2015 Mocksville 'Twas the Night Before Bed Race Date and Time

2015 Mocksville Bed Race

While visions of sugarplums...or maybe Village People...no, wait, was that a reindeer or a minion....err....while visions of rolling beds dance in our heads? It might sound strange, but one of the newer holiday traditions of Davie County includes the "Twas the Night Before Bed Race" in downtown Mocksville. The 2015 bed race is scheduled to start Friday, November 20 at 6:00 p.m. Click here to see my pictures of the 2015 event.

2014 Mocksville Twas the Night Before Bed Race Team © Katrena

The bed race promises loads of fun under the Christmas lights twinkling on the Norman Rockwell type atmosphere in the cozy Piedmont town in Davie County, North Carolina. It will be a bit less bright this year as the town had to bid farewell to two of the four beloved, majestic oak trees at the square; however, the remaining two oaks will shine brightly above the twinkling eyes of spectators this Christmas season. 

2014 Bed Race in Downtown Mocksville © Katrena

Of course, there must be speculation about what we will see this year and which teams might seek to redeem themselves from being spanked by other teams from years past. Perhaps a face-off between WXII news teams? Maybe a frozen Elsa, Anna, Olaf, and friends? Maybe a down and dirty rivalry between Davie High School and DCCC? The teams tend to go all out to entertain with antics and unusual costumes.

Fun Family Christmas Activities in Davie County © Katrena

Each team consists of five members at least 15 years old: four runners and one lying or sitting in the bed. Two teams face off and vie for the fastest time starting at the oak trees and running down about a block and then making a u-turn and back up again to the starting point. Faster teams face off in future rounds until a winner is determined. The event is scheduled to run until 10:00 p.m.

Nighttime Christmas Fun in Mocksville NC © Katrena

Mocksville's Main Street will see even more action this weekend with the 2015 Christmas parade, "Plowin' Through the Holidays" that starts on Main Street this Saturday, November 21 at 1:00 p.m.

Christmas Bed Race in NC © Katrena

Pictures included in this article are from 2014; click on my 2014 article below to see additional pictures from last year's race.

Additional articles

• Famous Christmas Movie Quotes Trivia Game
• 2015 Holiday Caravan Salisbury and Spencer Date and Time
• 2015 Tanglewood Festival of Lights Dates, Rates, and Times
• Katrena's Christmas and Advent Hymns Scavenger Hunt: A Child is Born!
• 2014 Mocksville Bed Race Article and Pictures

Bed Race on Main Street in Mocksville © Katrena

Thank you for visiting my Travel NC With Kids blog. If you are looking for addition holiday family-friendly activities, holiday-themed scavenger hunts, Christmas trivia games, and more, visit my site maps at the top of my blog articles - hover over "pages" to see all topics on my blog.

WXII News Bed Race Crews © Katrena

2015 Tanglewood Festival of Lights Dates, Rates, and Times

Tanglewood Festival of Lights Dates, Rates, and Times © Katrena

Tanglewood Park, located near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been dazzling guests since 1992 with their Festival of Lights display that now features over one million individual LED lights dappling nearly four miles of the park.

In 2015, the Festival of Lights opens November 21 through January 3 nightly from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m.

2015 Tanglewood Festival of Lights Rates	All Other Nights November 21 - January 3	Discount Nights: November 23, 24, 30 December 1
Family Cars, vans, trucks	$15	$5
Commercial Vans, limos, mini-buses	$35	$15
Motorcoaches & buses	$100	$65

Christmas Light Show in North Carolina © Katrena

The Festival of Lights is quite popular as it attracts about 250,000 guests yearly. They typically add or change a few of the displays, but my family has seen some favorites every year that we have visited. My kids particularly like the mermaid at the lake, the golfer who hits the ball down the fence line, and the reindeer who jump over the vehicles! If you prefer much shorter lines and lower rates, I recommend the discount nights per the chart above.

Christmas Gift Shop Featuring Local Artisans © Katrena

My family enjoys stopping to shop at the gift village in the big red barn. You can find a wide variety of locally crafted items at the shop, such as beautiful woodworking, crafts, sports memorabilia, and lots of goodies to eat and drink. Find additional pictures of the holiday shop at my Gift Village article.

Drive-thru Holiday Light Show © Katrena

Guests will also find Santa and Mrs. Claus near the gift shop on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays until December 23. Tanglewood offers their own horse-drawn carriage rides and tractor-drawn hayrides through the Festival of Lights and overnight accommodations at their bed and breakfast or campground.

