N.C. Symphony Celebrates Season
You don’t have to wait until December 25 to get in the holiday spirit. The symphony really celebrates the spirit with a Gospel Christmas Spectacular on Dec. 22 at 8 p.m. Resident Conductor William Henry Curry will lead these concerts at Meymandi Concert Hall in the Progress Energy Center in Raleigh. The symphony ends the year with a bang in a New Year’s Eve Concert at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 31. North Carolina’s own Red Clay Ramblers and mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy will join Music Director Grant Llewellyn in the Meymandi performance. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ncsymphony.org, or by calling (877) 627-6724.
Don’t despair if you are not in the Triangle area. The North Carolina Symphony travels from Lincolnton to Wilmington and many points in between. Between Nov. 27 and Dec. 13 there will be performances in Wilkesboro, Statesville, Lincolnton, Kannapolis, Weldon, Fayetteville, Tarboro, New Bern, Wilmington, Southern Pines, Jacksonville, and Hamlet. Visit the symphony’s Web page for details and to order tickets for a seasonal musical treat during the holidays.
New Year’s Eve – First Night
The heart of the children’s celebration of New Year’s Eve will be at the N.C. Museum of History, 2-6 p.m. It’s part of the New Year’s Eve festival of the arts, organized by Artsplosure. Then from 7-11 p.m., the Museum of History presents adult festival fare. Evening programs require a First Night button; contact (919) 990-1158 or visit www.artsplosure.org for additional information.
Catch the Santa Train
The N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer real treat for youngsters will be the Santa Train rides being offered the first, second and third weekends in December. During these special trips, Santa and his elves will give out oranges and candy canes, a Southern Railway tradition. Children will hear classic Christmas tales and enjoy making holiday ornaments as well. For an evening adventure, youngsters can try “Cookies and Cocoa with Santa” Dec. 7-8 or 14-15 at 5:30 or 7:30 p.m. While on board, they can read holiday stories with Santa’s helpers. A special attraction for student groups is the “Jingle Bell Express” on Dec. 4-7 and Dec. 11-14. The train ride features the reading of “Santa’s Christmas Train,” by Joseph Caro, and “The Christmas Ribbon,” by NCTM volunteer Bill Speer. For this trip, students are encouraged to wear their pajamas! Teachers should make reservations in advance. The museum ends the year with “Winter Fever” train rides Dec. 27-30. Ticket information is available at www.nctrans.org, or call (704) 636-2889, ext. 232.
Centuries of Celebrations at Tryon Palace
This year’s “Centuries of Celebrations” themed holiday season at Tryon Palace will recreate two major occasions from December 1770: the grand opening of the palace and a birthday celebration for King George III. Dancing, merrymaking, bonfires, and other activities popular with 18th century partygoers, contributed to the revelry. A good time was had by all. Tryon Palace now invites its 21st century guests to enjoy various diversions guaranteed to put all in a festive spirit.
The Christmas candlelight tours are recognized as among one of the 20 Top Holiday events in the southeastern United States by the Southeastern Tourism Society. The Dec. 8 and 15 tours will offer minstrels, townspeople with tales, and more. Day time tours will be offered Nov. 30-Dec. 31, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and will highlight the nature-inspired decorations in all the complex’s historic buildings. Other activities include a parent/child period ornament workshop, puppet shows and plays, a Holiday Decorations Walking Tour, and the movie “A Christmas Carol.” Visit www.tryonpalace.org, or call (252) 514-4900 for tickets and information.
RIFP Christmas Diversions
The exhibition “Creative Diversions,” will explore traditional craft and influences of the Pocosin region and statewide at Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo. The Pocosin Arts Folk School exhibit will feature fiber, ceramics, digital media/photography and more, and runs Dec. 1-31. An Elizabethan Christmas will be observed on Dec. 29, as visitors can make decorations, learn dances, sing songs, and discover food and drink of the season. For those prone to “rough it” they can visit the Settlement Site and join interpreters in recreating a celebration in the American wilderness. For information on times and tickets, call (252) 475-1500.
Historic Sites Roundup
Reed’s Golden Christmas. The one “Christmas Candlelight” Tour you can take in the daytime is at Reed Gold Mine in Cabarrus County on Dec. 1. The tunnels will be decorated for the holidays for the free program, and the visitor center will offer historical demonstrations, performances and refreshments. Call (704) 721-GOLD for additional information.
Somerset Place Christmas. Yes, the buttery hearth-cooked corn bread is a special treat at the “Christmas Open House” at Somerset Place in Creswell on Dec. 2. Visitors also sample old-fashioned bean soup amid period decorations crafted by middle and high school students. Call for information at (252) 797-4560.
Horne Creek’s Lamplight Christmas. Experience a warm, rural turn-of-the-century Christmas at Horne Creek Living Historical Farm in Surry County on Dec. 4 and Dec. 6. Music and food will be featured, and reservations are required. For information on tickets and times, call (336) 325-2298.
Aycock Tours. “Christmas Candlelight Tours” featuring the 1870s decorated house and kitchen at Charles B. Aycock Birthplace in Fremont will be offered Dec. 4 and 6. Costumed interpreters will explain Christmas traditions, and the Primitive Baptist Singers will offer traditional carols. Country cooking will be featured at the site on Dec. 11, 13 and 18. For times and information, call (919) 242-5581.
