The World’s Largest Christmas Tree.

North Carolina’s Hollywood South has a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas. Every year, members of the Capra family host a community screening of the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life directed by the late, great Frank Capra. The free program is preceded by hot chocolate and caroling on the steps of Kenan Auditorium on the UNC-Wilmington campus. Capra’s son, Frank, Jr., now the head of Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, or other family members, takes questions after the movie. This year’s screening takes place Dec. 21.

But it’s just one of the ways to celebrate in the River City. From the World’s Largest Living Christmas Tree to Holiday flotillas and a Battleship draped in lights, Wilmington, NC is a dazzling place to visit during the Holiday season.
           
The huge Christmas tree is a live oak normally draped only in Spanish moss. It’s been hung with thousands of lights every year since 1928 and is a beloved Wilmington tradition. The 78th annual lighting of the tree takes place Dec. 6, with Santa and many local citizens on hand at Hilton Park located on US 117. The tree remains alight every night through New Year’s Eve.
           

The Battleship NORTH CAROLINA lights up for the Holidays with strings of cheer from stem to stern, Dec. 7-Jan. 6. The best place to see the lights is from the historic Wilmington waterfront right across the river.
           

The Battleship North Carolina.

On Sunday, Dec. 9, Santa comes to downtown as the 5th annual Wilmington Holiday Parade makes its way through the historic streets.
           
The city’s riverfront district dresses in its sparkling holiday finery all month. You can tour the brightly lit neighborhoods on special Trolley Tours of Holiday Lights during the weekends leading up to Christmas. Or, Dec. 21-24, go caroling aboard a carriage drawn by horses wearing antlers as they stand in for Santa’s reindeer.
           
The historic house museums of the riverfront district are dressed in their holiday best as well, and host several special parties during December. Burgwin-Wright House, used by General Cornwallis as his headquarters during the Revolution, celebrates a Colonial Christmas with 18th century carolers and hot wassail, Dec. 15-16. Nearby, the Latimer House is decked with Victorian Christmas decorations, while the Bellamy Mansion displays the gracious décor of a townhouse of the pre–Civil War period. All three houses welcome visitors all month. A combination ticket is available; proceeds benefit the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society.
           
The Bellamy Mansion, a spectacular survivor of antebellum architecture surrounded on three sides by tall white columns, inaugurates a new tradition this holiday season. On Dec. 27, it will host its first Jonkonnu. The celebration, historically held between Christmas and New Year’s, originated in the Caribbean, and was brought to the southern states by enslaved people.
           
Bellamy’s Jonkonnu will honor the enslaved men, women and children who built and worked at the mansion. Masked and specially costumed dancers will be accompanied by drumming and singing. Storytelling will evoke the people’s West African traditions. Special children’s activities are planned. The event is free and open to the public.
           
Today, Wilmington is noted for its active arts community. For the holidays, the local theater companies have some unusual offerings, including It’s a Wonderful Life—The Radio Play, and a theatrical adaptation of the popular holiday film A Christmas Story. The Santaland Diaries, the “anti-holiday” cult classic written by David Sedaris, will also enjoy a run, for those who need a little Grinch mixed in with their Christmas cheer.
           
Children and adults alike will enjoy Broadway Santa, the annual holiday show of the Children’s Theatre at Thalian Hall Dec. 15-16. A new production, Christmas (Cranberry Peacock) Pudding, by the Stageworks Youth Theatre, reveals the inner workings of the North Pole using actors and puppets Dec. 7-9.
           
In Wilmington, kids have plenty of opportunity to meet with Santa. He will be taking gift requests every weekend evening at the World’s Largest Christmas Tree. And on Dec. 8, families can board the paddlewheel boat Henrietta III and cruise up the Cape Fear River to fetch the jolly old elf from the North Pole.
           
The Henrietta III makes daily sightseeing trips on the river with Murder Mystery and Dinner Dance Cruises offered weekly. The paddlewheeler offers a special cruise on New Years Eve with live music and dancing, hors d’oeuvres and champagne.
    
Downtown Wilmington offers plenty of places to shop for Christmas presents. At the northern end of Front Street, the Cotton Exchange captures the charm of the era when cotton ruled the economy. Here, eight restored buildings connected by brick courtyards house 30 unique shops and restaurants. A short distance downriver, the cobblestone streets and restored 19th century pier of Chandler’s Wharf are home to shops and restaurants overlooking the Cape Fear.
           
More great shopping can be found at the Riverfront Farmers’ Market, held every Saturday morning through Dec. 22 in Riverfront Park at the foot of Market Street. Besides local produce, vendors offer baked goods, pickles, jams, jellies, arts and crafts, and holiday decorations—everything you’ll need for seasonal parties back home.
           
Just outside Wilmington, the lights are bright at Airlie Gardens and Carolina Beach.
           
A very special holiday event takes place through Dec. 22 at Airlie Gardens, a public park operated by New Hanover County. Enchanted Airlie, magical evenings featuring 30 acres of lights, music, model trains, and, of course, Santa are staged Thursday through Saturday. Tickets must be purchased in advance from www.airliegardens.org.
           
At Carolina Beach, the classic Southern beach town celebrates in style with the annual Island of Lights. A dazzling display of lights and luminaries surround the town’s 11-acre lake. Families stroll the one-mile path around the lake caroling as they go. The light show is free and takes place nightly through Dec. 31.
           
The Island of Lights comes to a sparkling conclusion at the New Year’s Eve Countdown, with live music, dancing and fireworks at the Carolina Beach Gazebo as a giant lighted beach ball is lowered to greet the New Year.
           
For more information on Wilmington and the Cape Fear region, call 910-341-4030 or toll-free at 1-866-266-9690, or visit www.gocapefearcoast.com for a complete Calendar of Events and holiday package deals.

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