spaces nearby, Megan relocated them around the room's center and further expanded the parlor's footprint to the hallway for even more seating. 

A bright and open utility room served as the perfect place for teacups, teapots and teabags.

Our presentation "screen" was the panel just above the fireplace and directly behind the parlor was utility room, bright and open, just perfect for teapots, teacups and teabags.

Almost ready to serve up tea.

In less than an hour, we had our tea brewed and the parlor ready for our guests. It was an extraordinary group and we enjoyed getting to know many fellow Austenphiles, including Victoria F.. It was a treat to meet her  in person - we had connected over social media -  and her niece, Stephanie.

Victoria F. and niece, Stephanie. A treat to meet these Austen fans in person.

It was a delightful afternoon and while we shared details of our Austen-related travels, BTS' newest team member served up the tea, and with a bit of Meg-ingenuity, turned the parlor into a perfect event space, the amazing possession of Bacon Memorial Library.  Good fortune, indeed!

A library in possession of a lovely Victorian home is good fortune, indeed!

Thanks to Kelly R., librarian, who invited us to the Beacon Memorial Library and all the amazing folks who attended our Austentacious Tea!