Photos from Cary’s Heart of The Holidays 2014
Cary, NC — Downtown Cary was filled with holiday events this past weekend. Despite threats of inclement weather, the Ole Time Winter Festival attracted crowds shopping for holiday gifts and the Town of Cary moved its Christmas Tree Lighting performances indoors.
Photos from Cary’s Heart of the Holidays 2014
CaryCitizen was out and about taking photos at Heart of the Holidays festivities–shared here with our readers. If you were at these events or others, feel free to post your photos to our Facebook page.
If you missed the fun, enjoy the photo essay and mark your calendars for next year. Cary’s Downtown Christmas and holiday events always take place on Chatham and Academy Streets the first Saturday in December.
Ole Time Winter Festival
The Heart of Cary Association hosted their 11th annual Ole Time Winter Festival along Chatham Street from 10 am-4 pm and, for the most part, the rain held off.
Shoppers could find jewelry, wreaths, up-cycled decor, and tie dyed clothing for sale. Kenneth Neilson of Cary Pottery helped visitors glaze pre-fired pots with his raku kiln that was burning all day.
A shopper visits a tent selling wreaths at Ole Time Winter Festival.
Graceful Expressions dancers perform on the Ole Time Winter Festival outdoor stage.
Handmade soaps for sale
A Raku kiln, provided by Cary Pottery, fired free pottery projects all day.
Page-Walker Open House
Every year, the Page-Walker Arts and History Center holds their Victorian Open-House from 4-6 pm leading up to the Town’s Tree Lighting event next door.
This year, throughout the three floors of the building, visitors enjoyed carolers dressed in Victorian costume, sampled some hot cider and home-made cookies, and listened to performances by a dulcimer musical group. Children could make crafts upstairs on the third floor and, outside, horse drawn carriages took visitors on a free ride around downtown.
Brent Miller, president of the Friends of Page-Walker, talks to visitors about the building’s history.
Carolers on the first floor gallery of Page-Walker
- On the second floor of the Page-Walker Arts and History Center, a group performed Christmas music on dulcimers and other stringed instruments.
Town of Cary Tree Lighting
The 27th annual Cary Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony was moved indoors after the weather appeared to be a safety threat for the performers. This year, 20 acts auditioned to perform, and the town picked the best seven. From a barber shop quartet to a nine-year-old singing sensation, the performances made it clear that Cary has a lot of talent!
The festivities started at 6 pm when emcee Steve Daniels of WRAL started moving things along. At the close of the performances, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht introduced this year’s tree lighters: Anthony and Beth Blackman, owners of Atlantic Tire and Service.
Prior to the lighting, Harold highlighted the company’s numerous awards for being a good community business leader and asset to our town.
The Never Home 4 performed several variations on holiday tunes in barber shop quartet style to open the evening.
Nine-year-old Evan Sackeroff wowed the crowd with his rendition of Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.
Cary Elementary School chorus led by Director Tom Teachout
Mayor Harold Weinbrecht introduces Beth and Anthony Blackman of Atlantic Tire & Service, 2014 official treelighters.
Cary’s official Christmas tree is located on the south side of Town Hall.
It’s A Wonderful Life Radio Play
photos of It’s a Wonderful Life by Brooke Meyer
The Cary Players have performed It’s a Wonderful Life, the Radio Play, inside Cary Town Council Chambers in the past. This year was the first time that the production was performed in the Cary Arts Center.
In 2011, the first year the arts center opened, the company performed the traditional movie version of the play. The current show is set as if it were a radio performance, complete with foley artists creating the sound effects and actors standing in front of their mikes with scripts in hand. It looks a little different than a traditional play production, as you will see in these photos.
The full stage scene for It’s a Wonderful Life by the Cary Players
Three foley artists created all the sound effects for the production.
During breaks and intermission, the jingle singers sang short advertisements for local merchants.
Every holiday season, the Cary Players include a few child actors in their play.
Additional Events
In addition to the events shown here, Cary Academy held their annual Holiday Shoppe, the town conducted a Gingerbread House contest, and the Teen Council had a Santa’s workshop in Herb Young Community Center. Also, don’t forget to check out the holiday gifting trees lining Academy Street.
Saturday was a full day and a truly wonderful way to start the holiday season in Cary.
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Holiday highlights by Lindsey Chester. Photos by Lindsey Chester and by Brooke Meyer.
