Welcome!

The Asylum Hill Congregational Church is pleased to present the Annual Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival.  Months of planning and committee work go into the organization and production of the festival.

The logistical aspects of organizing a cast, choir and orchestra of more than 250 people are many and varied.  In the heat of the summer, the work on costumes begins.  New costumes are created, old ones updated or replaced and fittings commence. During the weeks of Advent, the choir rehearses.

On opening night and throughout the weekend, the Parish House is ablaze with lights and activity.  In the kitchen, a dedicated crew arranges thousands of homemade cookies and tea sandwiches, and mixes 150 gallons of delicious punch.  Outside, snow removal crews are on standby.  Professional cleaners are on hand; hay and straw, lots of paper towels, buckets, mops, and a carefully laid series of rubber runners and carpeting await the arrival of the animals.  Guards patrol the parking lots, an electrician watches the power, and organ technicians are on hand to handle emergencies inside the huge instrument.  Upstairs, makeup crews perform their art, and all around is hustle and anticipation, as program managers watch the clock to ensure everyone gets lined up for the procession.

It was not always such a major production. For the first seven years, only one performance was held. That first performance in 1968 saw no grand costumes. Recycled draperies and bathrobes made up the collection.  Grace Einsel baked and glazed the 50 pound boar's head as she did annually until 1991 - a nine-hour roast in an oversized oven.  The big mince pie was another story.  Something less than the required filling was found to give it a nice plump look.  The cupboards were ransacked that night for anything bulky, and that first mince pie was stuffed with baked beans, cereal, and very little mince. 

All preparations finally ready, Grace and Dick Einsel, now our Minister of Music Emeritus, went home wondering: "Do you think anyone will come?" Well, they did come. And the next year they brought their friends.

Today, demand is heavy for the 5,000 available tickets and Connecticut Public Television has broadcast the festival in a major production funded by corporations and friends. Minister of the Arts, Steven A. Mitchell, has brought renewed energy and vision to the festival with the addition of local dance ensemble “Spectrum In Motion” and a fresh approach to music and staging.  The addition of court visitors from other lands will enable the festival to showcase other music and cultures. This culminating event of the holiday season continues to attract many new people to this active and friendly church.

After each performance, don't forget to join us in Drew Hall for a gala reception!  The ferocious boar's head (the real thing, preserved by a taxidermist), the mince pie (these days a delicious confection served after the last performance) and many of the festival properties will be on display.

Enjoy!