Join Gov. Roy Cooper at the State Capitol for the annual tree-lighting tradition on Thursday, Dec. 12!
The festivities begin on Capitol Square at 5 p.m. with luminaries and holiday music. There will be music performances by the Raleigh Concert Band and dance by Alicia’s School of the Performing Arts.
North Carolina’s Executive Mansion, the “people’s house,” will open its historic doors again for the beloved annual Holiday Open House from Dec. 12 through Dec. 15.
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.
Enjoy a glimpse of how an eastern North Carolina Christmas was celebrated during the Civil War at the Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site in Four Oaks. It will host a Holiday Open House Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Christmas traditions will be rekindled during Christmas in Halifax! Decorated homes and churches, living history, along with a lively Christmas parade will fuel a festive atmosphere for all Saturday, Dec. 14, 10 a.m-4 p.m.
Enjoy tours of several of the site’s historic buildings, festively decorated with natural materials, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Other buildings and churches not regularly open to the public can also be toured. Stop by the visitor center for a complete event schedule and map.
You can escape the commercialization of many Christmas celebrations and delight in something that highlights the simplicity of Christmas past at Horne Creek Historical Farm. Bask in the warmth and beauty of a rural turn-of-the-century celebration at the “Christmas By Lamplight” program on Thursday, Dec. 5 or Friday, Dec. 6.
Chapel Hill musician John Santa may call himself "an accidental bluegrass musician," but he knows the roots of the music in North Carolina.
Santa, who says music enriched his life in so many ways, will discuss North Carolina bluegrass history during a free program presented by the N.C. Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped Wednesday, Dec. 4, 1–2:30 p.m. at the Governor Morehead School Auditorium, Lineberry Building, 303 Ashe Ave., Raleigh.
The program is free.
The warm glow of candlelight and festive greenery will welcome visitors to “O Blessed Season!” at House in the Horseshoe State Historic Site. The Alston House will be decorated for Christmas and opened to the public Saturday, Dec. 7.
Experience Christmas Candlelight Tours at Aycock Birthplace Dec. 3 and Dec. 5 with costumed interpreters who explain rural Christmas traditions and demonstrate open-hearth cooking. Tours will be given from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Admission for ages 5 and older is $3; ages 4 and under are free.
Music from the Harmony Boys of Mount Olive will add to the festive mood Tuesday, Dec. 3 as food is cooked at the hearth. The joy of cooking again will be highlighted Thursday, Dec. 5, with food prepared on the hearth over an open fire.
On March 21-22, 2020, thousands of living historians from across the country will descend on Bentonville Battlefield for the 155th Anniversary reenactment of North Carolina’s largest battle. Over 3,000 participants are expected for the two-day event, making it one of the country’s largest reenactments in 2020.
The sounds of artillery and musket fire will once again ring out at Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site. The annual summer artillery living history program will be held Saturday, Aug. 24, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Costumed living historians will demonstrate how soldiers made meals, maintained their weapons, equipment and uniforms, trained for battle, withstood the weather and much more. This free program will feature artillery and musket firings at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.