An anniversary celebration, Christmas cocktails in July and a chance to become a “true Charlestonian” are just some of the special events on the calendar for Charleston’s AAA Five Diamond Wentworth Mansion® and its AAA Four Diamond, Mobil Four Star on-site restaurant Circa 1886. Below is a list of events and packages on tap for the coming year:
For the remainder of the month, the restaurant will offer four courses for $42.
Also, Circa 1886 Executive Chef Marc Collins will be at Coastal Cupboards in Mt. Pleasant on Jan. 19.
Please note, Circa 1886 will be closed Jan. 3-8.
February
Valentine's Day Dinner
February 14, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Lovebirds 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.
Sweetheart Package
February 1-28
The romantic Wentworth Mansion® hotel, where guests frequently get engaged, married and honeymoon, will offer a special romance 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 three-course dinner for two at Circa 1886. The cost is $495, which includes tax and gratuity for dinner, but excludes beverages and room tax. Minimum night stay may apply.
On Valentine’s Day weekend, Feb. 13-15, the same package is available for $1,075 (including tax and gratuity at dinner but excluding beverages and room tax) and requires a two-night minimum stay. It also includes dinner for two at Circa 1886 on Valentine's Day instead of the gift certificate.
Date ‘Over’ Night
February 1-28
During the month of February, locals have a chance to celebrate romance all month. Residents of Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties can take advantage of this special date “over” night package at the Wentworth Mansion®. The package includes a three-course dinner for two at Circa 1886, a AAA Four-Diamond, Mobil Four Star restaurant on the grounds of the Wentworth Mansion®, as well as one night in a mansion room with a candlelight turndown. The cost of the package is $299. Dinner is not available on Sundays, as the restaurant is closed, and the package is not available Feb. 12-15 due to Valentine’s Day specials.
March
BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival
March 4-7
Executive Chef Marc Collins and Circa 1886 will take center stage during the fifth annual BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival, a four-day celebration of food, wine and all things Charleston. Chef Collins, who co-founded the festival, will be part of a chef cooking competition during the event, as well as hosting Kyle Ketchum, executive chef of The Chanler at Cliff Walk in Newport, R.I., during a special dinner on March 5. Additionally, Phillip Lolonis of Lolonis Winery in Redwood Valley, Calif., will be on hand to share his wine expertise. For more information and tickets, visit www.charlestonwineandfood.com.
Circa 1886 is also hosting the festival’s Founders Day Celebration at 5:30 p.m. March 2 on the lawn of the Wentworth Mansion. This invitation-only party will celebrate and recognize board members, staff, key volunteers and founders who were instrumental in planning the Charleston Wine + Food Festival from its inception. It will also serve as a celebration of the festival’s fifth anniversary.
Sixth Annual Historic Charleston Foundation Wine Tastings
April 5 and 9, 5 p.m.
During the Historic Charleston Foundation’s popular Festival of Houses and Gardens March 18 through April 17, where guests can tour 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, are available through the Historic Charleston Foundation at 843-723-1623 or www.historiccharleston.org.
Spoleto Festival USA Pre-and Post-Theater Dinners
May 28 – June 13, 5-10 p.m.
Spoleto Festival USA is one of the world’s most recognized and acclaimed art festivals drawing thousands of visitors to Charleston each spring. The festival supports new and innovative works while enhancing public appreciation of the arts – from dance and music to theater and jazz. To accommodate those attending Spoleto Festival USA, 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
July 1-31
In honor of July 4th, patrons can enjoy any three courses from Circa 1886’s seasonal menu for only $42 per person throughout the month of July.
Fifth 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 Cocktails in July
July 6-31
To follow up its successful ice cream and Christmas cookie contest, Circa 1886 wonders: If Charleston were a Christmas cocktail what would it be? The winning cocktail, as selected by restaurant manager and bartenders along with guest judges, will be served as the holiday cocktail in the restaurant throughout December. The winner will receive a complimentary dinner for four at Circa 1886, excluding alcoholic beverages and gratuity, and, of course, bragging rights to the winning recipe for Charleston’s own Christmas cocktail. The restaurant will accept recipes throughout July at www.circa1886.com.
September
Fall Back in Time
To celebrate the year (1886) wealthy cotton merchant Francis Silas Rodgers built the beautiful Wentworth Mansion to house his family, the now historic luxury hotel is offering travelers a special deal. For any guests who choose to spend two nights at downtown Charleston’s only AAA Five Diamond hotel, they will receive their third night for $18.86 (taxes not included). Nights 1 and 2 are priced at $450/each. The offer is good Sunday through Thursday only during the month of September.
October
Circa 1886’s Wine Pick
This month Circa 1886 is giving patrons the chance to help select a new wine to add to the AAA Four Diamond, Mobil Four Star restaurant’s extensive wine list. Local bloggers will narrow the field of wine choices down to a handful by writing about their pick for the restaurant. Circa 1886 guests and locals can then vote online among the choices Oct. 1-27. The winning wine will be announced Oct. 28 and diners can enjoy the new wine at retail pricing that evening and throughout the month of November.
