December 12th - 18th Triangle 2019

by Pam & Michael Davison

We, here at ParkGeek, hope you and your family are enjoying all that the Holiday season has to offer and that you have had a great year. There are several fun and entertaining events to participate in to end 2019 and bring 2020 in.

The North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival runs through January 12th at Regency Park. The Festival features numerous displays, each one comprised of hundreds of parts, and thousands of LED lights. The spectacular Chinese Dragon on Symphony Lake returns to mesmerize visitors.

The Holiday Express runs through Pullen Park through Sunday. Make sure to reserve tickets in advance because they do sell out.

Friday and Saturday at the State Fairgrounds come explore the St. Nicholas European Christmas Market featuring food and gifts from Poland, Ukraine, Germany, Slovakia, The British Isles, Scandinavia, and Italy.

Museums Host More Holiday Fun

Duke Homestead Historic Site invites you to enjoy Christmas by Candlelight again this Friday. Enjoy candlelit tours through the Historic Area, traditional storytelling, hot cider, cookies, music, Victorian dancing, Christmas tree decorating, and caroling by the fireside!

Throughout the holidays, remember that the North Carolina Museum of Art and its adjacent Art Park offers free admission every day. Every weekend they offer free Weekend Family Friendly Tours and Meet Your Museum Tours.

Bennett Place Historic Site will be celebrating Christmas in the Piedmont Saturday with living historians, weapons demonstrations, cooking demonstrations, beeswax candle making opportunities, the chance to string popcorn and berries and a visit from Old St. Nick. After dark, you are welcome to experience their Annual Candlelight Tour as you listen to soldiers and civilians tell you how they would have celebrated the holiday.

Holiday Parades and Festivities

Join the Governor Thursday evening for the State Capitol Tree Lighting. There will be live music, Santa and cookies and hot chocolate. You can also enjoy Holiday Music in the Rotunda at the Capitol Thursday through Sunday.

North Carolina's Executive Mansion will open its historic doors for their annual Holiday Open House Thursday through Sunday. Visitors are invited to tour the home, take in the decorations, and enjoy seasonal musical entertainment by local performing groups. The first floor of the mansion will be decorated with North Carolina-grown Christmas trees, floral and mixed evergreen arrangements and ornate mantle displays.

Kids are invited to the Carrboro Century Center Thursday morning for Kids, Cookies, & Candy Canes.

Celebrate the holidays with a Main Street Christmas in Downtown Holly Springs Friday evening. Event highlights include: a visit with Santa, hayrides, refreshments, live entertainment, stories with the Nutcracker, crafts for kids, the Mistletoe Market (Artisans), Holiday Open Houses with Downtown Businesses, and the annual Town tree lighting.

Come back downtown Saturday morning for the Happy Holly Days Christmas Parade. As a special treat this year, the Bandit Flight Team is performing a national anthem flyover to kick off the parade at 11 a.m with vintage aircraft. Come early to get a good spot and to enjoy the pre-parade performances.

Durham's Holiday Parade is also Saturday morning followed by their annual Fun Fest featuring sledding, Santa, holiday card decorating and vendors selling arts & crafts.

The Cary Christmas Parade launches its 40th year Saturday with a joyful celebration which includes bands, mascots, local businesses, community groups, and churches.

Experience the exciting sights and sounds of marching bands, vocalists, beautifully decorated floats, and youth group performances and Santa during Saturday's Chapel Hill - Carrboro Holiday Parade.

Get Your First Night Raleigh Button

If you want to bring in the New Year with a blast, Downtown Raleigh is where you will want to be! First Night Raleigh 2020 actually includes two celebrations. The DIY Festival will be held from 2:00pm - 6:00pm culminating with a People's Procession, music and an Early Countdown at 7:00pm complete with acorn drop and fireworks. The First Night Raleigh 2020 evening entertainment offers something for everyone and culminates with a concert and a midnight countdown highlighted by the famous Raleigh Acorn Drop and Fireworks! Both celebrations feature a wide variety of Out of this World entertainment from a Ferris Wheel, theater, comedy, music, dance performances and interactive activities. Click through for the schedule of events and performers as well as information about admission buttons.