Holidays and First Night fast approach

New Bern will begin to put on its holiday finery over the next couple of months. Few towns lend themselves more easily to a festive look. One visitor who was here for Preservation North Carolina’s meeting last week remarked that the whole town looked like a postcard or a theater set. Living here, we often forget how fortunate we are. This holiday season has the added excitement of the events that will launch our 300th celebration.

The first event, the opening of the Bern History Museum’s exhibit titled “BernNewBern,” will occur in our mother city on Dec. 3. Representatives of New Bern, all of whom are paying their own expenses, will be there to fete the exhibit opening and thank the Bernese and most especially the von Graffenried family for this wonderful tribute to their daughter city. UNC TV will film this trip for the air at the end of December and into January, a wonderful opportunity to promote the whole year’s events.

Our ties with Bern are long and deep. Sometimes people are amazed to learn of the many citizens who are descended from those early settlers who arrived with the 1710 parties or even before and have remained here in our area. During the year we certainly want to remember and honor those families, as well as the many people who have chosen to come here over the last 300 years. We stand on tall shoulders.

Our first festive 300th event in town will be the First Night celebration that is being so carefully planned by Janet Lamb and Beth Atkins and their committee of volunteers. It is certainly the hope of all that the streets of New Bern will be filled with families and individuals who want to usher in our year of celebration on the evening of Dec. 31. There will be events for children and adults taking place throughout the afternoon and in the evening. Few North Carolina towns have a First Night, and we hope that you will invite your friends and families from other places to join you here that evening. A full schedule of events is posted on the 300th Web site (www.newbern300.com)

Many venues are free and open to the public, while others will be supported by the purchase of a First Night button. Buttons may be purchased by going to the 300th Web site or at Mitchell Hardware, the Pepsi Store, the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center, the New Bern Chamber of Commerce and First Citizens Bank at the corner of Glenburnie Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Buttons are $8 until December 23. They make a great gift or stocking stuffer. In addition, First Night is looking for volunteers who will help with the festivities that evening. Go to the 300th Web site or call 635-1710 to join in and show your support for this great event. The History Bowl is seeking additional teams and the deadline for application has been extended to Nov. 13. Your church, school, organization or neighborhood could have a team. The application is available on the 300th Web site.

In a few days, 300th merchandise and memorabilia will begin to appear in many local stores. Some items are already available from the 300th online store, accessible through the Web site. There are many different possibilities for gifts and a part of all sales will support the celebration.

While the Jubilee events of September 2010 will be our largest, signature occasion, there are activities throughout the year that you and your friends and families, both in and out of town, will enjoy. Beginning with First Night, it will be time to put aside differences and celebrate this place that many have loved, caressed and embraced for three centuries.

Nelson McDaniel’s column about New Bern’s 300th celebrations appears the second Sunday of each month.