Travelsmartplanet

Trying to decide how to bring in the New Year? How about a  family-friendly, FREE celebration “ Downtown 31st” – Finale Event held for kids and adults in Riverfront Park and at Market Square for teens, both  in downtown Fredericksburg. This alcohol-free event has an early countdown and is a fun way to culminate the New Year with family and friends of all ages.

With loads of entertainment: Live Music and Dancing, Teen Area, Children’s Area, Games & Interactive Activities, Line Dancers , Entertainers, Crafts, Moon bounce, Food Vendors, Snow Maze, and Burn regrets and share new resolutions. There’s definitely something for everyone at this street party.

The piece de resistance is the Ping Pong Ball Drop at 9 pm that will be dropping 3,000+ ping pong balls including 100+ winning prize balls. Be sure to check out the selfie holiday cards in Riverfront Park.

Location: Riverfront Park, 600 Sophia St., Fredericksburg, VA 22401
Date: Sat, Dec 31, 2016
Time: 5 pm – 9 pm
Tel: 540-372-1086
downtown31.com/finale-event
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitfred.com

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

Christmas is that special time of year when lights illuminate the night sky. In South Florida, they have an annual tradition of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel Winterfest Boat Parade where privately owned boats and yachts take over the intracoastal waterway and display all of their Christmas glory.

The Boat Parade sets sail for 12 miles starting in downtown Fort Lauderdale heading North to Lake Santa Barbara in Pompano Beach. Approximately one million spectators view the parade, along with millions more via television and the internet, bringing national and international recognition to South Florida. The event is the Top 20th Parade in the World and considered the Greatest Show on H2O.

Private boats to the giant showboats and corporate mega yachts will be adorned with hundreds of thousands of lights, music, entertainment, decorations, celebrities, musical groups, beauty queens and many other exciting entries. Parade highlights: Grand Marshal Showboat, Galleria Mall Reindeer Barge and the Santa Showboat.

Fun, Family entertainment. Free admission along the Riverwalk.

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

Fall is in the air and the Darien Fall Festival is the place to be.  Enjoy the Coastal scenery at this family- friendly event, offering tons to do; food, arts, and entertainment and taking place in the picturesque setting of  downtown Darien.

The Classic Coastal Cruisers of Darien Car Show will be on display in Vernon Square, The rescue group, HART of McIntosh, will hold its Doggie Day Parade along Broad Street where you’ll find costumed participants and their owners, kayakers, canoeists, and paddle boarders will compete along a 2.4-mile course from the Darien River Bridge to Fort King George Historic Site.  Be entertained by the McIntosh County Line Dancers and musical performances while Fine Arts vendors, Craft and Antique Vendors, and  Food and Drink vendors will be set up along the streets.

Spend the day strolling the streets of historic Darien while enjoying the arts, antiques, food, and music or watching a battle re-enactment at FortKingGeorge , the Trailhead Center -Burning of Darien;  Museum will be open and there will be horseback rides for children. Ashantilly Mansion and Print Shop will be open. There will be a Lime Burn with a talk on the history of Ashantilly, and then  a historian led walking tour through historic St. Andrews Cemetery.

Diverse outdoor demonstrations including: yard and garden art, furniture and home decor, jewelry and clothing will take place on the grounds of the Old Jail Art Center during Fall Fest. Come out and celebrate the rich history and heritage of Darien.

Location: Downtown – Darien, GA 31305
Date: Nov 5, 2016
Hours: 8am – 5pm
Tel: 912-617-7299
darienfallfest.com
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitdarien.com

Walterboro, SC Exit 57:  Mark your calendars for the Colleton Center’s 8th Annual charity game- Polo for the Point. Learn all about this exciting sport while watching an exhilarating polo match, all for a great cause.

Each polo team consisted of four people on horses and the game lasts for eight chukkas, each of which is seven minutes long. Gate open at noon, pre-game activities begin at 1 pm, with the actual  Benefit Game taking place from  2 – 4pm.

Festivities include: Best Tailgate and Best Hat Contests, Foxhunting Demonstrations, Benefit Match and Stomping of the Divots and wonderful children’s activities: Facepainting, Pony Rides, Balloons by Becky and Trick or
Treating.

Don’t forget to bring your tailgate, as no other foods or drinks will be sold. Proceeds will be used to continue the preservation and restoration of the Colleton Center.

Location:Limehouse Polo Grounds, Highway 15 North, 7201 Jefferies Highway Walterboro, SC
Date: Sun, Oct 30, 2016
Time: Gates open at Noon: 1pm – 4pm
Tel: 843-549-8360
thecolletoncenter.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: walterborosc.org

Brave attendees meet the Ghosts on the Banke at Strawbery Banke’s famous family-friendly Halloween celebration. Long-dead sea captains, 17th century shopkeepers and wayward pirates haunt the streets of Portsmouth’s oldest neighborhood as you trick or treat safely from house to historic house.

Trick-or-Treat safely as Jack-O-Lanterns light the way to step over the threshold of time and meet the “Ghosts on the Banke.” Discover pirate treasure, visit with the wacky witch, look into the future with guidance from the gypsy fortune teller. Catch a Ghostly Tale when Community members bring history back to life with spooky plays, skits, and interactive improvisation throughout the evening. Light up the Night and warm weary bones by the bonfire.

Masques on the Banke (Sunday Oct 30 only – 5:30 – 7pm) – Step “Behind the Mask” at this 90 minute event, as the majestic black Friesian horses of Runnymede Farm perform their equestrian ballet. US Premiere of a choreographed equestrian dressage seen only in Europe.  Meet the horses and enjoy a mask-making craft for Halloween.  Special guests include: Wick’d Fire and the Skeleton Crew Theater.
Show off Your Costume (Oct 31st at 7 pm) – March in a New Orleans-style parade, past haunted houses of old, through ghostly lanes full of things that go bump in the night. The Portsmouth Halloween Parade starts at Peirce Island by Prescott Park. It is an all-inclusive celebration of community, creativity and free expression that walks, stalks, dances, trumpets and drums its way through downtown Portsmouth each year – for more info:  portsmouthhalloweenparade.org

Location:  Strawbery Banke Museum, 14 Hancock St., Portsmouth NH 03801
Date: Fri Oct 28 – Sat Oct 29, 2016
Hours: 5:30pm – 8pm
Tel: 603-433-1100
strawberybanke.org/events/ghosts-on-the-banke.cfm
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: goportsmouthnh.com

Autumn is a beautiful time of year on the coast of Maine. Enjoy the season with a visit to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum and a ride aboard the Pumpkin Train.

Children can explore the museum , which offers a children’s play area with train tables, coloring activities, dress-up like a conductor, and child-size train station and train to climb in and the featured activity where you can paint a miniature pumpkin to bring home as a souvenir to commemorate the day.

All visitors are treated to complimentary hot cider and cookies as they travel along Portland’s waterfront. The train ride lasts approximately 40 minutes and travels 1.5 miles (3 miles round trip).  Train crew and/or museum docents are  aboard with historical and site information and providing a narrative throughout the ride. Both open air cars and enclosed cars are available.

Celebrate the beauty of autumn with a ride aboard the Pumpkin Train. It’s fun for the whole family and even family-friendly pets on a leash are welcome to this leisurely way to enjoy the scenic Eastern Promenade of Casco Bay. Trains operates rain or shine.

Location: Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum,
58 Fore Street, Portland, ME 04101
Dates: Oct 22nd & 23rd, Oct 29th & 30th
Time: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm, Trains on the hour 10am-3pm
Tel: 207-828-0814
mainenarrowgauge.org/pumpkin-train
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitportland.com