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by JULIA HARR
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
“Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh,” sings the old holiday favorite.
At Chetola Resort of Blowing Rock, 50,000 lights, hot chocolate, apple cider, Santa and one horse open carriage rides are available Nov. 28 and Nov. 29.
The resort’s Festival of Lights illuminates the night for the first time this season the weekend after Thanksgiving.
This event is free and open to the public.
Lights
sparkle from every tree, cottage and bush and several animations are
scattered throughout the property at this local tradition – taken place
for nearly 20 years.
“My favorite [animation] is one of a reindeer catching a fish, down by the lake,” concierge Zak F. Linkins said.
Some of
the other animations include a sleigh being pulled by reindeers and
others that flash and create the element of movement.
The resort started working on the lights two weeks ago.
Linkins said it is time consuming to get the lights around every condo and fence.
Visitors are encouraged to drive around the property to admire the lights.
For the
first weekend only, carriage rides around Chetola Lake will be offered
between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. and are $15 per adult and $8 per child.
Exclusively during opening weekend, Santa will visit The Manor House and the resort will offer cookie decorating.
Linkins
said the carriage rides last around 12 minutes and it takes anywhere
from 15 to 30 minutes to drive around the property, depending on
traffic and speed.
Complimentarily hot chocolate and apple cider is served from the weekend after Thanksgiving until Christmas.
The resort expects thousands of people from as far as Canada and Florida to come enjoy the lights.
Appalachian State University students are among attendees.
“You’ll have couples that come and spend time together and eat meals, and then they’ll drive through,” Linkins said.
Guest are invited to take pictures of the festival.
“Sometimes
people send us pictures, because we do have occasional photography
contests,” Linkins said. “It’s events like the Festival of Lights that
brings out the best photography.”
Appalachian
will host first round of playoffs the first weekend after Thanksgiving;
Linkins expects this to impact the celebration.
“I think
each and every time there is a home game, it helps with bookings. We
get a lot of large parties, even if it’s just one night,” he said.
“[Blowing Rock will] get a lot of traffic and traffic gets a lot of
visitors.”
The festival runs from Nov. 28 until the last day of Blowing Rock’s annual Winterfest, Jan. 25.
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