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November 16th - 29th 2017 Triangle

by Pam & Michael Davison

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and the holiday buzz is in the air! This weekend officially kicks off the holiday season in the Triangle with parades and seasonal events.

This newsletter will cover two weeks to help you plan out your holiday. If you are staying in town and are looking to get out and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine before or after your Turkey feast, there are plenty of wonderful parks in the area. Do be aware that several local county and city parks (the ones with gates) will be closed on Thanksgiving Day. Neighborhood playgrounds, greenways and state parks are all great destinations to run off some energy or extra calories.

Come to Yates Mill Saturday to kick off your holiday shopping at the Yates Mill Associates' Holiday Sale, do some Country Dancing and learn about the Historic Trade of the Cooper. They need your help on Sunday to solve a History Mystery and on Tuesday, Field School will explore the Pilgrims at Play as you learn what it was like to be a kid at the First Thanksgiving. Park Tales on Friday, November 24th will feature how Bear Says Thanks.

Do you have visitors coming into town? Historic Yates Mill County Park will be presenting Corn Milling Demonstrations both Saturday and Sunday. You are invited to take a Saturday at the Old Mill Tour on November 25th and Mill Heritage & Local History Tour on Sunday the 26th.

Thursday evening, they will be making Creative Crafts throughout the Holidays for Thanksgiving at Hill St. Community Center.

Friday at lunchtime is Colossal Collard Day at the NC State Farmers Market. Swing by to enjoy free samples, recipes and plenty of fresh NC collards along with lots of other fresh produce for your holiday meals.

The Raleigh Christmas Parade & More Holiday Fun!

Bundle up and head downtown early Saturday morning to get a great spot to watch the Annual Christmas Parade in downtown Raleigh. The event is expected to draw more that 60,000 spectators to see the the largest parade between Atlanta and Washington, D.C. The parade is also broadcast live on WRAL starting at 10:00am.

Once you are downtown, you can head over to The North Carolina Museum of History for the Annual American Indian Heritage Celebration. Come celebrate North Carolina's American Indian heritage at this exciting festival featuring music, dancing, storytelling, hands-on activities and food. There will be members of the state's eight recognized tribes sharing their heritage and demonstrating their skills at pottery, basketry, beadwork and stone carving. Its a great event to learn about the history of the American Indian that took place right here in North Carolina.

Also at the History Museum, the special exhibit North Carolina and World War I is a powerful 6,500-square-foot exhibition with 500 artifacts, period photography, a trench diorama, historical film footage, educational interactive components, and video re-enactments that feature European and North Carolina soldiers and citizens to relate the stories of ordinary men and women from North Carolina who provided extraordinary service to their country 100 years ago.

The Triangle Volksmarch comes to the Triangle Saturday with multiple events at multiple locations. There is a Pre-Hike event Friday at the Great Outdoor Provision Co. in Cameron Village. Saturday morning you can start at the N.C. Museum of Art or Umstead State Park. There will be fun activities all along the trail. Click through for all the details.

Find creative, locally handmade gifts of art for everyone on your holiday list at the Durham Art Walk Holiday Market this Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday evening, join them for the 2nd Annual Iron Pour presented by Liberty Arts Sculpture Studio & Foundry at Durham Central Park. At sunset, they will pour 1,500 pounds of molten, 2,500 degree iron into molds, in an exciting fiery display. There will also be food trucks, craft beer, DJ Yammy, raffles and live music from Batala Durham.

Many local farmers markets are closed for the season, but the Winter Market will be making its indoor debut for the season inside the Holly Springs Cultural Center Saturday morning. Also Saturday in Holly Springs, Race Fest will fill Main Street with food trucks, bounce houses, live music, local vendors and a beer garden serving local microbrews alongside 1,200 runners from the Half Holly Springs Marathon.

Jump for the Children Duke Horse Show is back at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds for a second weekend. Watch Olympic style show jumping Wednesday through Sunday. Daily admission if free except for the Grand Prix on Saturday night.

The North Carolina State Fairgrounds will host the Repticon Reptile & Exotic Animal Show this weekend with a wide variety of vendors offering reptile pets, supplies, feeders, cages, and merchandise as well as live animal seminars.

Come on out to the American Tobacco Trail Saturday evening for Turkey Time and Campfire. There will be fun games and interactive learning about turkeys, a night hike along the Trail and marshmallows roasting over a campfire.

Sunday is Turkey Time at Falls Lake. You will have a gobbling good-time playing games and making a tasty turkey treat while you learn all about turkeys. Come back Saturday, November 25th to learn the art of cooking a Pumpkin Pie in a Dutch Oven.

Celebrate the natural world and where our favorite Thanksgiving foods come from. Investigate corn under microscopes and hand lenses, learn the difference between fruits and veggies, and make a Thanksgiving craft at Sunday's Family Feature at Crowder Park. Bring your kids back to Crowder Monday when Kids Get Crafty about Turkeys.

Come by Historic Yates Mill Pond County Park any time during the day November 24th-26th to participate in a collaborative Community Art Project celebrating what you're thankful for! Play a game of "Roll a Turkey," and take home your very own pine cone turkey craft. On Wednesday, November 29th, you can explore the history of giving, then help to cut out and assemble warm fleece blankets for children in need for Project Linus.

