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December 3rd - 9th 2015 Triangle

by Pam & Michael Davison

I hope all of you had a fabulous Thanksgiving Holiday! Now that Thanksgiving has passed, the parks, museums, historic sites and downtowns are filled with Christmas and Holiday Season activities. There are tree lighting ceremonies this week and a handful of parades to get you in the mood for the season.

 

This is a great time of year to visit some of your favorite parks or check out a new one. Take some time for yourself and your family and escape the hustle and bustle of the 'Shopping Season'. If you visit some of the larger parks, there is a good chance you will even spot some wildlife, especially deer, now that the cover of the leaves is gone. A sunny day in a park is a great place to take that holiday family picture, too.

 

We have close to 90 events listed this weekend. In this newsletter, we are concentrating on the holiday events. Feel free to go to ParkGeek.com and look up this weekend's dates on the Event Search for a complete listing of the Triangle's events.

Christmas Tree Lightings & Parades All Around the Triangle

Saturday starts off with the the Hillsborough Christmas Parade followed by the Hillsborough Tree Lighting including members of the Orange Community Players, dressed in colonial garb, serenading the town with carols and Christmas stories. Sunday brings the Hillsborough Holiday Homecomings Tour.

Down in Garner on Friday night they will Light Up Main. The festivities will include lighting the town Christmas Tree, entertainment, refreshments and Santa's workshop with children's arts and crafts. The forecast even calls for snow! Head downtown Saturday for the Garner Christmas Parade.

Downtown Knightdale will be celebrating their Tree Lighting Friday night along with live entertainment and Mrs. Claus picking up your letters to deliver them to the North Pole. Join them Saturday afternoon for the Knightdale Christmas Parade.

Christmas on Salem Street starts with carols and the official lighting of Apex's Christmas tree Friday night. They are selling tickets for Horse Drawn Carriage Rides and a "Kiddy Christmas Train Ride" . Kids can also enjoy activities like cookie decorating and face painting. There will even be a food truck. Saturday features a Pancake Breakfast, Pictures with Santa and the Apex Christmas Parade. Sunday brings the Apex Historical Holiday Home Tour. Come to the Halle Sunday to enjoy excerpts from the Nutcracker. Also Opening Friday and running through the 21st, check out the 8th Annual Christmas Tree and Wreath Exhibit & Auction at the Halle.

The Lighting of Wake Forest Friday night will feature the lighting of a 30-feet-tall Christmas tree by the Mayor, followed by the arrival of Jolly Old St. Nick. The event will also include performances by local choirs and complimentary "Pictures with Santa" in the town hall lobby. Saturday brings a Holiday Open House to the Downtown Wake Forest shops and restaurants. There will be free horse and carriage rides, visits and pictures with Santa, live entertainment, and a variety of special events. The Wake Forest Parade is next weekend.

Durham will ring in the Holiday Friday night with the American Tobacco Tower Lighting. Also starting Friday and going until January 3rd, you will want to check out the Triangle Tree Challenge. Located on the Diamond View Lawn adjacent to DPAC, more than 60 trees are gloriously decorated by area nonprofits that are looking for your vote.

Durham will host a Holiday Fun Fest on Saturday at Edison Johnson Community Center with family fun including face painting, arts & Crafts and a visit from Santa.

Hot chocolate and cookies will be served at the Morrisville Town Hall as a children's choir performs and they light up their tree.

Saturday will also bring the Tree Lighting in Downtown Raleigh during the Raleigh Winterfest Celebration. In addition to a Christmas Tree lighting, you can skate at the downtown ice rink; enjoy live entertainment; lots of food trucks; a Gingerbread House Contest; Santa's Village; and carnival favorites like a super slide, a Carousel, and a 47ft Ferris Wheel. The Winterfest Ice Rink will remain open through January 31st so click through for all the information about prices, hours, special days and events.

They will be celebrating the Heart of the Holidays in Cary Saturday! Downtown will host the Gingerbread House Competition, Letters to Santa, Christmas Tree Lighting and Ole Time Winter Festival. Santa's Workshop will come alive for kids with a variety of kids crafts stations at the Herb Young Community Center. They will be showing Films @ the Cary all day Saturday. Join them for Arthur Christmas, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Home Alone. The Cary Christmas Parade is also next weekend.

Sunday afternoon, Downtown Raleigh will host Our Lady of Guadalupe Parade. The procession in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe is an annual event of Sacred Heart Cathedral where the faithful pray and sing hymns as they walk from the church ground and back.

History and the Holidays

One of my favorite holiday events is Saturday night's Sleigh Rides & Cider at Historic Oak View Park. Enjoy a ride in a horse-drawn carriage through Oak View's Pecan Grove, listen to Christmas carols in the 1855 farmhouse, drink hot apple cider in the 1825 Plank Kitchen, listen to stories and visit with Old St. Nick! There will a bake sale to raise funds for the park's renovation projects. Come back for a guided your of Christmas at Oak View Monday through Friday next week. They will be displaying decorations from five different time periods in Oak View's history! (Antebellum Era, Civil War Era, Victorian Era, Great Depression, and World War II).

