Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2017 - 37

HALLEY BURLESON

Nov. 24-25 (828-295-5222) while
the lighting of the town at Helen,
Georgia, happens on Nov. 24 (helenga.org). You can also enjoy the Festival of the Mountain Masters
at the Village Center of Harlan, Kentucky, on Nov. 24-25 (harlancounty
trails.com).

DECEMBER

A Small Town Christmas

raiser held during the Halloween
season.
Just outside Roanoke, Virginia,
head to Franklin County, where
you can find both mules and moonshine at the Blue Ridge Folklife
Festival, held on Oct. 28 (blueridgefolkfestival.com). Or go to Hiawassee, Georgia, for the second annual
Appalachian Brew, Stew & Que
Festival featuring breweries, barbecue and Brunswick Stew on Oct.
28 (georgiamountainfairgrounds.com).
You can also party hearty in Georgia
on Oct. 28-29 at either the Mountain Moonshine Festival in
Dawsonville (dawson.org) or at the
Toccoa Harvest Festival in Toccoa
(main streettoccoa.com).

NOVEMBER
Holidays are special at the Biltmore,
that magnificent mansion of Asheville, North Carolina. This year, the
43rd annual Christmas at Biltmore begins Nov. 3 with fanciful

garland, lights and ribbon (biltmore.
com).
Smoky Mountain Christmas
premieres Nov. 5 and runs through
Jan. 1, 2018 at Dollywood, offering a winter wonderland with four
million lights, holiday shows and
a wonderful steam-train ride (dol
lywood.com). Nearby, the threemonth-long Smoky Mountain
Winterfest (visitsevierville.com) returns on Nov. 6, with millions more
lights seen on the streets of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg
in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Breeze into Babyland General
Hospital on Nov. 18 for the Appalachian Christmas Celebration
& Pancake Breakfast; it's a great
day for young kids in Cleveland,
Georgia (cabbagepatchkids.com). Another winner is the Lewisburg
Holiday Festival of West Virginia
on Nov. 18-19, featuring carriage
rides, kids' activities and street performers (greenbrierwv.com).
Christmas in the Park &
Lighting of the Town rolls into
Blowing Rock, North Carolina, on

Holiday cheer continues across the
mountains in December. Look for A
Small Town Christmas in Banner Elk, North Carolina, on Dec.
1-3, featuring the lighting of a 40foot Christmas tree (bannerelk.com).
Nearby, you can watch the Christmas Parade of Boone, North Carolina, on Dec. 2 at 11 a.m., and take
the candlelight tour, 1-4 p.m., of
the Hickory Ridge Living History Museum (exploreboone.com).
Then, on Dec. 9, 4-7 p.m., come
see the Christmas Tree Lighting
at Vogel State Park (706-745-2628,
gastateparks.org), near Blairsville,
Georgia, where you can share presents for young children, sing a few
Christmas carols, bask in a bonfire-
and even meet Santa Claus!
The Yuletide season always takes
on a warm glow in the tiny village
of Helvetia, West Virginia, where
the Feast of Saint Nicholas (helvetiawv.com) is held on the Saturday
closest to the fifth of December at
the Helvetia Community Hall. This
Randolph County tradition traces
the origin of the gift-giving Saint
Nicholas (or "Sankt Nicholaus")
from hundreds of years ago in what
is now Turkey and how his life's lessons have inspired a celebration of
children at the beginning of each
Christmas season (800-422-3304).
Round out the season at Roanoke, Virginia, with the familyfriendly Dickens of a Christmas, featuring a parade, costume
contest, Christmas tree lighting,
roasted chestnuts, carriage rides
and street performers. Look for it
this year on December 1, 8 and 15
(downtownroanoke.org). 
March/April 2017 37

http://www.ga.org http://www.trails.com http://www.bannerelk.com http://www.exploreboone.com http://www.gastateparks.org http://www.folkfestival.com http://www.lywood.com http://www.vetiawv.com http://www.visitsevierville.com http://www.georgiamountainfairgrounds.com http://www.dawson.org http://www.streettoccoa.com http://www.cabbagepatchkids.com http://www.greenbrierwv.com http://www.downtownroanoke.org

Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2017

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