Bring your family out for a Thanksgiving Wagon Ride Friday, November 24th on the back roads of Harris Lake County Park to enjoy the fall colors and beauty of the park.

November is Pecan Pickin' Month at Historic Oak View County Park. Come explore the 19th century historic farmstead that includes a restored home, pecan grove, plank kitchen, cotton field, cotton & boll weevil exhibit, tenant house and farm history center.

Fun Family Activites After Thanksgiving

Kick off your shopping after Thanksgiving and get into the festivities with the Annual Christmas Carousel Holiday Festival at NC State Fairgrounds. Featuring live holiday music, Santa, cooking demonstrations, original artwork and crafts, Christmas decorations, prints, pottery, candle making, jewelry and more.

The NC Chinese Lantern Festival returns to Regency Park with spectacular light displays and the fan favorite Dragon.

Friday, November 24th is Final Friday at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Bring the whole family to enjoy movie-themed science stations, where you can discover how famous pirates plundered the North Carolina shore, learn about the science behind sea monsters, mythical creatures, pirates, treasure maps, and pirate navigation and enjoy the movie "Goonies".

Come back to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Saturday, November 25th for a Science Saturday Buffet, a lively science presentation featuring a "taste" of everything the Museum has to offer: live animals, weird science facts, dramatic demonstrations, and explosions, all seasoned with a touch of humor.

Art and Culture!

The Carrboro Film Festival is a celebration of the film and video creativity right here in Orange County. All filmmakers from beginner to well established professionals will be featured both Saturday and Sunday.

Art in the Laboratory will be the theme of this Thursday's Science Cafe at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Join them to see what happens when an artist and scientist collaborate.

Also this Thursday, the Musical Memories will host a Class Performance featuring the Best of Broadway at the Halle Cultural Art Center.

Both this weekend and next you are invited to join a guided tour at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Meet Your Museum Tours of the 164 acre campus, and Weekend Family Friendly Tours are given on both Saturdays and Sundays. On Friday nights, you are invited to enjoy Iris after Dark, their new weekly event featuring small plates, special drinks and local DJs and musicians.

As a special treat, this Friday evening is College Night 2017 at the North Carolina Museum of Art. College Students get in free with their student ID to enjoy student work, contemporary dance, and a DJ roster that isn't to be missed. Come dressed for the runway in your best decades attire.

Hill Street Community Center hosts their monthly Family Movie Night Friday evening with popcorn and drinks. The featured flick will be The Emoji Movie.

Saturday is Engineers Day at the Museum of Life and Science. Join them for a day of hands-on activities exploring robotics, circuits, simple machines with local scientists and engineers.

The City of Raleigh and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema present a Movie by Moonlight Saturday after dark at Dorothea Dix Park. The featured flick will be the classic Spaceballs.

Explore Durham's Civil Rights Legacy with a Heritage Walking Tour Saturday morning. This exciting tour focuses on many of the sites in downtown Durham that were important during the 1950s and 60s Civil Rights movement

Head back to Downtown Durham on Saturday, November 25th for an Architecture & the Urban Landscape Walking Tour. Learn about how Durham has grown and changed as it has transformed itself from an industrial center to the City of Medicine.

Pinecone Kids Jam returns to Marbles Kids Museum Sunday afternoon. Come enjoy finger-picking, toe-tapping bluegrass for young musicians and music enthusiasts!

Free Birds will be the featured film the Holly Springs Cultural Center Monday, November 20th and Shark Tale will be shown Monday, November 27th,

Fun at the Parks

Family Nature Night will explore Snakes, where they live, what they eat and what to do if you should see one in the wild Thursday evening at Sertoma Arts Center.

Eno River State Park invites you to Leave it to Beavers Friday afternoon. Come learn about animal adaptations, pertaining to "Nature's Architect," the beaver.

Come and learn about Occoneechee Mountain's geologic wonders. Explore the pyrophyllite quarry Saturday afternoon with a real geologist on a Geology Hike. Come back Sunday for a Fire Ecology Hike to previously burned areas of the park.

Explore Leigh Farm Park on Historic Walking Tours Saturday afternoons through December. Venture inside the historic farmhouse while being captivated by tales about life at Leigh Farm throughout the years.

Take a trip into the past, & learn about colonial games and activities at Saturday's Piper Cox Open House at Eno River State Park.

Take a Walk in the Woods and discover the animals and plants that call Crowder District Park home on Saturday morning. Come visit their Discovery Table all about Deer Saturday afternoon.

Nature Lab for kids 6-11 on Wednesday, November 22nd at Harris Lake Park will feature Fall Discoveries and an opportunity to explore the woods and shoreline for signs of nature.

Take a History Hike through the old farmstead at Historic Oak View County Park Saturday, November 25th.

Join a Park Ranger at the Bald Eagle Observation Deck at Jordan Lake both Saturday and Sundayn November 25th and 26th to learn about the Park's bald eagles.

Come learn what Animals live around the Falls Lake Area and what signs to look for to let you know an animal has been around Sunday, November 26th.

 

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