Monday, December 1, 2008

Christmas in Chapel Hill




Christmas in Chapel Hill is unique in that it's both hyper-focused on community activities like old-fashioned parades, candlelight tours of historic homes, Nutcracker and related performances such as The Little Prince, Holiday Pops with the state Symphony and signs of Santa, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Mother Nature. It's an intellectual town so there's much debate about Santa and tree lighting. But it's also a time when the college semester ends and students scurry home to see their family and friends. As the population grows there is more focus on activities for the locals, including youth and adults. There's exotic restaurant offerings and holiday concoctions; along with parties, ballets and open-house celebrations. There's so much to do in fact that you can't help but notice full page editorials and ads in local papers touting performances on every corner. The weather is mild, the hotels are deeply discounted and more and more people are walking the streets, browsing, sipping, laughing and trying to take advantage of low cost basketball tickets for the Tar Heels collegiate and winning basketball team. Many non-conference games take place at the Dean Smith Center during the holidays. http://www.visitchapelhill.org/ offers great ideas.

No comments: