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December 20th 2012 - January 2nd 2013 Triangle
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 2012. Next Monday will be filled with celebrations and entertainment as we bring in the new year with First Night Raleigh. This newsletter will span two weeks and get you all the way into the New Year!
There are still a few Christmas events. Laser Holidaysat the Natural Science Center of Greensboro is showing daily through New Years Eve with a special Friday night presentation on December 22nd. The 3D film, The Light Before Christmas will also be shown daily through the 31st.
The Wonderland Express will be chugging along the tracks at the Museum of Life and Science through January 6th.
For any of those last minute gifts you need to pick up, the Holly Daze Pop-up Shop, featuring local artists and vendors will be open in Downtown Cary through December 22nd.
Santa's Trolley will be running out of the Mordecai Historic Park again this Saturday.
Celebrate the First Day of Winter by making some Holiday Crafts for Kids from recycled and reusable items on Friday afternoon at Harris Lake County Park.
The Holly Springs Cultural Center is hosting a Holiday Movie Festival to get you into the sprirt of the holidays. On Saturday, December 22nd, they will show "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Santa Clause is Coming to Town." Come back on Friday, December 28thto enjoy "Snow Buddies" and "The Muppets Christmas Carol." Closing out the festival on Saturday, December 29th, they will show "Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Santa Paws."
The Raleigh Winterfest Ice Rink is open through January 31st. Click through for all the fun special events like sledding, carriage rides and music.
First Night Raleigh
If you want to bring in the New Year with a blast, Downtown Raleigh is where you will want to be! First Night Raleigh actually includes two celebrations. The Children's Celebration will be held from 2:00pm - 6:00pm at the North Carolina Museum of History, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and on the Bicentennial Plaza. The Children's Celebration culminates with a People's Procession and an Early Countdown at 7:00pm. First Night Raleigh's evening entertainment offers something for everyone and culminates with a concert by Delta Rae and a midnight countdown highlighted by the famous Raleigh Acorn Drop and Fireworks! Both celebrations feature a wide variety of entertainment from theater, comedy, music, dance performances and interactive activities. Click through for the schedule of events and performers as well as information about admission buttons.
Ring in the "Noon" Year with kids at Marbles at 12:00 noon. Guests wearing a First Night Raleigh button receive buy-one-get-one-free museum admission vouchers and a free small popcorn with the purchase of an IMAX movie ticket.
New Years Fun Around the Triangle
Each year on January 1st, the Eno River Association sponsors a fun-filled afternoon of guided hikes, refreshments and merriment. This year, the New Year's Day Hike will offer two hike options, a 4-5 mile hike and a shorter, 2 mile route. There will be something for everyone, so come one, come all and enjoy New Year's Day at the Eno!
William B. Umstead State Park is hosting a First Day Hike. Learn about New Year"s traditions from all over the world on this easy one-hour hike. Also on the 1st, join an Umstead State Park Ranger for the Company Mill Hike. The two mile round trip hike will explore the beautiful trails of the Park and will have an interesting lesson on mills at the site of the old Company Mill.
Start the New Year and enjoy a First Hike with a Park Ranger at Raven Rock State Park.
Cary will host their annual Kwanzaa Celebration on Thursday, December 27th at the Cary Arts Center. This year's festival will feature performances by Bradley Simmons, artist Robin Mills, Ghanaian drummer Kwabena Osei Appiagyei. Brad Thompson will deliver a keynote adress. There will also be a craft and nonprofit fair, children's activity and African food.
The Kwanzaa Fest at the Durham Armory will feature Chuck Davis and the African-American Dance Ensemble in a full day of community celebration around Imani, the last day of Kwanzaa that celebrates faith on New Years Day.
Fun at the Museums
This Thursday's Science Cafe at the Daily Planet Cafe of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will take on the Science of Wine Making. Next Thursday, the Science Cafe will feature 2012: The Year in Science. Along with the Science Cafe, Thursday nights also offer extended hours to the Museum exhibits and discount tickets to see the Titanic.
Bring the horse lover in your family to the Hunt Horse Complex of the North Carolina State Fairgrounds next weekend for the Raleigh Indoor Holiday Classic, a hunter jumper horse show.
Getting Outside for some Fresh Air
William B. Umstead State Park invites you to join them Thursday afternoon to take Campfire Building 101.
Shorter days and longer nights are celebrated all over the world with music, food, and festive good cheer. Make paper lanterns, play a classic solstice game, and share in Michael Emberly's award winning story, Welcome Back, Sun on Friday at Historic Yates Mill County Park
Come out for a Night Hike on the Winter Solstice Friday night at West point on the Eno. As you hike you will talk about the origins of the solstice, traditions in different cultures, and where some of our modern holiday traditions originated.
Starting December 26th and running through January 20th, you can donate your Christmas tree to the Wake County Holiday Tree Recycling Program. There are 5 drop off areas located throughout Wake County and they will also accept the trees at Blue Jay Point County Park, Harris Lake County Park and Lake Crabtree County Park.
Bring the whole family over to Blue Jay Point County Park on Saturday, December 29th for the next installment of their Family Wildlife Series. Loose as a Goose will teach you all about waterfowl and the differences between ducks and geese.
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