More Free Family Events Added to the Calendar for December!

Just added to our calendar!

Many events added to our calendar of free, family events!  There is always something fun to do!

Details for all these events on our calendar!

One of our favorite holiday traditions is my mother's Christmas Village

December 6

WS Candle Tea - Free Family Activity, Craft and Bake Sale

December 7 

Downtown Mayodan Christmas Stroll & Tree Lighting
LEX 2018 Annual Festival of Lights
WS Fire Department Holiday Open House

Kernersville Parade 2012

December 8

KVILLE Third Annual Re3 Holiday Bazaar
GSO Holiday Market Cafe at Revolution
RH Santa at the Caboose

December 9 

WS Christmas Cantata and Love Feast
LVILLE The Winter Rose - A Cantata
WS UNCSA Cantata Singers, James Allbritten, Conductor

December 13

GSO Christmas in the Park

December 14

WS Holiday Hymn Festival/Sing Along
GSO I'll Be Home For Christmas Musical Drama at Hickory Grove UMC

December 15

WS Krankies Craft Fair 2018

December 16

LVILLE Moravian Christmas Open House

December 18

WS Salem Band Holiday Concert

December 20

WS Christmas for the City
WS Salem Band Holiday Concert

May 11, 2019

LVILLE Trial by Fire, Journey Tribute Band

Sneak Peak to This Weekend

7 Tips for Your Holiday Travel

By Raymond Fleckles

Documents 
Keep all of your travel documents together.  ID, passport, boarding passes should all be kept together in a place that you can easily access.

Clothing
Keep it simple!  Wear slip on shoes if possible and carry as little metal and electronic gadgetry as possible on your person.  This will help speed your way through security.  Not only will you appreciate it, but so will your fellow passengers.

What Can I Take?
Always check http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/prohibited-items before you travel.  This site is updated regularly with any changes and will let you know what can be carried on and what must be checked.

When Do I Need to be at the Airport?
For a domestic flight I recommend a minimum of two hours before your flight.  On heavy travel days (Thanksgiving and the 23rd of December through January 3rd) I recommend at least 3 hours before take-off.  For any international flights I always recommend at least 3 hours before departure.

Do I Need a Passport?
This is a question I hear quite often.  The answer is, if you are leaving the US then generally yes.  The only exception to this rule is if a) you are a US citizen b) you can provide a copy of your birth certificate (issued within the US or by the State Department) AND a state or federal issued photo ID c) you are taking a cruise from a US port that will be returning to a US port.  Only if you meet ALL three of these criteria can you travel outside the US without a passport.  That said, I highly recommend a passport as it will simplify your boarding procedure as well as your return through US Customs.  Also, should anything happen while you are on vacation at any port of call outside the US that requires hospitalization or a medical evacuation you will have to have a passport in order to return to the US. If you should have any questions regarding this please contact your travel agent!

What About Holiday Travel Bargains?
Anywhere warm is going be at a premium price during the holidays so plan accordingly.  Caribbean, Florida, Hawai’i, Australia are all going to cost as much as double what they might in the summer months.  The best deals for any kind of winter travel are typically going to be Europe.  Yes, it will be cold, expect similar weather to here in the US.  Prices for Europe in the winter time can be as much as 1/3 the price you would pay in the summer months.  If you’re someone who just gets really into the Christmas spirit and loves the idea of the decorations, the food and are looking for something really special over the holidays I’d highly recommend Germany or Austria.  The majority of the towns and cities in these two countries turn their town squares in to huge open air holiday markets from the beginning of December through Christmas with lights, food, gifts and live music.

Relax!
This is the time of year that sees the highest number of flight delays and cancellations due to the weather.  Relax!  Getting upset with the gate attendants at the terminal will not help.  Quite the opposite it may get you bounced from the flight or even arrested.  Take a deep breath, realize you’re all in the same situation.  It’s probably the hardest thing to do when things start to go wrong, but you truly will have a better chance of being moved to the next available flight or of receiving some kind of compensation from the airlines if you just remain calm and civil.

About Ray Fleckles: As co-owner of Raymond Fleckles & Karla O’Maille – CruiseOne, Ray strives to bring his extensive experience of world travel to the aid of his clients.