November
Good Neighbor Special
Circa 1886 is being a good neighbor. Residents of nearby downtown neighborhoods, such as Harleston Village and Ansonborough, are invited to enjoy the November Neighborhood Special. Guests can enjoy any three courses from the regular menu for $39, excluding tax, gratuity and beverages.
December
25th Annual Progressive Dinner, 5:30 p.m.
December 1-4, 6-8, 9-11, 13-14, 16-18, 20-23
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, which includes tax and gratuity, but excluding beverages.
The Progressive Dinner Package, offered by the John Rutledge House Inn, includes accommodations for two, the Progressive Dinner (excluding room tax and beverages), a rickshaw ride to Kings Courtyard Inn and a Junior League Party Receipts Cookbook. Cost starts at $369 per night. Or stay at the Wentworth Mansion® Monday through Thursday from $469 per night.
Dickens Dinner
December 15, 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 for $449, including the Dickens Dinner (which excludes room tax and beverages) and one night’s accommodation.
New Year's Eve
December 31, 6:30, 9:30 p.m.
Ring in the New Year with Circa 1886 during two different seatings, 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 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 and additional beverages 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.
Ongoing throughout 2010(subject to availability)
True Charlestonian Package
Visitors from all over can get a lesson in all things Southern with the Wentworth Mansion’s True Charlestonian Package, which includes a two-night stay at the mansion and dinner for two at Circa 1886. Guests also receive a fashion consultation at Berlin’s (bow tie and seersucker suit a must!), a four-generation clothing business at the corner of King and Broad streets; two tickets to Fort Sumter, where the “war of Northern aggression” began; and a carriage ride through historic downtown Charleston for a history – and “lingo” – lesson. Known as one of the country’s most polite cities, guests can experience a true Southern tea in the hotel’s sun porch room, and they’ll also get to take a little bit of Charleston home with them with a gift basket of Charleston goodies from Market Street Munchies, including tea, pecans and benne wafers. Cost is $1,050.
South of Broad
Book a stay at the John Rutledge House Inn on the famed Broad Street and find out why Pat Conroy’s latest novel, “South of Broad,” is considered a “love letter to the city of Charleston.” The South of Broad package includes a two-night stay in the historic John Rutledge House Inn and a two-hour walking tour that emphasizes areas south of Broad, including visiting St. Michaels Church, strolling the popular King Street Antiques District, and walking parts of Leo King’s paper route from the book. The package also includes a three-course dinner for two at Circa 1886. Guests also will receive a copy of Pat Conroy’s cookbook as well as a series of Conroy’s classics, “Great Santini,” Prince of Tides” and “Lords of Discipline.” The package price is $699 Sunday through Thursday and $799 Friday and Saturday.
Weddingmoon
Charming Inns’ Weddingmoon packages give brides and grooms a stylish wedding and honeymoon but without all the stress of the planning. Complete with stays in historic inns and mansions, carriage rides through downtown Charleston and dinner at AAA Four Diamond, Mobil Four Star restaurant Circa 1886, the happy couple will be treated to the best Charleston has to offer from ceremony to the honeymoon with plenty of down time and pampering included. Charming Inns handles all the details, including the flowers, photographer, officiant, wedding cake, lodging and more. Couples can choose from either three- or five-night Weddingmoon packages at the AAA Five Diamond luxury Wentworth Mansion®, the historic John Rutledge House Inn or the Fulton Lane Inn. Package cost ranges from $2,525 to $4,339.
Land and Sea: Cruising from Charleston
Before departing from the Charleston Harbor on a cruise ship, explore the sights of Charleston on land. Charming Inns offers Land and Sea packages at both the Kings Courtyard Inn and the John Rutledge House Inn. Both packages offer one-night stays along with a three-course dinner for two at Circa 1886, including a rickshaw ride to and from the restaurant. Guests also receive an afternoon carriage ride and a two-hour walking tour as well as complimentary parking for up to 10 days and transportation right to the door of the cruise ship terminal. Cost to stay at the Kings Courtyard Inn is $399. Cost to stay at the historic John Rutledge House Inn is $469.
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, co-founder of the successful BB&T Charleston Wine + Food 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 $10 to $16 for first courses, $23 to $35 for featured courses, and desserts start at $10. Dress at Circa 1886 is casual elegant (no jackets required). Parking is free. For more information and reservations, please visit www.circa1886.com or call (843) 853-7828.
About Charming Inns
Charming Inns® is a family of four elegant and historic bed and breakfast inns all located within the heart of downtown Charleston. The properties, which include the AAA Five Diamond Wentworth Mansion®, the AAA Four Diamond John Rutledge House Inn, the Kings Courtyard Inn and the Fulton Lane Inn, have received numerous national accolades, including three as members of Historic Hotels of America and one as a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. In addition, Charming Inns owns and operates Mobil Four Star, AAA Four Diamond Circa 1886 restaurant located on the grounds of the Wentworth Mansion. For more information, visit CharmingInns.com.
