1) Walker Center Presents American Big Band’s Home for the Holidays
The Walker Center will present American Big Band’s “Home for the Holidays” on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. This performance is sponsored by Carolina West Wireless. American Big Bang, a show-stopping synthesis of Big Band and Broadway, will perform all-time holiday hits from Bing to Buble for the ever-popular Christmas performance at the Walker Center. The cast of eight performers, accompanied by a 12-piece big band, deliver excitement from the dawn of the big band era through the decades into the 21st Century. A limited number of tickets are available for this performance. For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact the box office at 336-838-6260.
2) Holiday Open House at the Governor’s Mansion
North Carolina’s executive mansion, the “people’s house” will open its historic doors once again for the beloved annual Holiday open House to be held Dec. 12 -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, a whimsical gingerbread house and ornate mantle displays. The hours of the Open House are Thursday Dec. 12 from noon-8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec. 14 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 15 from 1-4 p.m. Admission is free and reservations are not needed or accepted. Visitors should enter at the main gates on Blount Street.The fine Victorian-style mansion, home to North Carolina governors since 1891, was once described by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as “the most beautiful governor’s residence interior in America.” Built from native materials, the Executive Mansion has been occupied by 29 governors’ families. The Executive Mansion is located at 200 North Blount Street in Raleigh. Gov. Pat McCrory is the 29th governor to live in the mansion. He is the 74th governor of North Carolina since statehood.
3) Messiah Sing-Along at Appalachian
Broyhill Music Center’s Rosen Concert Hall at Appalachian State University will be the site for the ninth annual Messiah Sing-Along on Sunday, Dec. 8. The sing-along begins at 6 p.m. and will last approximately one hour. Admission is free. The event gives everyone, whether seasoned performers or shower singers, a chance to add their voices to this celebratory masterpiece. Voice students from the Hayes School of Music will sing the arias and audience members will be invited to sing the chorus from part one of Handel’s Messian including Hallelujah. Soloists are sopranos Madeline Hamrick and Mary Royall Hight, mezzo-soprano Farren Hillard, tenor Richard Martin and bass-barritones Coburn Jones, Joshua Joyner and Wilson White. The sing-along will be conducted by student conductors Carolina Kimrey and Christopher Langdon. Bell will provide the organ accompaniment.
4) Wind Ensemble Performance Dec. 2
Join the Appalachian Wind Ensemble Dec. 2 for an 8 p.m. performance in Broyhill Music Center’s Rosen Concert Hall at Appalachian State University. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend. Conductors for the program are Dr. John Stanley Ross and Dr. Kevin Richardson from the Hayes School of Music Faculty. Graduate conductors are Brooke Humfeld and Justin Hensley.
5) Downtown Boone Christmas Story Walk
The Downtown Boone Development Association and the Watauga County Library are once again partnering to bring a special Christmas Story Walk to Downtown Boone for the Holiday Season. The Downtown Boone Christmas Story Walk will begin on Saturday, Nov. 23 and run through Jan. 2. The story walk starts at the Watauga County Library and participants are encouraged to park at the library or the meters on Queen Street. The Children’s story book for the walk is “If You Take a Mouse to the Movies” by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond. The Story Walk starts at the Library and moves down Depot Street up to King Street and concludes at Melanie’s on the corner of Depot and King. Visit youth services at the library to pick up your map.