The Christmas season kicks off in Pinehurst on December 6 this year with the lighting of the larger-than-life tree (right) at James W. Tufts Memorial Park. photograph by Stacey Van Berkel
Founded as a retreat in the winter of 1895, Pinehurst Resort has long been a destination for celebrating Christmas. “We have vintage photos of kids in the ’40s visiting with Santa in the lobby of the Carolina Hotel,” says Alex Podlogar, senior media relations manager. Today, the resort is decorated with as many as 30 trees, each with a different theme, and poinsettias, lights, and garland deck the halls and grounds. In the lobby of the Carolina Hotel, a gingerbread village — often featuring replicas of buildings from the village of Pinehurst — is one of the resort’s most beloved holiday traditions.
The Carolina Hotel glows with a welcoming warmth during the holidays, inviting in visitors who travel to see Pinehurst’s Christmas transformation. photograph by Stacey Van Berkel
Known as “The Home of American Golf,” the Sandhills village of Pinehurst was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to feature curving roads and a central green, where community events are often held. Throughout the season, the village’s shopping district is decorated with lights, wreaths, and trees, and horse-drawn carriages whisk riders away on a magical holiday experience.
The Mocksville Christmas parade is a jolly affair for all ages. Jim Lindberg (right) and his wife, Pam, have dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus for years. photograph by Stacey Van Berkel
Mocksville is full of ways to make merry in December. Tractors, floats, antique cars, and high school marching bands head down Main Street in the annual Christmas parade. The Davie County town honors service members and veterans with the annual lighting of the Tree of Honor in Main Street Park. And on one Saturday, horse-and-buggy rides through downtown give folks a glimpse of merchants’ festive window displays. “The town has the wonderful feel of a wholesome and peaceful place to enjoy what many have forgotten,” says Jeannette Pitts, the town’s director of marketing and community development, “and to really appreciate the true meaning and spirit of the holidays.”
For more information about these events, visit mocksvillenc.org/hometown-holidays.
It all comes back to the water: The Friends of the North Carolina Maritime Museum hosts a members-only viewing party to benefit the organization’s Junior Sailing Program. photograph by Charles Harris
DEC 7 • Brent Creelman remembers the year when many people thought the Holiday Flotilla wouldn’t set sail due to dense fog. “We don’t cancel,” proclaimed Creelman, director of operations for the Friends of the North Carolina Maritime Museum. Then, like the three wise men, he looked to the heavens and saw a single star shining through the fog. At that moment, he knew that the event would take place. This year, for the 32nd time, the fleet of vessels ranging from commercial boats to yachts to kayaks, all aglow with Christmas cheer, will set sail from Morehead City. The flotilla will navigate from the Morehead City waterfront to Beaufort, leaving much merriment in its wake.
For more information, visit downtownmoreheadcity.com.
The lights wrapped around the oak trees in downtown Forest City are part of an annual tradition that dates back to at least the 1920s. Today, while taking a ride in a horse-drawn carriage on weekends in December, “you almost feel like you’re in a snow globe,” says Amy Bridges, the downtown community development manager. “You can look up, and all you’ll see are the Christmas lights against the blanket of the dark sky.”
Residents like to look for the one blue bulb in the red, white, and green string lights that crisscross Main Street. Each week, the electric department moves it to be hunted again.
For more information about Forest City’s holiday events, visit townofforestcity.com.
Festival attendees walk through the Phoenix Corridor sculpture. Nearby, a stage hosts live acts like martial arts, acrobatics, drum performances, and traditional dance. photograph by Liz Condo
NOV 16-JAN 12 • In one of the state’s most spectacular light shows, the North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival celebrates the Chinese New
Year with more than 15,000 LEDs that illuminate a menagerie of whimsical creations. The art of Chinese lantern-making is a tradition that has been passed from generation to generation for more than 2,000 years. From mid-November to mid-January each year, about 200,000 visitors attend the festival in Cary, where lanterns made of silk and iron by craftsmen in China are assembled and displayed at Koka Booth Amphitheatre. Now for the ninth year, colorful creatures such as pandas, tigers, and a 21-foot-tall dragon come to life at night.
For more information, visit boothamphitheatre.com.
“You can’t help but smile when you hear the clop-clop of the horses coming down the street,” says Colleen Roberts, public information officer for the City of New Bern. “It’s a really beautiful sight during the holiday season.” photograph by Baxter Miller
Many boaters cruising down the Neuse River during the holiday season spot New Bern’s elaborate waterfront light displays and are lured to dock their boats and see the decorations up close. Once on land, they can stroll the cobblestone streets, warm up with a cup of hot cocoa, skate on a synthetic ice rink, or admire the lights from a horse-drawn carriage.
During a live window-display event, actors dress in costumes at businesses like the Pepsi Store (left) and Blue Magnolia (right), while snow machines transform downtown into a winter wonderland. photograph by Baxter Miller
Christmastime in New Bern is filled with activities to get visitors and residents in the spirit of the season, including a tree lighting, a parade, and the Coastal Christmas Flotilla on the Trent and Neuse rivers. In one of the most cherished celebrations each year, downtown businesses feature live window displays. “The length that some of these small businesses and organizations go to [in order] to decorate their front windows …” says Public Information Officer Colleen Roberts. “It’s a holiday display that you won’t see anywhere else.”
For more information about these events, go to visitnewbern.com.
“When the sun goes down and the lights come on and you’re driving down Main Street, nothing on that drive has really changed [since the 1950s],” says Pharr’s grandson, Bill Carstarphen. photograph by Robert Stephens
Come December, half a million twinkling bulbs line the streets of the Gaston County mill village known as Christmas Town, USA. The tradition began in 1956, when the local Men’s Club strung lights on Christmas trees around the community center. Mill owner W.J. Pharr offered to pay for the lights and the electric bill. Now, each year, the town hosts a lighting ceremony in which a local first grader is selected to flip the switch on the lights. Joy to the world, indeed.
For more information about visiting McAdenville, go to townofmcadenville.org/visitors/christmas-town-usa.
This story was published on Nov 25, 2024
All aboard! This magic-filled train ride through a Montgomery County wonderland includes seasonal sweets, plenty of cheer, and a few extra-special passengers.
Communities across the state celebrate the holiday season with sparkling lights, vibrant displays, and festive events that bring joy to the world.
North Carolina’s celebrated homes and historic districts are never more beautiful than by candlelight at Christmastime.
The thrill of the hunt takes on new fervor during the holidays. Seek and find in Randolph County, where the bounty of antiques can tempt a picker to abandon her list.
