Shenandoah Caverns, which first opened to the public in 1922, has opened the fourth in its family of attractions. The Yellow Barn at Shenandoah Caverns joins Main Street of Yesteryear, which opened in 1996, and American Celebration on Parade, which opened in 2000, on the caverns campus located one mile from Exit 269 of I-81 in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.

The Yellow Barn at Shenandoah Caverns is the Valley's newest attraction and entertainment venue. It offers visitors a whimsical look at our agricultural heritage and rural life with historical displays that include restored antique farm wagons, equipment, carriages and vehicles. An indoor bee hive depicts the social life of honeybees and a mineral cave pays homage to the caverns. A country store gift shop, wine shop, and Virginia arts and crafts are all part of the barn experience.

Exhibits ranging from a 25-foot-long tobacco press to horse drawn wagons to early 20th-century tractors to a Model T depot hack that picked up passengers at the railroad station fill the 15,000-square-foot space. A 36-foot-tall tree sits inside one end of the building and is home to a family of five-foot-tall squirrels. "The tree house was part of a float in the 2007 Rose Parade and helps define a special children's activity area in the barn," said Earl C. Hargrove, owner of Shenandoah Caverns.

At the other end of the barn is a 24-foot rotating stage used for entertainment. The building is available for events such as wedding receptions, banquets, corporate meetings and parties and will host periodic concerts and shows.

Outside the barn, a live animal mini-farm and hummingbird and butterfly garden are under development. Most of the exhibits in the barn came from Mr. Hargrove's collection of antique carriages, vehicles, Americana and celebration art.

Across the street, that collection fills another 40,000-square-feet at American Celebration on Parade. This Parade Float Hall of Fame is home to huge floats from the Rose Parade, Presidential Inaugurals, Thanksgiving Day parades and other national celebrations.

With The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History closed for renovation, American Celebration on Parade houses one of the largest collections of Presidential Inaugural memorabilia on public display. Mr. Hargrove's main business, Hargrove Inc., has been involved in every Presidential Inaugural celebration since 1949, building parade floats and designing the décor for Inaugural Balls and other related events.

"People really have no idea what to expect when they enter American Celebration on Parade, but when they see these 20- and 30-foot-high floats the reaction is always "Wow"," he says. "Almost from the time I purchased the caverns in 1966, I wanted to establish another attraction that would preserve some of the wonderful parade floats that we have used in so many parades and other kinds of national celebrations."

The stage in the exhibition's Freedom Hall was actually used at the 50th Anniversary NATO summit meeting in 1999.

Just up the hill at the caverns lodge, visitors start their one-hour tour of the caverns by entering the only elevator in a Virginia cavern. There are no steps to climb! Shenandoah Caverns' 17 rooms, some 100-feet-high, include sparkling crystalline formations like the Diamond Cascade, unusual drapery formations like the Breakfast Bacon and the memorable Rainbow Lake.

The caverns were the site of the first underground movies, shot in the 1920s, and the first underground telephone.

On the second floor of the caverns lodge is Main Street of Yesteryear, an indoor "street" where visitors can re-create the tradition of visiting department store windows decorated for the holidays with animated figures in scenes ranging from Cinderella at the Ball to a 200-figure circus.

"My father started out as a window-dresser and together we collected many of these scenes and figures before they were thrown out by department stores and decorating companies," Mr. Hargrove said. "I'm just glad people have a chance to see these pieces of the past."

The Shenandoah Caverns family of attractions is located one mile from Exit 269 of I-81, 90 miles from the Washington, D.C. Beltway. The attractions are open daily, except Christmas Day, at 9:00 a.m.