Enjoy live music while watching the tree outside the Jackson County Historic Courthouse light up for the first time this season. Before the ceremony, do a little holiday shopping at the stores downtown.
(828) 586-2719
mainstreetsylva.org
View 18th- and 19th-century period Christmas decorations and lights on a tour of the historic Hope Mansion and King Bazemore House. Then, head outside to enjoy live holiday music, refreshments, and horse-drawn carriage and wagon rides.
(252) 794-3140
hopeplantation.org
Celebrate the holidays during this outdoor festival at Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities. Visitors can meet Santa and Mrs. Claus; browse goods from vendors and artisans; indulge in hot chocolate, cookies, and other treats; view decorated window displays; and enjoy a variety of other activities.
(910) 692-6261
weymouthcenter.org
A cast of local performers and special guests will gather to produce the fourth season of this Broadway-style show, featuring religious and secular holiday tunes, dancing, and comedy skits.
(855) 222-2849
carolinachristmasshow.com
Shana McDowell sells Mexican, milk chocolate, peppermint, and salted caramel hot chocolate bombs — among other flavors — at the WNC Farmers Market and her storefront bakery. photograph by Tim Robison
Shana McDowell is the Asheville Cake Lady. photograph by Tim Robison
In the months leading up to Christmas, Shana McDowell — aka the Asheville Cake Lady — makes thousands of hot chocolate bombs with her daughters, Leigha and Lizzy. They meticulously measure homemade cocoa mix and count out every marshmallow that they place into a tempered chocolate ball. As they work, McDowell thinks of the kids who will drink her treats, their faces registering surprise and delight as they watch their dark chocolate raspberry, salted caramel, chai, or classic milk chocolate ball dissolve in warm milk, sending marshmallows floating to the surface. The McDowells know that holiday cheer doesn’t always come in gift-wrapped packages. Sometimes, it comes in mugs. — Chloe Klingstedt
AVL Cake Lady
34 New Leicester Highway
Suite C
Asheville, NC 28806
WNC Farmers Market
570 Brevard Road
Asheville, NC 28806
(828) 412-3388
avl-cake-lady.business.site
To find more festive events taking place across the state this month, visit ourstate.com/carolina-calendar.
Why does this Haywood County town have some of the cleanest water in the state? It’s the result of the community’s efforts to keep the forests in its watershed pristine.
The spectacular views in North Carolina’s High Country aren’t just inspiration for writers, painters, and sculptors. Those landscapes — the rugged gray face of Grandfather Mountain, the vibrant fall leaves, the deep green meadows — are brushstrokes on Earth’s own canvas.
The sprawling vineyards and wide-open skies that stretch for miles across seven North Carolina counties offer relaxing getaways — not to mention some of the state’s finest wines — for Sunday drivers aching to escape the rush of city life.
Nothing lasts forever — and that’s what makes many of our cherished moments so special.
