Eden’s holidays get under way

By Miranda Baines

Published: November 26, 2008

The holiday season begins in Eden this weekend with the Olde Leaksville Nighttime Christmas Parade on Friday evening. Other upcoming events to get Eden residents in the Christmas spirit are the Draper Village Christmas tree lighting and the Tree of Life lighting ceremony at Morehead Memorial Hospital. In other parts of Rockingham County, holiday and candlelight tours at Chinqua Penn and Stoneville’s annual Christmas tree lighting are some of the holiday festivities in store.

Olde Leaksville Nighttime Christmas Parade

The holiday season in Eden will kick off with the Olde Leaksville Nighttime Christmas Parade. The parade begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

“It gives everybody a chance to be together as a family,“ said Peggy Good, president of the Olde Leaksville Merchants’ Association. “We always have a lot of children in this parade.“

Boy Scout troops, Girl Scout troops, the Leaksville-Spray Dancing Dolphins and Melanie Paschal’s Dance Creations are some of the children’s groups that will participate in this year’s parade.

Cindy Adams, coordinator of tourism and special events for the City of Eden, said the Morehead Academy Child Development Center has made two floats for the Christmas parade, and she is impressed with the creativity of the floats.

“They try to get more and more creative (every year), trying to do more unique things,“ Adams said. “It’s always with children in mind.“

Parade participants are known to throw candy to children along the parade route. Hopper’s Wrecker Service will hand out candy with several tickets for cash redeemable at Hopper’s.

Another highlight of the Christmas parade is a performance by Morehead High School’s marching band. Dena Chambers, a Miss North Carolina beauty queen, is the grand marshal of this year’s parade. Santa Claus will also participate in the parade atop his sleigh as a guest of honor.

Good said she has more than 100 entries in this year’s parade, including six lighted, professional floats.

“It’s big. It’s comparable to the past,“ she said. “We’ve always had a good parade.“

This is the 10th year of the revived nighttime Christmas parade. The merchants decided to continue to have the parade at night in keeping with the nighttime parade tradition dating back to the 1960s.

Adams said she could think of no better way to get in the holiday spirit than with a nighttime, lighted Christmas parade. The trees at Washington Street Park will be illuminated with white lights and the shop windows will be decorated.

Adams said it won’t be too cold to stand outside Friday night, but it will be “just cold enough to bundle up and get in the spirit.“

The parade route will begin at the corner of Washington and Hamilton streets, make its way through the downtown area, and will end at the Kingsway Plaza on Kings Highway.

Adams encourages people to come downtown early Friday evening with their family and eat dinner before claiming their spot on the sidewalk to watch the parade. Zannetti’s Italian Ice will serve up Fuzzy’s barbecue and Nathan’s hot dogs. Naples restaurant will serve up pizza and other Italian cuisine to customers.

Post parade, stop by Eden’s Golden Apple on Monroe Street. A DJ will begin spinning out tunes at 10 p.m. The cover charge is $3. Come back to the Golden Apple on Saturday night to hear Burning Bridges perform live. The cover charge is $8.

Tree of Life

Morehead Memorial Hospital Auxiliary will have its Tree of Life lighting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the day hospital lobby. The event will include seasonal music by Dr. Mark Jordan and refreshments.

The Tree of Life has become a symbol of the holiday season in the community, with each light on the tree representing a family member, friend or neighbor. The names of each person honored or remembered, along with the names of the donors, are written into the book of honor and memory and will be on display the evening of the tree lighting ceremony.

The proceeds from this year’s Tree of Life project will be used to buy an EKG machine for the hospital’s cardiopulmonary department. An EKG is performed to monitor heart functions and help diagnose heart-related problems. Donations for the Tree of Life will be accepted in the hospital gift shop or by calling the hospital’s volunteer services department at 627-8510 until Jan. 9.

Draper Village Tree Lighting

The Draper Village Christmas tree lighting will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Draper Children’s Park at the corner of Fieldcrest Road and Stadium Drive in Eden. The event will include old-fashioned Christmas caroling, hot chocolate and cookies. The children of Draper Elementary School made the ornaments on the Christmas tree and will participate in the tree lighting.

Stoneville Christmas Tree Lighting

The Town of Stoneville will have its annual Christmas tree lighting at 5 p.m. Saturday. The community-wide event will include fellowship, singing of Christmas carols, hot chocolate and Christmas goodies. Santa Clause will make a special appearance at the event and will be available for photos with children from 2 p.m. until the ceremony.

Chinqua Penn Holiday and Candlelight Tours

Chinqua Penn Plantation’s holiday and candlelight tours will begin this weekend. The plantation’s co-owner, Lisa Phelps, plans to have 12 themed Christmas trees and several hundred poinsettias throughout the house.

Guests who take a candlelight tour of the mansion will enjoy live holiday music. Light dinner fare is available to guests on the weekends.

Tour hours for the holiday season are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Holiday ticket prices are $25 for adults, $15 for seniors, $15 for military and students, $10 for youth ages 6 to 16 and free for children ages 5 and under. Chinqua Penn is at 2138 Wentworth St. in Reidsville.

Community Holiday Concert

Mount Bethel Evangelical Covenant Church, at 8130 N.C. 65 in Bethany, will host a community holiday concert featuring pianist Nathan Durham at 6 p.m. Sunday. The evening also will include the lighting of the Christmas tree and holiday treats in the fellowship hall after the concert. For more information, call the church at 643-7291.

Backstreet Buzz Coffee House

Ed Campbell and Doug Rorrer will provide the Saturday night music at the Backstreet Buzz Coffee House from 7 to 9 p.m. The Buzz is at 232 S.W. Market St. in downtown Reidsville.

Crosswalk Café

CrossWalk Café at 13811 N.C. 87 in Eden will host musical guests Zuriel from Haw River and Flame of God, a Christian rapper from Reidsville, at 7 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free, and concessions are available for minimal donations.

Take Two - Holiday Pops

The Furman University Singers will perform with the Boston Pops at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Joel Coliseum Theatre in Winston-Salem.

Keith Lockhart will lead the Boston Pops and Furman University Singers in holiday

favorites including the Pops’ signature “Sleigh Ride,“ the traditional “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,“ and the world premiere of “Polar Express.“

Tickets are $36.50 and $56.50. To buy tickets, visit http://www.ljvm.com or call 336-852-1100.

Staff writer Miranda Baines can be reached at or 349-4331, ext. 35.