Secret Garden Gatherings at Misselthwaite Manor

Contributed

Misselthwaite Manor is an unconventional boutique hospitality business nestled into a historic Erie manse, offering Bed and Breakfast amenities, a site for celebrations and intimate weddings, and a community space for events.

It's that wonderful time of year where we pull out our sweaters, display our pumpkins and mums, take a brisk walk, rewatch Practical Magic or Gilmore Girls, and enjoy the "happy fall, y'all" of it all. Erie is especially gorgeous in autumn and this month there is a new event space opening its doors to welcome you in with a little magic. Misselthwaite Manor, inspired by the house of the same name in Burnett's novel The Secret Garden, is described on their website as an "1882 Victorian mansion… restored as a living house for gathering, making, wandering, and belonging."

Wednesday Kennedy is the founder and curator of Secret Garden Gatherings, the boutique hospitality business that runs the manor. Kennedy describes Misselthwaite as "my peculiar little experiment in regenerative magical realism." The venue can accommodate bed and breakfast stays, celebrations, teas, intimate weddings and more. "It's a bit of a living Victorian storybook and a little bit of a living laboratory." Kennedy adds. The B&B offerings include curated bedding, menus, garden paths, and "an atmosphere that feels welcoming to artists, introverts, queers, neurodivergent guests, romantics, and anyone who has ever wanted to disappear for a little while… and emerge softer."

Additionally there are planned events via Misselthwaite Commons which is billed as "the community life of the manor: a living gathering place for people who want to make something good together." An example of currently planned activities at Misselthwaite Commons center around a "One Person's Trash..." theme, where members of the community can drop off fabric scraps and other notions that are fashioned into coffee cozies and other small kindnesses to be passed on to neighbors. Kennedy also teased at a Christmas-themed, attic speakeasy for December and describes the intention of the commons as a "comfort station for the city." That's the kind of magical idea I think we all could use a little more of.

Find out more about Misselthwaite Manor and Misselthwaite Commons by visiting secretgardengatherings.com