Over the course of almost forty years, Ray has lived in Europe, Australia as well as several cities and states within the US before settling in Kernersville in 2002.  Ray has also travelled to both Canada and the Caribbean. For the past 23 years Ray has worked almost exclusively in customer facing positions including sales, sales management and customer service.  This wealth of experience enables Ray to assist his clients in making the most informed travel decision possible.

Ray is an avid follower of several motorsports including Formula One, Le Mans style endurance racing, MotoGP and World Superbikes.  His other interests include his children, music and movies.

For any travel related questions or to submit a topic for this blog please email Ray at rfleckles@cruiseone.com

Kernersville, NC
T: (336)992-0167
E: rfleckles@cruiseone.com  

Website: www.CruiseOne..com/rfleckles
Family Cruises:www.family-cruises.net/rfleckles

Luxury Cruises: www.SeaLuxe.com/rfleckles

Bethabara Concert Band Performs at Maple Springs UMC to Benefit the Food Insecure

We had the pleasure of attending last night's Bethabara Concert Band Holiday Concert at Maple Springs United Methodist Church on Reynolda Road in Winston-Salem.  

Food Donations were accepted for the Food Pantry Ministry at Maple Springs.  This ministry effort regularly offers food assistance to over 400 individuals and families who live in our local area each month.   North Carolina has the second highest rate of food insecure children under 5 years of age in the nation.  For all age groups, North Carolina is ranked as the 4th worst in the nation for food insecurity. (Source: hungernwnc.org)   As you can see, the generosity is also great and much food was was donated . 

The Bethabara Concert band is in it's 28th season, with the season typically running from June-November.  Most performances take place outdoors at the Park Pavilion at Bethabara.  Families bring blankets and picnic dinners and there are hay rides, children's games, ice cream and hot dogs.

Last night's concert was fun-filled, with familiar songs such as Sleigh Ride and Hallelujah Chorus.  Soloists Candy King and Jeff Williard joined the band for Irving Berlin's Christmas and A Holiday Sing-Along.  The band also performed a few not-so-familiar songs such as Christmas in the Highlands, A Renaissance Christmas and Chanukah is Here.  And of course, Santa himself made a visit!  The children in the audience were called up and they listened intently as Santa read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  There were approximately 125-150 people in the audience enjoying the music.

Mark your calendar now for the 

2015 season of the Bethabara Concert Band!

Summer Kickoff - June 11 - 6pm-8pm

Independence Concert - July 9 - 6pm-8:30pm

Back to School - August 13 - 6pm-8:30pm

September 11 Remembrance - September 10 - 5:30pm-8:00pm

Dark in the Park - October 8 - 5:30-8pm

Holiday Concert - November 19 - 7pm

Simple Gifts Holiday Market

Shop for holiday gifts made by local artists and vendors

 pottery, baked goods, jewelry and art.  

2013 Piedmont Triad Living Holiday Event Guide

It's up!  Our most viewed page of the year is ready!  

Please click on the picture below to go to our Holiday Event Guide.

Sealy/FOX8 Holiday Concert: All-Time Record Set for Cans Collected, Benefiting Salvation Army

Saturday, December 15, 2012 marked the 

23rd Annual Sealy/FOX8 Holiday Concert 

at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC.

Bass Players from the Winston-Salem Symphony Youth Philharmonic are in the Christmas Spirit

Parking and admission were free with the donation of canned foods for the Salvation Army.  

This year, an all-time record was set for cans collected!  

806,111 cans were collected between the Greensboro concert (on Friday) and Winston-Salem's concert on Saturday.  

With those donations, the Salvation Armies of the Triad will be able to help thousands of our neighbors in need.

Pre-Concert music was provided by the 

Winston-Salem Symphony Youth Philharmonic.  

Conducted by Margaret Rehder, the group performed many Christmas classics.  

Matthew Troy, Associate Conductor for the Winston-Salem Symphony and Music Director of the Youth Symphony, conducted the evening's Holiday Concert. 

The program was hosted by Neill McNeill and Cindy Farmer of WGHP/FOX8.  Both are well-known news anchors for the Triad.

The evening's Christmas selections included Christmas Festival Overture, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Christmas at the Movies, and Mother Ginger from the Nutcracker.  

Girls from Salem Gymnastics flew through the air to Mother Ginger, making the performance quite memorable.

