Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412140041
SECTION: TRAVEL PAGE: G-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAY MILLER
DATELINE: WINSTON-SALEM LENGTH: Long
The trip will include lots of oooooohhhing and aaahhhing over the Christmas decorations and celebrations of others, such as here at Old Salem, the restored 2-centuries-old Moravian community.
Its narrow, quiet streets and quaint houses seem perfectly cast for a role in an old-fashioned Christmas celebration. Your senses will be put to the test here. Choirs will sing; there's lots to enjoy visually; and in the gift shops you'll be able to touch ruffled beeswax candles, Moravian stars, tin cookie cutters, a putz, a Christmas pyramid and other signs of the season.
Your senses of taste and smell will be enticed by the aromatic, thin-as-paper ginger cookies that beckon you to the tiny (and usually customer-filled) Winkler Bakery. Other temptations include Moravian sugarcake - drenched in cinnamon-sugar and butter - muffins, buns and breads.
Moravian Christmas tradition meets today's multimedia presentation in a children's program held daily at 2 and 3 p.m. at the Vierling Barn Theater, through Dec. 31 (except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). Admission is free with the tour ticket; individual admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children 6-14.
"Salem Christmas" will be held Dec. 17 from 1 to 7 p.m. (it is always held the Saturday before Christmas). Costumed guides will explain and demonstrate Moravian Christmas traditions, activities, worship and customs, as well as the daily life of the community. There will be opportunity for visitors to try dipping tallow candles and decorating a Christmas pyramid; wagon rides will be offered across the town; and Moravian brass bands will regale everyone. Tickets are $14 for adults and $7 for children aged 6-14.
Lines will be long for this special treat, so arrive early and if it the air is chilly, be sure to be warmly dressed. Bring a camera.
To work off some of that sugarcake, you can take a Christmas walk, discovering the Yuletide as it was observed by the Colonial Moravians in the 1700s.
Candle teas will be sponsored by the Women's Fellowship of Home Moravian Church Dec. 8-10. Highlights include Moravian hymns, 19th century decorations and traditional foods. For more information, call 910-722-6171.
If you take a fancy to Moravian designs, drop by the Old Salem Collection of Furniture and Accessories. This is a Christmas showhouse filled with their reproduction furniture, linens and decorative art from the Bob Timberlake collection. Purchases can be shipped.
The Old Salem Tavern (established in 1825) serves authentic Moravian fare by a staff in period attire. Hours are 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Group rates are available. If you would like something light, drop by the Mayberry Restaurant, a short stroll down a hill, right next to the Post Office. The restaurant is open 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
Winston-Salem is filled with many restaurants and hotels. The city's Convention and Visitors Center is at 601 W. Fourth St. Phone 910-725-2361 or 1-800-331-7018 for specific information. If you want to stay within the Old Salem district, check out the Augustus T. Zevely Bed and Breakfast. The 150-year-old property was the home of a prominent doctor. Some rooms have working fireplaces; all have private baths, TVs and phones, and a view of Old Salem. For information call 910-748-9299.
For more information about Old Salem, call 910-721-7300 or 1-800-441-5305 Monday through Friday. Old Salem is open 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday.
At Christmas, Asheville's Biltmore House is spectacular. The 250-room estate, which George W. Vanderbilt had modeled after the Loire Valley chateaux, is America's largest privately owned home.
Christmas first came to Biltmore on Christmas Eve 1895, when Vanderbilt welcomed family and friends to his newly completed home nestled on 125,000 acres in the North Carolina mountains.
Christmas came to Biltmore this year on Nov. 12 and will run through Dec. 31. This is holiday spirit on a grand scale - hundreds of wreaths and poinsettias, 10,000 feet of evergreen swags and 35 trees. In the Banquet Hall, a tree nearly 40 feet high is graced by Victorian ornaments. And your stroll through may be accompanied by the celestial touch of soloists, choirs or chamber music.
Special Candlelight Christmas evenings are marked by crackling fires, hundreds of candles glowing through the richly decorated rooms, again accented with music.
