NEW BERN, N.C. — Continue your celebration with family and friends by kicking off the holiday season at Tryon Palace. Our Christmas decorations are up in the Governor's Palace, Historic Homes, and the North Carolina History Center. Enjoy holiday tours of the festooned gardens and bedecked halls. This year, fill your holidays with a touch of the exotic as you explore early America's fascination with cultures from afar through vivid and exotic decorations while experiencing the sights, sounds, and scents of Christmases past.
On Friday, Nov. 23, you can make a 19th-century popular toy and stocking stuffer, a thaumatrope, or explore our hands-on Holiday Gallery Cart while enjoying the ethereal sounds of dulcimers playing traditional holiday music. On Saturday, Nov. 24, help us trim our Christmas tree in the North Carolina History Center’s Gateway Gallery by making historically inspired ornaments – you can even make one for your tree at home! Then on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 25 at 2:00 p.m., the Tryon Palace Fife & Drum Corps performs a special holiday concert in Cullman Performance Hall.
Start your holiday shopping early by visiting the Museum Store, featuring an array of unique holiday gifts! The Museum Store is located in the North Carolina History Center and is open every day except holidays. There's never an admission charge to shop and all proceeds go towards funding educational activities at Tryon Palace.
For detailed information on individual events, explore the Tryon Palace calendar a http://www.tryonpalace.org/ or call Karen Ipock, Educational Programs Manager, at (252) 639-3581 or e-mail at kipock@tryonpalace.org.
Tryon Palace is closed on Thanksgiving Day.
More events:
Friday, Nov. 23 - Sunday, Nov. 25, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Friday - Saturday and 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sunday
Festive Holiday Kick-Off Weekend
Join us as we kick off the holiday season on Thanksgiving weekend! Christmas decorations are up in the North Carolina History Center, Governor’s Palace, and in our three historic houses. Special performances, craft activities, and holiday tours officially launch us into the Christmas season.
Friday, Nov. 23, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Downeast Dulcimers
North Carolina History Center, Mattocks Hall
Free Admission
Enjoy Downeast Dulcimers as they play a variety of holiday and traditional tunes on “lap” or “mountain” dulcimers while you visit the North Carolina History Center and shop in the Museum Store.
Friday, Nov. 23, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Celebrating Christmas Past
North Carolina History Center, Mattocks Hall
Free Admission
As you explore the North Carolina History Center, stop by and make a thaumatrope, a 19th- century toy that was once a popular stocking stuffer, and visit our hands-on Holiday Gallery Cart and learn about the holiday traditions of our past.
Saturday, Nov. 24, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Mermaid Morrigan
North Carolina History Center, Mattocks Hall
Free Admission
While you visit the North Carolina History Center and shop in the Museum Store, enjoy a selection of original and traditional seasonal songs performed by Cindy Rhodes on the hammered dulcimer.
Saturday, Nov. 24, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Help us trim our tree!
North Carolina History Center, Activity Classroom
$6 per adult, $3 per child or included with regular admission
Get in the holiday spirit by making a historic ornament for the North Carolina History
Center’s Gateway Gallery Christmas tree and one to take home to hang on your own tree. Drop by the North Carolina History Center’s Activity Classroom anytime between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. This activity is designed for all ages, though younger children may need some assistance.
Sunday, Nov. 25, 2:00 p.m.
Holiday Fife & Drum Concert
North Carolina History Center, Cullman Performance Hall
$6 adults; $3 children; included with regular admission
Musicians were an important part of the 18th-century military. Fifes and drums played from sunrise to sunset, and served as a primary mode of communication from commander to troops during battle. Enjoy a special holiday concert by Tryon Palace’s Fife & Drum Corps, our recreation of a colonial fife and drum corps which plays at numerous events throughout the year in New Bern and beyond.
About Tryon Palace
Tryon Palace, located in New Bern, N.C., is part of the Office of Archives and History, an agency of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Tryon Palace is one of North Carolina's most significant historic sites. It is the home of the Governor's Palace, North Carolina's first colonial and first state capitol, and includes historic buildings, gardens and the North Carolina History Center, which revolutionizes the visitor experience through use of the latest interactive technology. The History Center includes galleries, a performance hall, the museum store and a waterfront café. Tryon Palace's mission is to engage present and future generations in the history of North Carolina from early settlement in 1710, the development of statehood and into the mid-twentieth century. It is dedicated to collecting, interpreting and preserving objects, buildings, landscapes and events that enrich understanding of the making of our state and nation.
Tickets and visitor information are available at Tryon Palace, 529 S. Front St., New Bern.
For directions and further information about special events, programs or group tours, employment and more, visit our web site: www.tryonpalace.org or phone (800) 767-1560 or (252) 639-3500.
About the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation's first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council, and the State Archives.
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources champions North Carolina's creative industry, which employs nearly 300,000 North Carolinians and contributes more than $41 billion to the state's economy. To learn more, visit www.ncculture.com.
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CONTACT:
Brandon J. Anderson
252-639-3584
banderson@tryonpalace.org