Carol of the Bells, Excerpts from the Nutcracker Suite and Waltz of the Flowers followed.  

Waltz of the Flowers featured the Winston-Salem Festival Ballet.

Tenor Glenn Seibert accompanied the Symphony for O, Holy Night, and then the entire coliseum audience participated in a Christmas Sing-A-Long.  Next came the fun Caribbean Sleigh Ride, and Bugler's Holiday.  What Holiday Concert would be complete without Sleigh Ride?  That was performed next, then The Grinch Who Store Christmas Medley, The Christmas Song and Little Bolero Boy. 

If you live in the Piedmont Triad, this yearly Holiday Concert should be on your list of family traditions.  People travelled from as far as Virginia, and many counties were represented in last nights audience.  There are performances in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Elon, and each one is different.  The Sealy/FOX8 Holiday Concert is a great way to help the Salvation Army, and is sure to make the season brighter.

2012 Schedule of TV Holiday Classics and Kids Shows

I love watching the classic Christmas shows; it's one of my favorite parts of the holiday season!  Here's a listing of the most popular kids shows.  For a very extensive listing, as well as some grown-up holiday shows and movies, click the source button at the bottom of this list.

For a full list of Holiday events in the Piedmont Triad, go here.

November 20
10:00am NIK Dora the Explorer - Dora's Thanksgiving Day Parade

November 21
7:00am PBS  Arthur's Perfect Christmas
8:00am PBS  Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas
9:00am PBS  The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas! NEW
9:30am NIK Dora the Explorer - Dora's Thanksgiving Day Parade
2:00pm PBS  Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas
3:00pm PBS  The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas!
4:00pm PBS  Arthur's Perfect Christmas
8:00pm ABC  A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

November 22
7:30am NIK Dora the Explorer - Dora's Thanksgiving Day Parade
8:00am PBS  The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas!
9:00am PBS  Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas
9:00am NBC 86th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
9:00am CBS Thanksgiving Day Parade  LIVE
8:00pm ABC  A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

November 23
7:00am PBS  Arthur's Perfect Christmas
8:00am PBS  The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas!
7:00pm HALMRK Jingle and Bell's Christmas Star
8:00pm CBS  Frosty The Snowman
8:00pm CW  Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer
8:00pm HALMRK Jingle and Bell's Christmas Star
8:30pm CBS  Frosty Returns
9:00pm CBS  Hoops & YoYo Ruin Christmas
9:00pm CW The Happy Elf
9:30pm CBS  It's A SpongeBob Christmas!

November 24
7:00am PBS  Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas
8:00am PBS  The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas!

November 25
7:00am PBS  Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas
8:00am PBS  The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas!
9:00am PBS  Arthur's Perfect Christmas
4:00pm CARTOON Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale

November 27
8:00pm ABC  How the Grinch Stole Christmas
8:30pm ABC  Shrek the Halls

November 28
8:00pm ABC  A Charlie Brown Christmas
9:00pm NBC  Saturday Night Live - Christmas

December 1
7:00am ABCFAM  Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas

December 2
7:00am ABCFAM  Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas

December 3
5:00pm ABCFAM  Twas the Night Before Christmas
5:30pm ABCFAM  Rudolph's Shiny New Year
6:30pm ABCFAM  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys

December 4
4:30pm ABCFAM  Rudolph's Shiny New Year
5:30pm ABCFAM  Mickey's Christmas Carol
6:00pm ABCFAM  Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too
6:30pm ABCFAM  Jack Frost (1979)
7:30pm ABCFAM  Frosty's Winter Wonderland
8:00pm CBS  Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

December 5


12:30am ABCFAM  Frosty's Winter Wonderland
1:00am ABCFAM  Jack Frost (1979)

December 6
4:00pm ABCFAM  Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

December 10


5:00pm ABCFAM  Mickey's Christmas Carol
5:30pm ABCFAM  Jack Frost (1979)
6:30pm ABCFAM  Frosty's Winter Wonderland
7:00pm ABCFAM  The Year Without a Santa Claus
8:00pm ABCFAM  Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

