It’s the most wonderful time of the year – that’s right, Mark Twain’s birthday! This year, the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum is celebrating once again with a birthday bash and inviting the entire community to take part. While Mark Twain’s 190th birthday is November 30th, we will celebrate on Saturday, November 29th at the Mark Twain Museum Gallery, 120 North Main. Folks can enjoy the birthday celebration, Small Business Saturday, and the Downtown Christmas Tree Lighting on the Mark Twain MuseumHill Street Mall all on the same day! Tom and Becky will have crafts and games for kids in the Museum Gallery auditorium on the 2nd floor from 2 – 4 pm. Kids can make Christmas cards for local nursing homes with Tom and Becky, play pin the moustache on Mark Twain, decorate birthday party hats, bookmarks, create a mustache on a stick, and more. An adult needs to stay with children while they play games and do crafts. This year, there will also be activities for adults wanting to celebrate Mark Twain’s birthday! We are partnering with many organizations to make the day memorable, including the Hannibal Free Public Library, Hannibal Parks and Recreation, local authors, and more. No RSVP is necessary, and the more the merrier! As always, the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum campus is free for Hannibal residents, so you can enjoy the self-guided tour of the museum’s eight buildings, or simply come to the Museum Gallery for the birthday events. The museum is open from 9 am – 4 pm, and events will take place in the afternoon. Adult activities will include bookmark making, a take and make project provided by the Hannibal Free Public Library, book signing areas by local authors, a share your favorite Twain quote wall, and other fun activities to make the day special. For specific event times and more details as we get closer to the birthday celebration, please visit the museum website at MarkTwainMuseum.org. After you celebrate Twain’s birthday, be sure to head to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum Hill Street Mall to take part in the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, complete with Santa, music and Mark Twain. It’s the perfect way to get into the holiday spirit in historic downtown!