News

Tons of Christmas performances on tap

The Hendersonville Community Band will perform a holiday concert Sunday at BRCC.

By Bill Moss, Published: November 30, 2016

Community Band holiday concert

The Hendersonville Community Band will perform its annual holiday concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Blue Ridge Conference Hall at BRCC. Among the selections are “A Festive Christmas,” a medley of traditional carols by Kenny Bierschenk; a lively version of “Jingle Bells,” “O Tannenbaum,” “A Christmas Celebration” also by Bierschenk, “In the Bleak Midwinter” by Gustov Holst, “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” “It’s Christmas!” and more. The ensemble’s own Dixieland Band will delight the audience with “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Johnny Marks and the rousing “Stars and Stripes for Christmas” march by John Philip Sousa among other favorites. Tickets are $10 for adults; students are admitted free. They may be purchased from any band member, the Hendersonville Visitors Center, the Crate in Laurel Park and at the door.

Santa Claus is coming to town

For the first time in decades, downtown Hendersonville will have a home for Santa Claus. A Santa house has been delivered to Mark Ray’s Dad’s Collectibles at 620 North Main St. The house will be open from 6 to 8 Friday and Saturday nights, Dec. 2, 3, 9, 10, 16 and 17. The house will be open for photos when Santa is not there. There is no admission to the house although donations will gladly be accepted. For more information visit www.dadscats.com or call Mark Ray at 828 698-7525.

Carolina Concert Choir presents Winter Choral

The Carolina Concert Choir presents a Winter Choral Celebration Concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, and 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3 at the Bo Thomas Auditorium of Blue Ridge Community College.

Under the direction of conductor Lawrence Doebler, the 42-voice choral ensemble will present an exciting program of seasonal favorites and familiar music. The performance opens with Aaron Copland’s “The Promise of Living,” from The Tender Land and the complete Christmas portion of Handel’s “Messiah” featuring soloists Wendy Jones, Judy Meinzer, Colby Coren and Brian Tribby accompanied by a chamber orchestra led by Mary Irwin, concert master.
After a brief intermission, the Choir, accompanied by pianist Katherine Menefree Price, will perform Dan Forrest’s “You Are The Music” based on a text by poet Amy Lowell, “Listening,” from her “A Dome of Many-Colored Glass.” For this selection, the Choir will be joined by members of the All-County High School Honors Chorus and soprano Amanda Wood. This will be followed by a West Indian spiritual, “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby,” and an Austrian carol, “Still, Still, Still.” Next will be “In the Bleak Midwinter” (based on a tune by Gustav Holst), a Chanukah prayer for children and “Ma’oz Tzur” (Rock of My Salvation). The performance closes with with a spectacular arrangement of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” by Alice Parker.
Tickets for the concerts (adults $22 and students $5) can be purchased at the door, from choir members, at the Crate Wine Project or the Henderson County Visitors Center or by visiting www.carolinaconcertchoir.org.

Keller Williams agents raise $2k for Kare Bears

The Hendersonville Keller Williams office took on the Kare Bears project for needy children.Agents in the Hendersonville Keller Williams office raised more than $2,000 to fund the first 200 “We Kare Bears” as part of the Kares4Kids program, a nonprofit started in 2005 by the owner of numerous Keller Williams offices in the Atlanta area.
Hendersonville team leader Janice Cox set a goal to distribute more than 1,000 bears by the end of 2017 to children in Henderson, Transylvania and Polk counties. Since 2005 the Kares4Kids program has helped over 36,900 children in the Atlanta area and it continues to grow. The goal of the Kares 4 Kids program is to touch the lives of 100,000 children.
The initial release of the Kare Bears will be to Hendersonville and Transylvania County police, fire, rescue, child advocacy and Safelight as well as others as the needs are identified. For more information on The Kare Bear program, or to suggest a location to receive bears, contact Kare Bear chair Laurie Hickman at 828-290-1000, 828-707-3412 cell or by email at lauriehickman@kw.com. To donate send checks made out to Kares4Kids to Attn: Janice Cox, Keller Williams, 404 South Main St. Hendersonville, NC 28792, or drop them off at the real estate office at 404 South Main St. For more information call Cox at 828-290-1001 or visit www.hendersonvillekw.com.

Presbyterian Church sets Celtic-themed Christmas

The adult choir of Hendersonville Presbyterian Church will present “Stars of Glory: Inspired by a Celtic Christmas Carol” by Tome Fettke and Thomas Grassi at 10:55 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, in the church sanctuary.
Christmas carols included in the program are an “Ancient Celtic Carol,” a Celtic version of “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus;” the English melody “What Child Is This?” Christmas words set to the traditional Irish melodies “Slane” and “Love Came Down at Christmas,” some traditional French Carols; the German Carol “Good Christians, All Rejoice” and “Lullaby” from Brahms’ Lullaby.
A special harp prelude of Christmas Carols will be played by Carol Ownbey from 10:30 to 10:55 and bagpiper Joe Bailey will play a postlude at the end of the service at noon.
The choir will wear plaid scarves and bow ties made for the occasion by Hazel Richards and Carolyn Cavallone in celebration of the Celtic theme. The public is invited to come and to wear their plaids, if they wish. Everyone is welcome.
The 8:30 chapel service music will be selections by Lillian Hall, violinist accompanied by music director Gayle Stepp on the piano.