Edenton Christmas Caroling. Join the staff of Historic Edenton for community “Caroling on the Courthouse Green” on Dec. 7, in front of the 1767 courthouse, followed by refreshments. On Dec. 7 and 8, the site’s Iredell House Groaning Board will feature tables so heavily laden with desserts you can almost hear them groan. Make your own Christmas decorations to take home at a workshop on Dec. 10; reservations and fee apply. Call (252) 482-2637 for information.
A Duke’s Christmas. Celebrate an 1870 “Christmas by Candlelight” at Duke Homestead in Durham on Dec. 7 and Dec. 14. The tour features decorations, caroling, hot apple cider and other goodies the Duke family might have enjoyed. Call (919) 477-5498 for information.
Civil War Christmas. Visitors can help the re-enactors at Bentonville Battlefield in Four Oaks string popcorn and cranberries, and place an ornament on the Christmas tree on Dec. 8. Homemade cookies and apple cider add to the 1860s celebration. Call (910) 594-0789.
Meet the Polks. Costumed interpreters will take visitors back to Christmas 1801 at the President James K. Polk State Historic Site in Mecklenburg County on Dec. 8. In addition to meeting the Polk family, visitors will see a holiday vignette and several decorated buildings. For fee and times, call (704) 889-7145.
Holiday in Halifax. The Historic Halifax Site joins the town in the Christmas celebration on Dec. 8, which features houses, churches, crafts, food, and fun. Call (252) 583-7191 for information.
House in the Horseshoe. A 1700s Christmas will be observed at the House in the Horseshoe in Moore County on Dec. 8. Call (910) 947-2051 for information.
Fort Dobbs Wintering in Wartime. Discover how provincial soldiers lived in the winter of 1755 at Fort Dobbs site in Iredell County Dec. 8-9. Visit the pioneers preparing for the seasonal festivities on the edge of the British empire. Call (704) 873-5866 for times and information.
A Red Clay Christmas at Alamance. Traditional pottery making is the focus of the Dec. 9 Alamance Battleground historic site program, which will showcase Alamance County examples. Children can mold clay into designs as well. Call (336) 227-4785 for information.
Historic Bath Christmas Open House. Tour period houses from the 1730s to 1830s seasonally decorated, including St. Thomas Episcopal Church, on Dec. 9. Enjoy music, cider and gingerbread. Call (252) 923-3971 for information.
Canary Cottage at CHB. Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown’s Canary Cottage will be seasonally decorated for Christmas in the 1940s, along with other buildings at the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum site in Sedalia on Dec. 9. Seasonal music will be performed. Call (336) 449-4846 for information.
Vance Birthplace Christmas Candlelight Tours. Observe Christmas traditions of early western North Carolina residents at the Vance Birthplace Christmas tours in Buncombe County on Dec. 9. Call (828) 645-6706 for information.
Town Creek Star Gazing. Bring your telescope to star gaze at one of the piedmont’s best dark-sky venues for winter sightings at Town Creek Indian Mound in Mt. Gilead on Dec. 9 and Dec. 15. Site telescopes will be available. Call (910) 439-6802 to register.
Bennett Place Christmas. Visit Bennett Place site in Durham to see a “Civil War Christmas in the Carolinas” Dec. 15-16. Enjoy typical piedmont farm decorations and caroling with refreshments. Call (919) 383-4345 for information.
Arts Groups Present Holiday Theater
From classic to zany, arts groups across North Carolina will offer theatrical productions and creations celebrating Christmas. The N.C. Arts Council provides funding for these and other agencies statewide. Give the gift of theater this year.
“Beautiful Star: An Appalachian Nativity,” Nov. 23-Dec. 23, Triad Stage, Greensboro. Rev. Roy Ledbetter and his congregation bring Christmas to life with down home humor and toe-tapping music. Information at www.triadstage.org.
“The Santaland Diaries,” Dec. 6-22. Actors Theatre of Charlotte. From the writings of Raleigh native David Sedaris, enjoy the antics of Krumpet, the irreverent, disgruntled Santa’s elf at Macy’s, and chase winter blues away. For mature audiences only. Information at www.actorstheatrecharlotte.org.
“A Christmas Carol,” Nov. 30-Dec. 12. Sandhills Theatre Company, Southern Pines. Enjoy a fresh take on the Charles Dickens Christmas classic. Information at www.sandhillstheatre.com. “A Tuna Christmas,” Nov. 23-Dec. 16, Flat Rock Playhouse, Hendersonville. Two master comedians portray the 24 residents of the third smallest town in Texas as “A Christmas Carol” and disaster is about to break loose. Information at www.flatrockplayhouse.org.
“Fort Defiance Colonial Christmas,” Dec. 8-9. Lenoir. Tour the restored 1792 home of Ge William Lenoir and relive an 18th century Christmas with dancing, music and wassail drinking. Information at www.learnnc.org/discover/Caldwell/fortdefiance.
“Amahl and the Night Visitors,” Dec. 22, Opera Carolina, Charlotte. This English-language opera presents three kings who find a crippled boy and his mother in poverty, yet the boy makes a selfless offering. Information at www.operacarolina.org.