We’ve all heard of the Ball Drop, but have you ever heard of a Blueberry Drop? In Burgaw, NC that is precisely how the community celebrates the transition into the new year. And the Blueberry Drop is the finale of Burgaw’s monthlong revelry known as the annual Pender County Hometown Christmas.
Burgaw
Burgaw is a hidden North Carolina vacation spot and adored for its summer Blueberry Festival. This time of year, though, the cobbler is gleefully set aside for gingerbread as holiday cheer is served with a solid dose of southern charm and some ocean breeze. Beginning November 29, 2019 with the tree lighting ceremony (6:00-8:00 pm). The event includes carols, letters to Santa, and a visit from the big man himself. Residents and visitors alike are invited to enjoy a down-home kind of holiday.
Burgaw feels like home and has a rich history that lives on in much of the area’s architecture and houses. (2019 Dates/Times not confirmed yet): On December 1 (3:00-5:00 pm) some of these homes and buildings, beautifully decorated for the season, will open their doors to the public. The Christmas Home Tour, presented by the Pender Historical Society, promises to be an enchanted afternoon that will include peaking behind the curtain of some of Burgaw’s colorful history and the homes that stood through it. You’ll need tickets first, though. They can be purchased from area merchants as well as from the Pender County Museum. After the tour take the time to drive around Burgaw itself. The town is participating in a Hometown Christmas Decorating Contest (judging for which will take place December 5) and is sure to be another Christmas decorating dream come true.
Santa returns to his Burgaw office on the second Saturday of the month to get in some last-minute workshop hours. On December 14th (3:00-5:00 pm) at the Historic Burgaw Train Depot he will be graciously posing for pictures. There will also be a gingerbread house contest, crafts, and cookies. That same evening at 6:30pm the Annual Lighted Christmas Parade will pass through Burgaw’s Historic Downtown. People who yearn for a white Christmas are meant to be in Burgaw for the parade. Snowfall has been guaranteed.
(2019 Dates/Times not confirmed yet): The Christmas on the Square will take place December 15 (10:00am-3:00pm). With 10 days to go until Christmas, there’s a chance the perfect last minute gift will be waiting at this craft fair. Along with beautiful arts and crafts there will also be vendors selling food so don’t forget your wallet or your appetite when you head out for treasure hunting.
And finally, the fabled Blueberry Drop. For this day Burgaw shuffles away from island time and assumes Greenwich Mean Time. Those of us who go to bed well-before midnight can appreciate an early New Year’s toast. The berry will fall at 7:00pm on December 31 but the celebration begins at 5:30pm. Whether with champagne or sparkling cider, ringing in the New Year with Burgaw sets the right tone for 2019.
Interested in submitting your own gingerbread work of art or participating in the parade? Please visit https://facebook.com/PenderatChristmas/, http://www.visitpender.com/, or call (910) 259- 1536 to find out how you can spread that holiday cheer!
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