Winter Lights shine at N.C. Arboretum

Running from 6 to 10 p.m. every night through New Year’s Day, the Winter Lights exhibit is an outdoor walking tour of the North Carolina Arboretum’s nationally-known gardens dressed in uniquely lit displays and landscapes.
On Tuesdays, the Arboretum will offer a “Friends and Family” night in which all attendees will receive a discounted flat rate of $15 per ticket. Additionally, Thursday night Winter Lights ticketholders will receive a complimentary cup of hot chocolate as part of the Arboretum’s “Crazy for Cocoa” Thursday night special.
For visitors seeking transportation from downtown Asheville or Hendersonville, the Trolley Company is offering a special Winter Lights Holiday Tour from 6 to 8:30 on Friday and Saturday nights. Guests will be picked up at either the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Asheville or the Visitors Center in downtown Hendersonville and taken on a holly, jolly ride to the Arboretum, where they will receive entry into Winter Lights and a complimentary cup of hot chocolate. Tickets for The Trolley Company’s Winter Lights Holiday Tour are $27 per person and must be purchased at www.thetrolleycompany.com.
Tickets are $18 for adults and $16 for children (ages 5 to 11), not including handling fees and required sales tax. Children age four and under are free. Group tickets are also available ($15 per person, minimum 20 people). Members of the North Carolina Arboretum Society receive a $2 discount on every ticket purchased. For more information visit www.ncwinterlights.com. The North Carolina Arboretum is located off the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 393. Winter Lights tickets are available for purchase online at www.ncwinterlights.com.

Christmas at Connemara features dulcimer music

The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site will host Christmas at Connemara events on Saturday, Dec. 17, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Steve and Jean Smith perform hammered dulcimer music and in the house garage at 10:30 a.m. the New Mountain Strings perform. At 11:30 a.m. John Perkins performs holiday-inspired original folk songs on guitar.

Historic Johnson Farm announces holiday events

The Historic Johnson Farm hosts “Christmas Fun on the Farm” on Dec. 10 and Dec. 17 from 3 to 6 p.m. Activities will include twilight house tours, pictures with Santa, bake walk, free cookie/cider, children’s craft-ornament, hot chocolate bar, and basket raffle. There is no general admission fee. Instead, people can buy tickets in order to do each activity. Each ticket is $1 or six tickets for $5. All activities are one ticket except the house tour, which is three tickets and a picture with Santa which is two tickets.

Bullington Gardens greenery sale is set

Bullington Gardens, a horticultural education center and public gardens, will hold its 12th annual Holiday Greenery and Craft Sale on Friday, Dec. 2, and Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
The Holiday Greenery Sale features premium, freshly-cut Fraser fir trees ranging in height from five to eight feet. These native trees come from the Western North Carolina mountains. Also available are premium garlands in two lengths and unadorned 12” wreaths. An order form is available at www.bullingtongardens.org. Holiday greenery must be pre-ordered by Wednesday, Nov. 23, as limited quantities will be available at the Holiday Craft Sale. Greenery can be picked up during the Holiday Sale, and on weekdays thereafter.
After the Holiday Sale weekend, all craft items and decorated swags and wreaths will be available for purchase at Bullington Gardens Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Dec. 16 or as supplies last. Again this year, Bullington Gardens is selling wreaths for veterans’ graves for $16.
Bullington Gardens is located at 95 Upper Red Oak Trail in Hendersonville. For more information, call Bullington Gardens at 828-698-6104 or visit www.bullingtongardens.org.

Sandburg Home hosts Christmas tea

On Saturday Dec. 10, the Carl Sandburg Home will be the site of a formal Christmas Tea with seatings at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults; $15 for children under 10. The event will be hosted by the Friends of Carl Sandburg and A Southern Cup of Tea, Hendersonville’s new tea house. Guests are encouraged to dress for tea with hats, gloves and period styles. There will also be a Christmas gift shop. Seating is limited. For reservations call Nancy at 828-674-2003.

Mitten Tree needs warm things for kids

The Mitten Tree is up at Trinity Presbyterian Church.
Each Advent Season, the church invites the community to decorate The Mitten Tree with small, warm clothing items for children in need. The Christmas tree welcomes gifts of mittens and gloves, wool hats, toboggans and stocking caps, socks and other small clothing items to help children keep warm in a cold winter. The gifts will be taken to IAM and given to children in the community who need and will appreciate them so much. Trinity is at 900 Blythe St.

Trinity Women set Christmas tea

Trinity Presbyterian Women invite women of the community to a Christmas Tea at 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, with tea sandwiches, quick breads, cookies, cheeses and fruit served on tables decorated with unique nativity scenes.
Guest speaker Vicki Marthaler will share an inspiring, humorous program titled “Get That Baby Out of the Barn.” Included in her program will be familiar Christmas carols for all to sing. Donations of sample size toiletries will be collected for homeless youth in the community. The cost for the tea is $6. Reservations are required and may be made through the church office at 692-6114. Trinity Presbyterian Church is at 900 Blythe St.

With photo of Santa
Santa greets a youngster during Fletcher’s annual Tree Lighting.

Fletcher to light its Christmas tree

The town of Fletcher will kick off the holiday season with its annual Tree Lighting at Fletcher Community Park on Thursday, Dec. 1. The event will include the lighting of the town Christmas tree by Mayor Bill Moore, visits with Santa and plenty of delicious hot chocolate and cookies to help keep warm. Canned goods will be collected for a local food pantry so please bring a can or two for a good cause. The Tree Lighting begins at 6 p.m. and visits with Santa start at 6:30 p.m.