Local Craft Shows and Christmas Gift Ideas © Katrena

Additional 2015 events are offered at Tanglewood after the light displays are up - see below for dates:

2015 Tanglewood FOL Events	Date
Golf Tournament	November 22
Souper 5K	November 7
Paws in the Park	November 10
Make-a-Wish Walk for Wishes	November 14
Arts for Life Roll and Stroll	November 20
Running of the Lights	December 31

Quite a few local folks volunteer to direct traffic and provide a variety of other services to help make this popular event run smoothly. Visit Tanglewood's Festival of Lights page for more information.

Tanglewood Festival of Lights Volunteer © Katrena

Additional articles

• Tanglewood Trail Free and Open to the Public
• The Cookie House in Hanes Mall at Winston-Salem
• Old Salem Tour of 1784 Tavern - See George Washington's Letter and More
• NC Zoo - Oh the Sites You'll See in the Winter!
• Children's Museum of Winston-Salem NC Has Hands-on Fun

Tanglewood Festival of Lights © Katrena

Thanks for visiting my Travel NC With Kids blog. I hope you find my articles informative and helpful!

Avast Ye Piedmont Peeps...There's Dragons at High Rock Lake!

Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival 2015 © Katrena

High Rock Lake was transformed to a wet and wild racetrack at 9:00 a.m. on August 1, 2015. The 2nd Annual Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival brought lots of folks to cheer, drum, paddle, and enjoy a beautiful day and a bit of competition. Twenty-six teams signed up to face off under a beautiful Carolina blue sky dotted with cotton candy clouds on the shore bordering the Rowan Shrine Club.

2015 Dragon Boat Race at High Rock Lake © Katrena

Teams consisted of about twenty folks, who were ready to try their hand at working together to compete for the fastest time. Some teams brought lots of experience and their own folks who could steer. Novice teams had the opportunity to learn a bit about the sport prior to the event and were provided with an experienced person to steer the boat. The person steering stands at the back, or stern, of the boat, gives instructions, and keeps the boat on course and hopefully afloat. Instruction, boats, oars, life jackets, and other supplies were provided by High Five Dragon Boat Company.

Fun Family Activity at the Lake Near Salisbury NC © Katrena

Team members would grab a paddle and head to the boat on cue. It's a bit of an art form to load a dragon boat. Before the event, teams were given tips regarding distribution of weight. The front of the boat was positioned on shore and those who would sit in the back would load the boat first. Then folks would wade into the water to push the boat a bit farther into the waves.

Rowan Chamber of Commerce Dragon Boat Race © Katrena

After the boat was partially loaded, several more team members would take their places, repeat the process, and finally the fully loaded boat was in motion and heading to the race area. A few teams were a bit timid about getting into the boat...until the person steering mentioned they would have more time to rest if they were the first boat to the starting line!

High Rock Lake Dragon Boat Race 2015 © Katrena

One of the most distinctive parts of a dragon boat race is the drummer. If I had to pick a position on a dragon boat, I'd probably like that one. The drummers sit in a chair at the bow, or front, facing the entire team and strike up a cadence to keep everyone on task and in rhythm. Some teams would also yell something together like "Row...Row...Row..." or "Beer...Beer...Beer" as they began to glide across the lake. I didn't see any boats capsize or anyone go overboard, but a few of the boats needed to have some water bailed out before the next team entered the boat.

Rowan County Dragon Boat Racing © Katrena

This year featured a drummer parade during the lunch break in which drummers from each team competed to see who could raise the most money for the 50/50 raffle. This event was a fund raiser for the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce in North Carolina and also served as a great opportunity for families to come out and enjoy a beautiful day together at High Rock.

Fun Water Sport in Rowan County NC © Katrena

The morning races were timed to see which teams with similar abilities would face off in the afternoon. Three boats were usually racing while another three were loading. Boats with similar previous times would compete with each other until the fastest four teams competed for the final round. Prizes were awarded for a variety of categories after the last race concluded around 3:00 p.m.

Teamwork Fund Raiser in Piedmont of NC © Katrena

Some teams had quite a few fans, some of whom made banners for the occasion. Spectators had lots of food vendors from which to choose. Although temperatures were in the 90s, much of the shore was shaded with a slight breeze. Free trolley rides to and from the parking area were provided for the event.

