November 15th - 28th Triangle 2018

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.

Yates Mill will be going on an Owl Prowl Friday night. Come back 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 Butcher, Baker & Candlestick Maker.

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 24th and Mill Heritage & Local History Tour on Sunday the 25th.

The fun continues at Yates Mill on Sunday with a Corn Shucking demonstration and the chance to make a corn husk doll. Starting Monday and running through Wednesday, come be a part of their Thankfulness Project - a collaborative community art project. On Tuesday, come to the park to learn about Sarah Hale, the woman who petitioned to make Thanksgiving a national holiday and on Wednesday, play 17th century games as you learn what Thanksgiving was like in 1621.

Friday 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

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.

Saturday evening, join them for the 3rd 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.

Many local farmers markets are closed for the season, but the Winter Market outside the Holly Springs Cultural Center will help you get ready for Thanksgiving meals on Saturday morning.

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 also host a Coin and Stamp Show and 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.

Crowder County Park is collecting donations for their Thanksgiving Food Drive all month. Saturday you can take a Walk in the Woods and check out their Discovery Table. On Sunday, you can walk back in time to learn about Native Americans.

Bring the family to Falls Lake Sunday and learn all about Turkeys and how fascinating these natives birds are! Dress for the weather, and be ready for a fun family craft! Come back Sunday, November 25th for a Post Thanksgiving Geology Hike.

Take an Adventure into Autumn Sunday at Harris Lake with the NC State Parks, Recreation and Tourism students and discover how the world around you transitions from fall to winter.

Bring your family out for a Thanksgiving Wagon Ride Friday, November 23th 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 Activities 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.

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.

Life Before the Dinosaurs will be the theme of this Thursday's Science Cafe at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

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 2018 at the North Carolina Museum of Art. College Students get in free with their student ID to enjoy a costume contest, art making, spoken word and dance performances, snacks and live music by Sybarite5.

The Museum of Life and Science will host a Teddy Bear Hospital and a Super Scientist Saturday this weekend.

Sunday November 25th is Pokemon Go Day at the Museum of Life and Science. Join them for a full day of Pokémon hunting, where you can travel the trails, hatch an egg, visit their 22 Pokéstops, and show off your skills at their three gyms! They will even be setting lures all day to attract wild Pokémon all over the 84-acre park.

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 24th 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.

Fun at the Parks

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

Bring your family to enjoy Night Owls and Candle Magic and take a stroll along the luminary-lined trails of Blue Jay County Park as you learn about the late fall seasonal activities of our local owls. Bring your travel mug for hot cocoa and enjoy a lantern-lit craft project before you go home.

Join Historic Oak View Park Saturday & Sunday for a special wayside program, Artifact Discovery to learn about farm artifacts and then head out on an artifact scavenger hunt!

Dorothea Dix Park invites you come out to the park Saturday for Pop-Pupalooza, a dog and people festival, a Walking Tour of Dix Park covering the history of the buildings, land, and legacy of Dorothea Dix, and some Skywatching with volunteers from the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, Chapel Hill Astronomical and Observational Society (CHAOS) and Raleigh Astronomy Club (RAC).

Early risers can head over to Eno River State Park Sunday morning for some Bird Watching and stay to learn how to read the signs left behind by Tracks and Scat,

Come join Ranger Billy at Umstead State Park Friday, November 23rd to have fun in the woods seeking, searching, hiding and playing games that will push your awareness. Come back Monday for a Cyber Monday Hike to get disconnected.

Come and learn about Occoneechee Mountain's geologic wonders. Explore the pyrophyllite quarry Saturday, November 24th with a real geologist on a Geology Hike.

Kids Get Crafty Monday, November 26th at Crowder County Park when they will learn to Grow Gratitude.