The Arbolito de la Esperanza lighting event Friday night at the Herb Young Community Center is preceded by a traditional Latin celebration in which the public participates in a pot-luck dinner with Holiday foods from different Latin American countries. Local Latino musicians will be playing music for sing alongs to villancicos and agüinaldos (traditional holiday songs).

Celebrate an 1870 Christmas during the evening Candlelight Tours of Duke Homestead. The tour features period decorations, caroling, story telling, hot apple cider, and other goodies. They will be offering the special tours both this Friday and next Friday night.

Handmade gifts are the best. Join an Art in the Park program Saturday at Historic Yates Mill County Park to make you own greeting cards inspired by the history of Yates Mill. Also Saturday, you can Take a Photo with Santa at the Old Mill. Prices for photo packages vary, but there will also be "reindeer games" in the mill yard, a variety of old time toys for you to try, some free seasonal refreshments and handmade crafts for sale.

Step back in time to celebrate a Civil War Christmas at Bentonville Battlefield Saturday with costumed civilian and military interpreters.

Get into the holiday spirit at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center Holiday Open House. Learn about century-old holiday traditions while touring Cary's own 1868 historic hotel decorated for the season. Enjoy Victorian Carolers, sing Christmas carols around the piano or enjoy a free horse-drawn carriage ride.

Re-enactors will demonstrate scenes of 18th-century life; the sounds of live music will fill the air; and interpreters will entertain children using colonial games and crafts during Saturday's Colonial Christmas at the Joel Lane Museum House.

More Holiday Happenings

Celebrate the season as Pullen Park with a ride on the Holiday Express. Enjoy holiday lights and displays, a lighted train ride, local entertainment, carousel ride, crafts, visit with Santa and more. The event goes Sunday through Tuesday this week and next week. Many nights sell out so click through for information on how to get your advanced tickets.

The Scandinavian Christmas Fair at the state fairgrounds on Saturday features Scandivanian favorites like homemade foods, unique crafts and entertainment. There will also be cultural exhibits and children"s activities. The Fairgrounds also hosts a Toy Train Sale & Swap Meet, the Holiday Classic Open Horse Show and a Holiday Festival and Charity Event this weekend.

On Sunday, the Posada Navidena brings a hispanic holiday celebration with international bands, health booths and holiday items to the Fairgrounds.

The Holly Springs School of Dance invites you to one of their 6 shows on Saturday at the Holly Springs Cultural Center. The annual Holiday Cabaret helps the dancers learn they can use their gifts to raise money for the Meg Smiles Foundation.

The Natural Science Center of Greensboro invites you to join them daily for their Laser Holiday Show and the 3D film, The Light Before Christmas.

Join them Saturday at Durant Nature Park for some Holiday Wreath Making using materials from nature.

Local musicians from the Gathering Church will perform an Outdoor Holiday Concert Saturday evening in Downtown Chapel Hill.

Holiday tales will come alive Sunday at Marbles Kids Museum with performances by the Tarheel Tale Tellers sharing bi-lingual holiday performances of the children"s books Arturo and the Navidad Birds and Twas Nochebuena.

First Friday

Come to Crowder District Park Friday to explore the Winter Sky. Learn your way around winter"s constellations, enjoy hot cocoa, and learn about the mysterious night sky.

Head on over to Bass Lake Park for Family Fun Night. After enjoying fishing, arts & crafts and some live animals, you will be treated to a magic show by Dan the Magic Man or kid friendly concert with Trish Miller.

First Friday at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will feature the 1959 Mexican fantasy film "Santa Claus," a Teen Science Cafe on Music and the Brain, discount tickets to Extreme Mammals, live music by guitar duo Iron Watermelon and an opening reception for artist Sharron Parker.

The North Carolina Museum of Art will feature music by the Tea Cup Gin and an exploration of the Objects Manmade.

Enjoy a free self-guided tour of local art galleries, art studios, museums, retail, restaurants and alternative art venues on the First Friday Gallery Walk every month in Downtown Raleigh. First Friday also features extended hours at Marbles and City of Raleigh Museum.

Enjoy local artisans, live music, entertainment, and local craft beer, at The Morning Times Market, an outdoor First Friday Art Market.

First Friday at the North Carolina Museum of History will spotlight some North Carolina artisans featured in the Museum Shop with demonstrations and hands-on activities. During the evening, take a break with their three lobby-level exhibits, and taste samples of hard cider from Bull City Ciderworks in Durham or craft beer from Southern Pines Brewing Company in Southern Pines.

 

 

 

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