November 1st hit me hard this year. October is a very, very busy month in our world… two festivals occur each year in Downtown North Wilkesboro. Apple Festival begins the month of October and Spooktacular concludes the month.

As I began to put the Halloween decorations away, it occurred to me that Light Up Downtown was 21 days away. Literally, as a downtown merchant we are moving from Halloween into Christmas season as quickly as possible 😬.

Wow! So much prep work gets underway between each holiday season and festival… BUT that would require a different day and blog post!

My mind wandering, task in hand, Halloween decorations being packed away and beginning to think about the upcoming Christmas season ahead… Light Up Downtown North Wilkesboro marks the official beginning of our “Hometown Holidays” here in Wilkes. I began to reminisce about my personal experiences of Christmases past in our hometown.

Time flooded my memories… the ultimate focus, making memories with our son by recalling upon the Christmas experiences that we shared together here in our hometown.

All of these Christmas memories were a core holiday remembrance that I have coined as a “Hometown Holiday” Memory.

I can vividly recall taking “B” to Light Up Downtown to view all the lights in the Downtown corridor, seeing Santa at Talia, or even snacking on a homemade cookie as we wandered through the Christmas Open House at the old Wilkes Courthouse.

And it simply wasn’t a Hometown Holiday without heading down to Memorial Park to select a Christmas tree.

Our Hometown holiday experiences continued with The Annual Christmas parade sponsored by the Wilkes County Chamber of Commerce. The ultimate celebration of the parade each year, was the final view of Santa as he waved to all, boasting a joyful Merry Christmas !!!!

We always enjoyed the togetherness and loyally participated every year. We gathered with friends to enjoy the moments of Hometown Holidays that seemed to happened seamlessly every year. To those who put these events together, I say Thank You! The Christmas memories are precious and very special to not only my family, but to many families who participate in these local holiday celebrations and events every year!

My personal reflections went even deeper. The Gifts we give at Christmas will often be forgotten years down the road, but these “Hometown Holidays” memories will stay with us and will be remembered always.

That thought put a bit a perspective into Hometown Holidays Season that is now upcoming for 2024. So my personal goal for this Christmas is to explore and experience new Christmas hometown holiday events.

Will you also accept this opportunity??? What new memories will we all make this Christmas 2024 by experiencing something new in our hometown??? After all, Christmas is a special time with family and what could be better than by establishing new traditions and memories.

Looking at the list below, our hometown is full of opportunities for families to gather and create hometown Christmas traditions and memories. Christmas Memories are simply timeless treasures of the heart. Go make some new Hometown memories this holiday season!

What special hometown holidays events do you always look forward to each year???

Hometown Holiday Events in Wilkes at a Glance! (Definitely not a complete list but gets you started)

1. Light Up Downtown North Wilkesboro- November 22, 2024
2. Reindeer Games- Wilkes Playmakers December 5-8
3. Wilkes Literacy Gingerbread Festival- December 6-7, 2024 at The 1915 Event Venue
4. Christmas in the Commons- in Downtown Wilkesboro December 7, 2024 3:30-8pm
5. Holly Jolly Christmas Party- Wilkes Art Gallery- December 6th
6. Wilkes Chamber Singers- Performance of The 12 Days of Christmas – December 8th St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 3pm, Tuesday December 10th North Wilkesboro Presbyterian 7:30pm.
7. Community Lovefeast- Candlelight Service in the Moravian Tradition, North Wilkesboro Baptist Church Sunday December 8, 2024 7pm.
8. Sip and Shop Holiday Market- Wilkes Art Gallery December 9, 2024 5pm-6:30pm
9. Annual Holiday Market- Wilkes Art Gallery December 10-21
10. A Storybook Christmas Parade- Saturday December 7th 3pm
11. Wilkes Heritage Museum Christmas Open House- December 7th 10am-4pm
12. Christmas Carriage Rides-in Downtown North Wilkesboro December 5, 7, 19, 20,21
13. Santa And Mrs. Claus visits Tripp Mercantile- December 7, 20,21 (4-7pm) during carriage rides
14. Christmas at the Cross- Candlelight service at Faithfest Thursday December 12th 6pm.
15. Friends of the Library Holiday Book Sale- December 12 5-7pm, December 13-14 9am-5pm. 611 Cherry Street North Wilkesboro (buy one get one holiday books on Friday and Saturday!)
16. Santa at Liberty Theater and FREE movie-Polar Express Friday December 13 6pm. FREE movie runs from December 13-19, 2024.
17. Breakfast with Santa- Wilkes Playmakers Saturday December 14 9am-12pm
18. Santa at Dom’s Bakery- Saturday December 14th 2-4pm
19. Grand Ole Christmas Show- JAWC- December 19th 7:30 pm
20. Festival of Tables- Benton Hall Thursday December 19th, 2024 6pm.
21. Santa at Cook’s Sporting Goods-Saturday December 21, 2024 1-4pm
22. AND Don’t forget your memory making Annual shopping trips to Wilkes County Hardware for handmade Christmas gifts, stocking stuffers, picking up a Santa key for the kids, and warming by the stove.