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Make sure that you include a stop in Fayetteville to see the NATURE CONNECTS® Art with Lego® Bricks Exhibit at Cape Fear Botanical Garden which lasts until January 8, 2017.

Kids and kids at heart will appreciate this award-winning, record-breaking exhibition, inspired by nature and built by artist Sean Kenney, with over 500,000 colorful LEGO® bricks. The exhibit features  larger-than-life sculptures representing the complex and amazing network that interconnects all living things on Earth.

The sculptures will be displayed throughout the Garden to encourage you to walk by an 8-foot tall hummingbird, go nose-to-nose with a 5-foot bumblebee, admire a 7-foot rose, and watch an oversized koi leap about in the Cypress Pond.

Interpretative panels for each display with feature a message to connect children with the natural world and promote environmental stewardship and conservation. Adding to the exhibit will be activities for all ages, hands-on building stations, and design competitions.

Cape Fear Botanical Gardens also offers some evening entertainment for the holidays:  Holiday Lights in the Garden – where the Garden will be transformed into a sparkling wonderland with thousands of lights illuminating plants, trees, and new exhibits.

Attractions and festivities include a synchronized show of lights and music shimmering over the Cypress Pond, a mile long stroll featuring thousands of lights aglow, photos with Santa on select evenings, S’mores roasting over the fire pit, and free crafts for children. The Garden Gift Shop, brimming with wonderful holiday selections, will be open each evening. nightly until Dec 23rd, Dec 26th – 30th, 5 – 9pm.

Take advantage of their on-line special pricing:.eventbrite.com/e/holiday-lights-in-the-garden-pre-sale-tickets-29281713393

Location: Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville, NC 28301
Dates: until Sun,  Jan 8, 2017 – *Excluding holidays: Christmas Eve and Day, New Year’s Eve and Day.
Hours: Mon – Sat: 10am – 4pm, Sun: 11am – 4pm *Last Admission: 3:15 pm
Tel: 910-486-0221
capefearbg.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitfayettevillenc.com

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The Wilson Whirligig Festival is a community celebration of people and art in motion held the first weekend in November, where everyone comes together for an energetic street festival focusing the whimsical North Carolina Folk Art, Vollis Simpson’s Whirligigs.

Don’t forget to check out the Cake Dive, the festival’s MESSIEST event, held on the Courthouse plaza on Sunday at 4 pm.  Participants  “dive” into a large10 ft x 10 ft anniversary cake for a variety of prizes.

With 35,000+ attendees , over 200 vendors, 3 stages of entertainment, arts & crafts
food vendors, FREE! Whirli-Kidz Zone and lots of Special events.

This commemoration is truly family-friendly and kid focused. FREE  live performances all day long with a wide variety of dance and demonstrations, from hip hop to lyrical, from clogging to ballet, from singing to karate. Play carnival games, create a craft, slide down a giant 26 foot slide or bounce in one of the many inflatable activities. Children of all ages can enjoy a variety of activities. Kids shouldn’t have all the fun! Demo’s available for 16 and up. Virtual Reality is not just for gamers anymore, it is everywhere. Learn more about this technology.

Location: Historic Downtown Wilson, 112 Goldsboro E ,Wilson, NC 27893
Date: Sat, Nov 5 – Sun, Nov 6, 2016
Time: Sat 10 – 5pm, Sun Noon – 5pm
Tel: 252-289-9650
whirligigfestivalnc.org

For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: wilsonnc.org

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 The 18th Annual NC Cotton Festival celebrates and brings recognition to one of North Carolina’s prime agricultural products, cotton. The event started in 1998 and has grown each year attracting approximately 12,000 people.   Everything takes place in Dunn’s historic downtown, taking up more than 16 city blocks mainly on Broad Street, Wilson Avenue and Edgerton Street.

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Learn a lost art from people who have been holding on to hollerin’ for over 47 years keeping the North Carolina staple “Hollerin’” alive at the Worldwide Hollerin’ contest on October 8^th.

“Hollerin’,” a traditional form of communication used in rural areas to convey long-distance messages, is considered by some to be the earliest form of communication between humans. “Hollers” exist for virtually any communicative purpose imaginable. The hollers featured at the World Wide Hollerin’ festival fall into one of these four categories: distress, functional, communicative or pleasure.

Enjoy a wide variety of fun activities and entertainment, including: the Hollerin’ Contest, Paradise Acres BBQ & Chicken, assorted food vendors, live music, crafts and Children’s activities. Visitors are invited to bring their chairs, blankets and coolers and enjoy the contest on the 12-acre Paradise Acres facility.

Eighty percent of the proceeds from the event are donated to Wags4Tags.org , an organization that matches trained shelter dogs with veterans suffering from psychological and emotional injuries.

Location: Paradise Acres, 1965 John McMillan Rd, Hope Mills, NC 28348
(Exit 41 off the I-95)
Date: Nov. 5th, 2016
Time: 10 am to 6 pm
Tel: 910-633-4735
worldwidehollerinfestival.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants and Attractions: visitfayettevillenc.com

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It’s a game that you rarely think of playing outside a five-by-two foot space. It incorporates skill, concentration and hand-eye coordination. It’s foosball, the tabletop-size game that has a household presence but with an entirely new approach.

The human version of the tabletop classic is remarkably similar to its traditional counterpart, but on a much larger scale. Teams of 6 attach themselves to fixed poles across the field and can only move to the right or left as a team, to move the ball up the field. Teams consist of 2 Forwards, 3 Mid-fielders and 1 Goalie. Watch your favorite table-top game come to life when twenty-four teams  participate in this round robin tournament taking place on the grounds of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum.

Cash prizes are awarded to the top three teams. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase. The tournament raises money for the museum’s nonprofit foundation.

Location: Airborne & Special Operations Museum,100 Bragg Blvd., Fayetteville, NC 28301
Date: Sat, Oct 1,2016
Time: 9 – 5pm
Tel: 910-643-2778
asomf.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitfayettevillenc.com

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Daniel Boone first came to the mountains of NC in 1752, and he roamed around the area of Grandfather Mountain, which is today one of NC’s top scenic attractions. This is a replica of his famous carving on a Beech tree that reads “D. Boon killed a bar o this tree 1775” which you will find in The Grandfather Mountain Nature Museum. The tree was actually in Kingsport, TN.

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At the Nature Museum, you can find this scale model of Grandfather Mountain, which is one of NC’s top scenic attractions. The museum houses more than 2 dozen exhibits about the natural history of the area, and there is a nature conservancy on the grounds.

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The Hickory Furniture Mart in NC is not to be missed if you’re into outlet shopping and furniture. With 4 floors of marts and 80,000 sq ft of showrooms, you can easily spend 3 days roaming through here.

Tags: assortment, decor, designer, Drivei-95, floor, furniture, Hickory, Hickory Furniture Mart, i-95, mart, North Carolina, outlet, roadtrip, selection, shop, shopping, showroom, travel, travelblogger, USA

What a useful couch! It’s made of denim, and each end has 4 large storage pockets. We found this at the Hickory Furniture Mart in NC.

Tags: assortment, decor, denim, desiner, furniture, Hickory, Hickory Furniture Mart, mart, North Carolina, outlet, pocket, selection, shop, shopping, storage

The Hickory Furniture Mart in NC is not to be missed if you’re into outlet shopping and furniture. With 4 floors of marts and 80,000 sq ft of showrooms, you can easily spend 3 days roaming through here.

Tags: assortment, designer, floor, furniture, Hickory, mart, North Carolina, outlet, roadtrip, roaming, selection, shop, shopping, showroom, travel, travelblogger, USA