Free Trolley Rides at Dragon Boat Race at High Rock Lake © Katrena

If you missed the 2015 Dragon Boat Festival at High Rock Lake, I would venture to say there is a good possibility that this event might be held in future years as well. If you are interested in learning more about this year's event, team names, and history of dragon boat racing, visit the Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival page.

Fun Things to do in Rowan County © Katrena

Additional articles:

• Salisbury, NC First Friday Nights Out 2015 Dates
• Dan Nicholas Park Nature Center in Rowan County
• 2015 Mocksville Cruise In Free Car Show Dates and Times

High Five Dragon Boat © Katrena

Thanks for visiting Travel NC with Kids. I hope you enjoy my articles and might try some of the fun activities with your own family.

2015 Monday Evening Summer Programs at Davie County Public Library

DCPL 2015 Monday Evening Summer Programs

Many families have discovered a wealth of family-friendly summer programs at the Davie County Public Library. This year's theme is "Every Hero Has a Story." For me, the folks that work at libraries are also heroes. They are wonderful resources and encourage patrons to become lifelong learners!

Here is the Monday evening schedule for 2015. These programs begin at 6:30 p.m.

June 15	MAD Science
June 22	Puppet Show "Timothy & the Strong Pajamas" Family Games
June 29	Family Classic Movie Night: Superman
July 6	Grey Seal Puppets
July 13	Silver Trout Arts: Stories, Songs, Puppets
July 20	N.C. Zoo Animal Heroes
July 27	Flow Circus: Juggling & Magic
August 3	Sharon Clarke: Musical Storytelling
August 10	Celebration with Ryan Short Balloon Artist

Additional articles:
2015 Mocksville Cruise In Dates
2015 Summer Movies at City Park in Salisbury NC
Katrena's Collection of Free Printable Scavenger Hunts

Thanks for reading my Travel NC With Kids blog!

2015 Gem Theatre $1.00 Summer Movie Schedule

2015 Gem Theatre $1.00 Summer Movies

The Gem Theatre, located at 111 West 1st Street in Kannapolis, North Carolina, offers a movie camp each summer while school is out. These discounted $1.00 movies are offered on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. If you have a group of 15 or more and would like discounted concessions, place your order at the Gem Theatre before 5:00 p.m. on Monday before the show.

If you are a history buff, you'll love the fact that this theatre is one of America's oldest single-screen theatres. It opened in 1936, was gutted by a fire and rebuilt. The concession stand was used to distribute ration coupons during World War II, and visitors can see a portion of the stage that was used by entertainers like Fred Kirby and Roy Rogers and Trigger years ago when traveling stage shows were common before movies were shown. Visitors can sit below or head upstairs to enjoy the show from a large balcony – my kids absolutely love the balcony!

Here are the 2015 dates and movies featured in the $1.00 movie camp program at the Gem:

June 16	The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
June 23	Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
June 30	Annie
July 7	How to Train Your Dragon
July 14	Lego Movie
July 21	Hotel Transylvania
July 28	Peabody & Sherman
August 4	Rio 2
August 11	Penguins of Madagascar
August 18	Dolphin Tale 2

Additional articles

• 2015 Free Summer Movies at City Park in Salisbury, NC
• Crowder's Mountain State Park – Well Worth the Hike!
• Carowinds 2015 Season Pass Bring-A-Friend Dates and Prices

Thanks so much for visiting my Travel NC With Kids blog, where you can find lots of other family-friendly destinations to make this summer fun and family-friendly, even if you are on a tight budget.

2015 Free Summer Movies at City Park in Salisbury NC

2015 Summer Movies at City Park Salisbury, NC

For several years, Salisbury Parks and Recreation has been offering free summer movies at City Park, located at the corner of West Miller and Jackson Streets. Lots of families bring blankets or lawn chairs, purchase a few concessions and enjoy a fun, free family movie outside under the stars.

The 2015 Friday night movies and dates are below. Movies begin at 9:00 p.m. Folks who get there around 8:00 p.m. can enjoy additional entertainment and might win a prize before dusk. In case of inclement weather, the date will be moved to Saturday. They tend to update the web site around 5 p.m. on the scheduled date if the weather is questionable (hoping for great weather this year!). Here's the phone number to call if you have questions: (704) 638-5295.

