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‘Prettiest Winter Town’ Welcomes Visitors During the Holidays; Several Events Upcoming in Blowing Rock

Nov. 12, 2012. Earlier this year Blowing Rock was one of a dozen locations selected by Travel & Leisure magazine for inclusion in its list of America’s Prettiest Winter Towns.  The magazine’s editors said, ”The Blue Ridge Parkway passes by this century-old mountain town, whose Main Street has shops for antiques, crafts, even dulcimers. Streams trickling through quiet forests banked with snow inspire exploring and reflection.”

Photo by Lonnie Webster

As winter sets in, Blowing Rock looks forward to hosting visitors and locals alike for the holiday season. During this holiday interlude the town glows with the warmth of hospitality along its downtown streets, storefronts holiday-lighted and enticing. Once in town, folks can shop, eat, get in the holday spirit, then choose and cut a Christmas tree at a local farm before heading home. 

Details on events and activities in and around Blowing Rock from Thanksgiving through New Years can be found at blowingrock.com. Highlights:

  • Thanksgiving meals will be offered at Chetola (sold out), Best Cellar, Crippens, Green Park Inn, Meadowbrook Inn, and Westglow. Crestwood will also be offering gourmet Thanksgiving-to-go meals. 
  • Blowing Rock’s Christmas in the Park and Lighting of the Town celebration is on Friday, November 23. Highlights include a visit from Santa, hayrides through the town, free hot cider and hot chocolate, caroling in the park, lighting of the town and bluegrass Christmas. Chetola will have family cookie decorating, Santa visits and horse-drawn carriage rides through the lights around Chetola lake November 23 and 24. Carriage rides should be booked in advance by calling the resort.
  • The following day’s events include a Christmas parade, the Thanksgiving kiln opening at Traditions Pottery and a book signing by Bob Timberlake at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum (BRAHM).
  • Mountain Home Music (in Boone) will offer A Celtic Christmas on Nov. 24 and An Appalachian Christmas on Dec. 1. 
  • The Ensemble Stage will present Christmas in Blowing Rock 4 weekend of Dec. 14 through 16. For more information visit ensemblestage.com/On-Stage.html. 
  • BRAHM will host a family Holiday Open House event on December 1 and Watercolor Society of North Carolina Traveling Exhibit from Nov. 28 through Feb. 10.
  • Appalachian Ski Mountain opens for the season on Nov. 16, weather permitting; Sugar opened on Halloween, the earliest opening in its history. 
  • Choose & cut Christmas tree season runs from mid-November through Christmas week.
  • Chetola’s Festival of Lights is ongoing from Thanksgiving through late January.

There are also special culinary and musical events, along with extended downtown shopping hours throughout the holiday period.  For more information and updates, go to blowingrock.com or call the Blowing Rock Visitor Center at 877.750.4636.