6 NC Destinations for Holiday Wonders


RALEIGH, N.C. (October 30. 2013) — Lively cities and charming towns across North Carolina weave magic through the holiday season. Below are some of our favorites from the mountains to the coast.

ASHEVILLE
Itinerary toppers: From America’s fanciest holiday home to the season’s best comedy on wheels, Asheville invites travelers to celebrate any way they like. Christmas at Biltmore adds 56 ornamented trees to the décor inside America’s largest house with nearly 60 more on the vast estate. On the diminutive end of the spectrum, dozens of intricate National Gingerbread Competition entries vie for attention at the Omni Grove Park Inn and the Grove Arcade downtown. And LaZoom’s purple bus goes on its merry way with holiday tours that promise an encounter with a real Asheville fruitcake.
And more: The holiday calendar includes the Swannanoa Solstice concert, the Biltmore Village Dickens Festival, theater performances and other happenings. For shoppers, local merchants pride themselves on products made close to home.

WINSTON-SALEM
Itinerary toppers: Itinerary toppers: On the Winston side of the hyphen, Reynolda House Museum of American Art makes an elegant holiday statement. On the Salem side, the season’s soulful dimension resounds along the cobblestone streets of the Old Salem historic district. Candlelight tours and music soften the contrast between tobacco magnate R.J. Reynolds’ sweeping 60-room bungalow, where an Aeolian pipe organ rings out, and the handsome structures of Salem, where a 1800 Tannenberg organ symbolizes the importance of music to the Moravians.
And more: The performance calendar  includes the University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ acclaimed “Nutcracker” plus the North Carolina Black Repertory Company’s “Black Nativity.” Lights lovers can thrill to the displays and activities at the Tanglewood Festival of Lights. Uncommon gifts can be found at Reynolda Village and the shops at Old Salem — sugar cake and paper-thin Moravian cookies from Winkler Bakery top the list.

CONCORD
Itinerary toppers: Speedway Christmas might be hard to resist if only for the chance to drive on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s quad oval. This year’s newly designed course stretches 3.1 miles with more than 3 million lights plus holiday movies screened on America’s largest HDTV. At the infield Christmas Village, visitors can take in the Bethlehem Village with live actors and animals, a petting zoo, games and activities in Santa’s Workshop. New this year: the Egg Nog Jog 5K on Nov. 22.
And more:  Snow is guaranteed at Great Wolf Lodge, where the Snowland celebration finds harmony with the resort’s indoor water park. Concord Mills, a racetrack-inspired outlet mall, is a shop-til-you-drop op with a theater, go-kart track, miniature golf and other play areas.

McADENVILLE / BELMONT
Itinerary toppers:: If the best things come in small packages, McAdenville makes a heck of a gift. With a population of less than 700, this town west of Charlotte wraps itself in lights to become Christmas Town USA, with virtually all of its 1.5 square miles glowing for thousands of visitors in a tradition that began in 1956. Eight miles away, Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont reflects the season with a festive display of Christmas trees, including a 16-foot tall “tree” made with 300 live orchids, a garden specialty.  Crafts, Santa visits and other activities complete the experience.
And more:  The planetarium at the Schiele Museum of Natural History & Planetarium in Gastonia illuminates the Yule log, menorah, Christmas tree lights and other holiday customs in its “Season of Light” program. Horse-drawn carriage rides, music, stories and a live Nativity inspire a Christmas visit to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte.

OUTER BANKS
Itinerary toppers: Holiday celebrations build on historic firsts on the North Carolina barrier islands. The Elizabethan Gardens creates enchanting light displays amid the plants and art elements that honor the royal sponsor of England’s first attempted New World colony. In Kill Devil Hills, where Orville and Wilbur Wright took off, First in Flight Holiday Lights inaugurates a walkthrough light display beside the Frog Pond. And Kitty Hawk Kites, the world’s top hang-gliding school, directs all eyes skyward for its Kites With Lights launch.
And more:  Time your visit for the Outer Banks Festivus Road Race 5K/10K (and Little Elf Jingle Jog 1-miler), the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Winter Climb, or Duck’s Yuletide Celebration, where the Crab Pot Christmas Tree is lighted. And check out Christmas in Corolla at the storied Whalehead Club, a 21,000-square-foot, Art Nouveau-style mansion.

BLOWING ROCK
Itinerary toppers: With its strollable streets and nifty shops, Blowing Rock has earned acclaim as one of America’s prettiest winter towns. It’s also an ideal destination for travelers who want to take home an evergreen. This is the heart of Christmas tree country, where choose-and-cut farms specialize in the native Fraser fir. With hayrides and other family activities, farms turn shopping into a full-blown event, and many of them partner with area inns on lodging packages.
 And more: The Chetola Resort lights up its 87-acre lakeside property with glittering ice skaters, Rudolph landing a fish and more seasonal scenes. The idyllic village of Valle Crucis celebrates Christmas in the Valle with Santa visits, make-and-take crafts, and bluegrass and Appalachian music at the original Mast General Store. Skiing/snowboarding, ziplining, tubing and other winter sports create invigorating ways to get into the winter season.

Find more ideas and trip-planning info at VisitNC.com.