May 29	Big Hero 6
June 12	The Box Trolls
June 26	*Mr. Peabody and Sherman
July 10	The Book of Life
July 24	How to Train Your Dragon 2
August 7	Annie

*Mr. Peabody and Sherman will be shown on August 21 due to weather cancellation on the originally scheduled date.

Additional articles:

• Salisbury, NC First Friday Nights Out 2015 Dates
• 2015 Mocksville Cruise In Free Car Show Dates and Times
• Dan Nicholas Park Nature Center in Rowan County

Thanks so much for reading my Travel NC With Kids blog!

Buffalo Shoals Equestrian Center – Spring Celebration at the Farm

Buffalo Shoals Equestrian Center Spring Celebration © Katrena

Buffalo Shoals Equestrian Center, located at 1754 Buffalo Shoals Road in Statesville, North Carolina, could not have been a prettier place to enjoy a day outside on April 4, 2015. Temperatures were in the high 60s. A gentle breeze nudged the horses' and humans' manes. The Carolina blue sky was polka-dotted with a few white clouds. As we walked around the house toward the pastures, an experienced eye might catch a glimpse of an Easter egg hidden among the greenery.

Horse Farm in Iredell County NC © Katrena

When Stacey Carter said she was going to host a Spring Celebration, I was determined to mark my calendar. My kids had attended horse camp two summers with Stacey. She has an amazing connection with horses and such a kind spirit toward others. After she moved to Iredell County, we had mainly only kept in touch via Facebook, but I will always consider her to be a friend, whether or not we visit face-to-face on a regular basis – she's just that kind of a person.

Fun Family Activities in Statesville NC © Katrena

We easily found the farm after spotting signs out front heralding the Easter egg hunt. The farm is a short distance from Highway 70. Stacey had already posted on Facebook that two special eggs contained a coupon for a free riding lesson – what a great idea! Most of the eggs contained notes for collecting prizes such as stickers and small toys, which was especially nice for families like ours in which the kids have food allergies.

Egg Hunt on the Farm © Katrena

Crafts included designing "eggs" from twine, making pine cone bird feeders, and decorating eggs that had been colored with natural dyes such as blueberries, purple cabbage, and turmeric. The kids had the opportunity to learn a bit about gardening and how birds can help one to have a healthier and more natural ecosystem.

Buffalo Shoals Equestrian Center in Statesville NC © Katrena

Folks at the celebration could purchase refreshments – everything else was absolutely free. Some of the food was grown locally, and Stacey had two great grillers working their magic over the coals. Fresh squeezed lemonade and homemade desserts were also offered by some helpful children who served with a smile.

Teach Kids to Connect with Horses © Katrena

One of the favorite parts of the celebration included the horses, of course! Stacey talked about connecting with the beautiful 4-legged friends. She has obviously spent loads of time working with these majestic animals that are attentive and respond to her simple, quiet cues. She then allowed children to come and try some of the various techniques she had demonstrated. The kids didn't simply lead the horses around the arena with a rope – they were taught to gain the horse's trust so that that the horse would follow each child on his or her own.

Stacey Carter - The Horse Whisperer © Katrena

I particularly like Stacey's focus on safety and how she gives positive reinforcement. She does not hover, rather stepping back to watch and give specific tips if a child needs a pointer or seems unsure. She knows the horses' personalities and is able to anticipate needs. Even people who might be a bit nervous begin to learn that these large animals are actually quite friendly and sociable. Stacey is experienced in working with therapeutic riding programs, so she is adept at reading a variety of non-verbal cues.

Horsemanship Camps and Youth Programs at Buffalo Shoals Equestrian Center © Katrena

Those who are interested in summer activities might look at horsemanship camps at Buffalo Shoals Equestrian Center. These camps go beyond teaching people to ride – they offer communication skills, encourage self-esteem and self-control, creative problem solving, mutual respect, and responsibility. Visit the Buffalo Shoals Equestrian Center Facebook page for more information about their services.

Easter Egg Hunt and Spring Celebration in Statesville NC © Katrena

Additional articles:

• Can Horse Therapy Improve a Person's Core Strength, Balance, and Health?
• 2014 Heroes and Horses in Downtown Salisbury NC
• 5 Great Reasons to Visit North Carolina State Parks
• Katrena's Free Printable Scavenger Hunts (includes several with an Easter theme)

Thanks so much for visiting my Travel NC With Kids web site – check out my site map to see all of my articles.