December 13
8:00pm NBC Christmas in the White House

December 14
9:30pm CBS  The Elf on the Shelf: An Elf's Story

December 15
8:00am ABCFAM  Little Drummer Boy

8:30am ABCFAM  The Little Drummer Boy Book II
9:00am ABCFAM  Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
9:30am ABCFAM  Pinocchio's Christmas
10:30am ABCFAM  A Miser Brothers' Christmas
11:30am ABCFAM The Story of the First Christmas Snow
12:00pm ABCFAM  Twas the Night Before Christmas
12:30pm ABCFAM  Frosty's Winter Wonderland
1:00pm ABCFAM  Jack Frost (1979)
2:00pm ABCFAM  Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July
10:00pm ABCFAM  Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

December 18
8:00pm ABC Charlie Brown Christmas

December 20
8:00pm ABC  I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown

December 22

7:00am ABCFAM  Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas

8:30am ABCFAM  Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
10:00am ABCFAM  Disney Prep & Landing
10:30am ABCFAM  Disney Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice
11:00am ABCFAM  Mickey's Christmas Carol
11:30am ABCFAM  Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too
12:00pm ABCFAM  A Chipmunk Christmas
12:30pm ABCFAM  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys
2:00pm ABCFAM  Rudolph's Shiny New Year
5:00pm ABCFAM  Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
8:00pm NBC  Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol

December 23

7:00am ABCFAM  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys

December 25

9:00am ABCFAM  A Chipmunk Christmas

8:00pm ABC  How the Grinch Stole Christmas
8:30pm ABC  Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (movie)

(source)

2012 Christmas Parades and Holiday Events for the Piedmont Triad

 Complete Christmas Parade and Holiday event calendar for Alamance, Caswell, Davie, Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph, Rckingham, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin Counties in North Carolina.

Find it on our website!

PARADES

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSES

CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTINGS

CANDLELIGHT AND

 LOVE FEAST SERVICES

CONCERTS AND

 MUSICAL CELEBRATIONS

Find it on our website!

Shopping Local? 

Use our Shop Local Guide here!

Looking for something FREE 

to do in the Piedmont Triad?

Check our Calendar Here!

Holiday Gift Guide: Shopping the Piedmont Triad

'A Very Eclectic Gift Guide from the Piedmont Triad' by piedmonttriad

Featuring the talented artisans from the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina!

yourethatgirld... $26.00	hempsteadhouse $150.00	WestBendPotter... $23.00
SometimesSumme... $24.00	marcibrunophot... $27.00	KneeDeepOrigin... $85.00
IkowDesigns $61.00	marmidesigns $10.00	MAKDesigns $58.00
DunlapLove $18.00	LeeLuCreations $24.50	Defabricate $6.00
ribbonrefinery $5.00	misunrie $38.00	WitchHazelHand... $15.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Black Friday and How You Can (And Should) Shop Locally

Well, it's two weeks until Black Friday.   You know what that means... long lines, anxiety, hurry up and wait, trying to get everything done, knowing that your deadline is looming.  Of course, you'll also have a belly full of turkey (or tofurkey), mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, apple pie, cherry pie, pumpkin pie... be thankful!

Start planning now!  The holidays do seem a long way off, but they've already got the decorations up in my town.  Make your list, check it twice, and shop local!  Here's a good list of locally owned and operated businesses in the Piedmont Triad.  It's certainly not a complete list, be sure to seek out your local shop owners.  Why should you shop local?  Read about the 3/50 Project here,  they put it into perspective. 
Thank you to Eclectic by Nature in Greensboro, NC, a wonderful locally owned shop, for bringing this project to my attention!  

Support handmade!  North Carolina is home to so many very talented artists and artisans.  Many of them have online shops at Etsy, and here's a compilation of treasuries with items made by your neighbors! You can also choose your specific town or city on Etsy here.

While I truly believe you can check everyone off of your list shopping locally, here's a short list of links that will give you a sneak peek at Black Friday 2010.  Before you check these sites, do your best  to keep your dollar here in the Piedmont Triad.  You can make a difference.  Please spread the word!

Black Friday

Black Friday @ Gotta Deal

Wise Bread: Living Large on a Small Budget

Now is also the time to shop craft fairs and holiday bazaars.  To get you started, stop by Santa's Christmas Cottage tonight and tomorrow.  There will be seventeen local artists, and proceeds will benefit colon cancer research.  Tomorrow be sure to stop by the K'ville Indie Flea, with 24 vendors this weekend and includes handmade and vintage items.

Have a great weekend!