Plenty of holiday entertainment coming this weekend

Four days of holiday entertainment are at hand in the New Bern area, with a spotlight on what could be called Big Saturday.

Between today and Sunday, more than a dozen events are scheduled - including four parades, a flotilla, bands, symphonies, caroling, and of course, Santa Claus.

Saturday is an especially busy day, and it took a united effort by various event leaders to coordinate times to accommodate the public, according to Linda Staunch, president of the New Bern Series for the North Carolina Symphony. New Bern hosts two Holiday Pops concerts Saturday, which are among a variety of daylong events.

"We want everyone to have this chance to celebrate the holiday in a wonderful way and enjoy all that is offered," Staunch said.

There are four parades schedule Saturday and Sunday in Craven County: Ernul and Fort Barnwell at 10 a.m. Saturday; the Craven County Jaycees parade in New Bern at 4 p.m. Saturday; and the Trent Woods parade at 3 p.m. Sunday.

New Bern's parade is followed by the Parks and Recreation Department's 24th annual Coastal Christmas Flotilla on the Trent and Neuse rivers.

The flotilla features large and small decorated water craft. The boat parade starts at the Eastern Carolina Yacht Club, sails down the Trent River past the Sheraton Hotel at about 6 p.m., goes on to Union Point Park and returns to the Sheraton with the yacht Hatteras carrying Santa Claus.

Santa will make an appearance in Union Point Park about 7 p.m. The Marine Corps 2D Wing Band provides music during the evening at Union Point, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The flotilla was founded in 1984 by Swiss Bear and a number of boaters from the Eastern Carolina Yacht Club. It has been carried on by the Lower Neuse Initiative and more recently the New Bern Parks and Recreation Department.

For the first time, the annual Holiday Pops with the North Carolina Symphony at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center will present two shows.

There will be performances at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, with table seating.

"The demand in the past has been so great that we felt really bad about turning people away," Staunch said. She said the afternoon concert also allows children and families an opportunity to see the show without being out late.

The New Bern symphony board has also made tables available for some area students, through sponsorships by businesses and individuals.

Staunch said complimentary tables had been arranged for students from Craven and Jones counties.

"We feel the more exposure we can give to our students and young people for this kind of quality concert, who knows what spark we might ignite in a young child's mind or imagination," she said.

North Carolina Symphony Conductor William Henry Curry leads the two orchestral shows.  Tickets are $35 for adults and $12 for students.  Tickets are available at the Craven County Convention and Visitors Center inside the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center.  

The 60-voice Craven Community Chorus' annual Christmas Concert - "Ringing in the Holiday" - has performances at 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Orringer Auditorium at Craven Community College. Tickets are available at the Bank of the Arts - $8 in advance, $5 for students and $10 on the day of the performance.

For those who want to make a full day of it Saturday, the downtown activities include the 9 a.m. Christ Church Cookie Walk, Santa Paws photos with Santa and Pets at Bear Plaza on Middle Street; and breakfast and lunch for the children with Santa at the Sheraton, sponsored by the Craven Regional Medical Foundation.

The 10th annual Cookie Walk is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Christ Church Ministry Center on Middle Street. The event, which produced more than 12,000 cookies and raised $5,500 last year, is the Christ Church Episcopal Women's largest annual fundraiser for its outreach mission program.

The array of holiday events gets under way Thursday with a Community Caroling outside of Christ Church on Pollock Street at 6 p.m. The public is invited to join in.

Friday, the Sheraton and city of New Bern host the free 6 p.m. Community Christmas Tree Lighting at the waterfront hotel.

Also at 6 p.m. Friday, Voci Allegre's free concert is at First Baptist Church on Middle Street.

This popular annual event, sponsored by the Craven Arts Council and Gallery, encompasses works from one of three large bodies of musical literature - British, world, and American. The American selections, sacred and secular, range from the Colonial era to the present.

Directed by Lorraine Hale, the featured singers include soprano Brenda Parker Hardee, contralto Yvonne Templeton, and tenor Barry Templeton.

For more indoor entertainment, the New Bern Civic Theater presents "Scrooge" Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee.

On Sunday, the Historic Bed and Breakfast Open House is scheduled in New Bern from 2 to 5 p.m.

Other Sunday events include the 3 p.m. Trent Woods parade and the second annual Bridgeton Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa Fly-in.

Sponsored by the Bridgeton Improvement Committee, it begins at 4:30 p.m., with Santa arriving a half-hour later. There is a new venue this year, the BIC Nature Walk/Bird Sanctuary site, near the Hardee's in Bridgeton.

Holiday events

Thursday

• 6 p.m. - Community Christmas Caroling, Christ Episcopal Church

Friday

• 6 p.m. - Community Christmas Tree Lighting, Sheraton Hotel
• 6 p.m. - Voci Allegre concert, First Baptist Church
• 8 p.m. - "Scrooge," New Bern Civic Theater

Saturday

• 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Breakfast and lunch with Santa, Sheraton Hotel
• 9 a.m. - Cookie Walk, 311 Middle Street
• 10 a.m. - Ernul Christmas Parade
• 10 a.m. - Fort Barnwell Christmas Parade
• 2 p.m. - Holiday Pops, New Bern Riverfront Convention Center
• 4 p.m. - Jaycees Christmas Parade, downtown New Bern
• 5:30 p.m. -Marine Corps 2D Wing Band, Union Point Park
• 6 p.m. - Coastal Christmas Flotilla, New Bern waterfront
• 7 p.m. - Santa Claus at Union Point Park
• 7 p.m. - Craven Community Chorus Christmas Concert, Orringer Auditorium, Craven Community College
• 8 p.m. - Holiday Pops, New Bern Riverfront Convention Center
• 8 p.m. - ‘Scrooge,' New Bern Civic Theater

Sunday

• 2 p.m. - "Scrooge," New Bern Civic Theater
• 2 p.m. - Historic Bed and Breakfast Open House, New Bern
• 3 p.m. - Craven Community Chorus Christmas Concert, Orringer Auditorium, Craven Community College
• 3 p.m. - Trent Woods Christmas Parade
• 4:30 p.m. - Bridgeton Christmas Tree Lighting
• 5 p.m. - Santa Claus fly-in