Spirits of Christmas Holiday Hayrides 2010

Who says that ghosts and Christmas don’t go together? Not Charles Dickens; not Ebineezer Scrooge; and certainly not Ghosts of New Bern ™ and Carolina Carriage Tours who are pleased to announce that this December they will one gain offer the “Spirits of Christmas Holiday Hayride” ™ of New Bern’s Downtown Historic District.

The hour-long hayrides begin at Morgan’s Tavern and Grill (235 Craven St.) at 7:30 PM each Friday and Saturday of December.

Guests will ride in the rustic comfort of a tractor-drawn hay wagon and will view New Bern’s beautiful holiday decorations and hear holiday-themed tales of the strange occurrences, unusual happenings and ghosts that haunt many of New Bern’s homes and buildings. The tour’s stories are based on the book, Ghosts of New Bern © by Joseph and Joyce O’Callahan. Holiday Hayride ™ guests will be treated to a most entertaining and “spirited” evening.

Ghosts of New Bern and Carolina Carriage Tours will also continue to offer their regularly-scheduled walking tours and carriage rides. Reservations are required for the “Spirits of Christmas Holiday Hayride ™ ” . Space is limited - for tickets and information please call (252) 571-4766.

Holiday Mystery Dinner

 A Victorian-style Father Christmas has been kidnapped by ne’er-do-wells and Mother Christmas has hauled out a crew of fictional misfit Christmas characters to help her solve the mystery and save the day. This is the set-up for Athens of the South’s second mystery dinner play, “The Miscreants’ Christmas,” December 10, 11, 17 and 18 at the BridgePointe Hotel and Marina in New Bern. Performances begin at 7 p.m.

The play, written by company director Bill Hand, is peopled with famous (and not-so-famous) characters from popular Christmas tales. From Charles Dickens’ The Christmas Carol comes Ebenezer Scrooge (played by John Baldwin), who still battles with his crotchety ways; his goodness-mentor, a grown-up Tiny Tim (Daryl Harris), whose innocence has gone just a little awry, and an emo-like, tricky Want (Cassi Young), half of the “Ignorance and Want” children housed under the Ghost of Christmas Present’s robe. From O. Henry’s Gift of the Magi comes Della (Nancy Hitchcock) and James (Bill Hand), a naïve and good-natured but penniless husband and wife. Rounding out the cast is the mischievous Jack Frost.

Mother Christmas (Sue Baldwin) calls the characters together for a council to read the ransom letter and try to figure out who took Father Christmas and why. Audience interaction is a major part of the show, with diners being selected to do small parts on stage, and with characters talking with them and answering questions between scenes. Before the last act, everyone gets to take a guess as to who took Father Christmas and why. The closest guess wins a prize.
Dinner is provided by Annabelle’s and the dinner is BYOB.

Tickets are $40 general admission (for dinner and show); $35 for children under 18, military, and groups of ten or more. They can be purchased through the Bank of the Arts, Middle Street, New Bern, through the Athens of the South website (AthensMysteryDinners.yolasite.com), or by calling 252-229-4977.
 

Ten Thousand Villages Festival

Invest in the world while shopping for the holidays at the Ten Thousand Villages Festival on Saturday, December 4, and Sunday, December 5.  Discover beautiful, unique home décor, hand loomed textiles, pottery, jewelry, baskets, toys, gifts and a variety of other well-made, unusual items at affordable prices.

The Festival will be held at First Presbyterian Church’s J. Murphy Fellowship Center, 508 Middle Street, New Bern. Festival hours are 9:30 am to 3 pm on Saturday and 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm on Sunday.  Admission is free.

This is the fifth year the church’s Presbyterian Women’s organization, in cooperation with other individuals and groups within the church, has sponsored a Ten Thousand Villages Festival. The event is an outreach/mission project for the church.

All items are made by skilled local artisans in developing countries; they receive “fair trade” prices for their handicrafts.  These people, living in over 30 nations in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed. Income from the ongoing orders from Ten Thousand Villages provides stability in their lives and enables the workers to send their children to school, to purchase food, clothing, housing and health care, and to dream of a better future.

Ten Thousand Villages, a nonprofit fair trade organization based in Akron, PA, is the largest fair trade retailer in North America. It provides vital, fair, dependable income to artisans around the world by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America. Click here to visit their website.