Biltmore House makes a fine centerpiece for a weekend, and you can count on spending most of one day right there. It's open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Days. Admission is well worth it, and includes the house, gardens, gift shops and winery. The driveway from the main gate is roughly four miles long; this is quite a show.
Holiday seaon (Nov.12-Dec. 31) daytime tickets ($26) and candlelight visits ($29) to the estate are somewhat higher than regular prices. Call 704-255-1700 or 1-800-543-2961 for more information. No reservations are necessary for individuals for the daytime visits, but reservations are required for the Candlelight Evenings at 1-800-289-1895. Tickets will be mailed up to three weeks in advance of the Candlelight reservation. Orders placed less than three weeks before your visit will be held at the ticket office. Candlelight tickets are not refundable.
Food is also available at Biltmore. Lighter fare is served at the Stable and Winery cafes, and a Victorian-style buffet is available at the Deerpark Restaurant. Separate reservations will be needed for the Deerpark; food is not included with any of the tickets.
Asheville proper has a wide choice of lodging and restaurants. One of the oldest and best-known resorts is the Grove Park Inn. Built in 1913, the Inn is on the National Register of Historic Places and combines wonderful views, old world charm and exceptional Southern hospitality.
As part of its 40-day Christmas celebration, the 510-room resort will again sponsor its gingerbread house competition, open to amateurs and professionals alike. All entries will be displayed through Jan. 3. On the Inn's agenda year-round are golf, indoor and outdoor tennis, two pools, a sports center, children's programs and fine dining.
Instead of St. Nick, the town of McAdenville in Gaston County, may prefer to hail Tom Edison, for it is thousands of lights that have brought special Christmas renown. Each year the 1,000 residents of this town decorate 375 trees with 365,000 colored lights. The small textile town situated about 18 miles west of Charlotte will be aglow through Dec. 26, Monday-Friday, 5-9:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 5-11 p.m.
There's no admission fee, but be sure to come armed with patience - this event draws close to 2 million people in 400,000 vehicles, driving slowly.
Most of the citizens work for Stowe-Pharr Mills, and it is the mill that underwrites the glittering display. The event began in 1956 when the McAdenville Men's Club volunteered to provide the labor. to decorate nine trees. The next year, it was 35 trees ... and on and on.
People drive in from all over the country to get a glimpse. And Charles Kuralt featured the display on his Sunday Morning program. Hurricane Hugo left its mark on some trees, but the display went ahead, undaunted.
Take the Lowell/McAdenville exit off Interstate 85, turn left and head toward the multicolored glow in the sky. The drive through town takes about 20 to 30 minutes, and when you're not looking at a sparkling tree, you will see wreaths adorning more than 200 lampposts through town and individual homes decorated as well.
A prime viewing spot is the lake near the center of town where the sparkle of 75 trees shimmers on the water. In the middle of the lake, a fountain sprays 3,000 gallons of water a minute 75 feet in the air. Nearby, a 9-foot-tall, 70-foot-long Santa Claus and his reindeer preside over the show.
The mill also sets up a nativity scene that includes music and carolers.
For the men of McAdenville, Christmas begins in October, when they assess the bulbs and the wiring, attending to what needs replacing. Stringing begins in October, one by one.
But it's worth it - to the townspeople and their visitors, and certainly to Santa when he flies overhead on Christmas Eve and gets the very best show of all.
Other spots to see:
PINEHURST has holiday-related events through Jan. 1. For a detailed schedule, contact the Pinehurst Area Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-346-5362 or call the Events Line for weekly updates at 910-692-1600.
CAPE FEAR COAST also offers events until Jan. 1, including caroling by carriage. Call 1-800-222-4757 for details.
NEW BERN's Tryon Palace transports visitors to Christmas traditions several centuries old through Dec. 21. The palace built for a royal governor is adorned with fresh fruits and fragrant greenery, tables are laden with delicacies for a gala ball as it would have been staged in the 1770s. Candlelight tours are available Dec. 15-17. Carolers, dancers and harpsichord music add to the holiday sparkle. Call 1-800-767-1560 for more information on activities and ticket prices.
Kay Miller is a free-lance travel writer based in Raleigh.
by CNB