Oliver Estate lights up for the holidays
The Christmas village buildings once belonged to organizer Leilani Dalpe's mother. 
Santa and Mrs. Claus visited the Oliver Estate to take photos with visitors. Photos by Grace Roche
Christmas trees sat in many corners of the decorated house. 
Craft supplies for ornaments. 
A festive train track wishes visitors a merry Christmas. 
The Oliver Estate was lit up inside and out. 
Holiday decorations adorned every surface of the estate. 
The event offered refreshments including hot chocolate throughout each night. 
Part of the Christmas village display sits on the house's steps.
The Christmas village buildings once belonged to organizer Leilani Dalpe's mother.
Santa and Mrs. Claus visited the Oliver Estate to take photos with visitors. Photos by Grace Roche
Christmas trees sat in many corners of the decorated house.
Craft supplies for ornaments.
A festive train track wishes visitors a merry Christmas.
The Oliver Estate was lit up inside and out.
Holiday decorations adorned every surface of the estate.
The event offered refreshments including hot chocolate throughout each night.
Part of the Christmas village display sits on the house's steps.
MIDDLEBORO — The historic Oliver Estate transformed for the holidays, with model trains chugging along festive tracks and a twinkling Christmas village display stretching through most of the house.
The Middleboro Tourism Committee, headed by Leilani Dalpe, hosted the first-time event on the two weekends leading up to Christmas. Along with decorations, the event also included activities, vendors and refreshments.
Dalpe said her inspirations for the event were the Festival of Lights the town held in previous years, along with the numerous decorations from her mother filling her basement. About 200 miniature buildings were sprinkled around the estate, “which is a lot,” she said.
“That's only half of what I've had in my basement,” Dalpe said. “They came from my mother, so I still have that many at home, but it's been a labor of love to put it up.”
It took about 20 volunteers to make each night run smoothly, from the train operators and vendor coordinators to the people running the cookie-decorating and ornament-making stations.
She said the committee was unsure how many people to expect as it has never organized an event like this, but over 1,000 people visited in the four days it ran.
“It's overall been really, really successful,” Dalpe said. “People not only like to walk the beautiful gardens and the grounds and see the lights, but also to have a chance to come into this magnificent house.”
The model trains on display were a particular draw to some visitors.
Julie Grilo attended the event with her husband and children, and said they were looking for a fun holiday activity in the area. They specifically wanted to visit the Oliver Estate for the trains, because she said her son loves them.
“It was set up so beautifully, and the trains were amazing,” she said. “They're so cute.”
While her son’s favorite part of their visit was the trains, she said her favorite part was spending time together outside and playing with her family amid the lights.
One of the vendors, Sandra Jefferson, said she heard about the event from a friend on the tourism committee. She was at the estate most nights selling Christmas ornaments, jewelry and other gifts despite the cold weather.
She said there were many excited visitors each weekend, and people were especially interested in learning about the house’s history.
“Whether they're buying or looking, there's been a lot of people here,” Jefferson said. “It was cold, and people still came.”
