Vermont State Calendar of Events: December Holiday Festivities

MONTPELIER, Vt. – 2012-12-03 — /travelprnews.com/ — The month of December in Vermont’s downtowns and mountain villages are aglow with holiday cheer! It’s a time to explore cozy inside venues and outdoor adventures; soothing symphonies, decadent dining, skiing, snow-shoeing and sleigh rides await. Here’s a sampling of the hundreds of events on VermontVacation.com this month, and Season’s Greetings to you!

Artists on Display at Mad River Valley’s Country Christmas Weekend
Dec. 1-2
Mad River Valley is host to a Paint In…a holiday pop up gallery weekend! Fifteen artists will be painting during Country Christmas Weekend! www.vermontartfest.com

Eighth Annual Vergennes Holiday Stroll
Dec. 1
Festivities begin with a pancake breakfast and end with the lighting of City Park and Memory Tree, with many other events during the day for young and old. www.addisoncounty.com/holidaystroll

Free Horse-Drawn Wagon Rides
Dec. 1- Dec. 22
Montpelier, Vt.
Paul Ruta of Black Horse Farm will bring his wagon team to downtown Montpelier on Saturdays for shoppers to enjoy a leisurely trip around town. First Come First Served, please dress for the weather. Each trip lasts about 15-20 minutes. www.montpelieralive.org

Vermont Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Series
Dec. 1
Burlington, Vt.
Masterworks concert includes Konzertmusik for Strings and Brass by Paul Hindemith, Lieutenant Kije Suite by Sergei Prokofiev and the radiant Symphony No. 6 by Antonin Dvorak. Anthony Princiotti conducting. www.flynntix.org

Take the 50/50 Challenge: Shop Local for the Holidays
Month-long
Support your community by doing at least half of your holiday gift buying with local retailers, artisans and craftspeople. Several downtowns celebrate the season with organized events and promotions that save you money plus help you have a jolly good time uncovering one-of-a-kind treasures. www.vermontvacation.com/5050

Christmas at Billings Farm and Museum
Month-long
Woodstock, Vt.
Discover the traditions of a late 19th century Vermont Christmas with a visit to the Billings Farm and Museum, gateway to Vermont’s rural heritage. Tours of the authentically decorated farmhouse, visit the dairy farm for holiday activities, plus the film, A Place in the Land will be screened. www.billingsfarm.org

St. Johnsbury Santa’s Village and Workshop
Month-long
St. Johnsbury’s third annual celebration of the holiday season opens with the lighting of Santa’s Village and Workshop at the historic Train Depot and Welcome Center. Look for Santa’s arrival in a fire truck; he’ll be in town every Friday – Sunday. Activities include gift making, face-painting and photos with Santa are available. www.discoverstjvt.com

Home for the Holidays at Hildene
Month-long
The Lincoln Family Home looks as it did when Robert and Mary prepared for the holidays.  Christmas 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the family’s holiday at Hildene, their Vermont getaway. Lights, sights, sounds, and scents of the season abound. www.hildene.org

Candy Cane Making Demonstration
Month-long
Stowe, Vt.
Watch candy makers boil, pull, twist and roll these special candy canes into works of art. The demonstration is free to watch or $6 to make your own candy cane. Reservation suggested. www.laughingmoonchocolates.com

It’s a Wonderful Life
Dec. 5-6
Montpelier, Vt.
The City Hall Arts Center is once again transformed into a 1940’s broadcast studio as five versatile actors and one busy sound effects wizard bring Frank Capra’s classic to life in front of a live studio audience. www.lostnationtheater.org

Holiday and First Friday Open House at The Center for Cartoon Studies
Dec. 7
White River Junction, Vt.
The Holiday and First Friday Open House features comics activities for the entire family. Our renowned Cartoon Sketch Factory will create original drawing holiday cards on demand! New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss, Vermont Cartoonist Laureate James Kochalka and CCS faculty will be on hand to sign their latest releases. www.cartoonstudies.org

Holiday Comedy “THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER”
Dec. 7-9
In this hilarious holiday tale, a director who is struggling to put on the annual church Christmas pageant is faced with casting the Herdman kids – probably the most inventively awful kids in history! www.LCPlayers.com

Helen Day Art Center Members Art Show and Sale
Dec. 7 – Dec. 30
Stowe, Vt.
This treasured show brings the community together to decorate evergreens, light Hanukkah lights and cover the walls with members’ beautiful artwork. Find unique holiday gifts by local artists. www.helenday.com

Touch of Vermont Holiday Gift Market
Dec. 8
Montpelier, Vt.
Find the perfect holiday gifts easily with more than 40 Vermont vendors and artisans in one place. www.touchofvt.org/

18th Annual Smugglers’ Notch Resort Brewfest
Dec. 8
After a day of skiing, visit the Brewfest to sample the finest in local and regional beers and wines, with music, munchies and prizes. For Brewfest Lodging info call 800-521-0536. www.smuggs.com

Very Merry Middlebury
Dec. 8
Start with a pancake breakfast with Mrs. Claus, Christmas Mouse, Gingerbread Man, Snowman, Nutcracker and Elves, then visit with Santa and receive a wooden Maple Landmark Woodcraft toy, warm up on hot chocolate at the festive Chocolate Hut. For the shoppers, there’s free gift wrapping too! www.bettermiddleburypartnership.org

Coolidge Open House Celebrates Traditions of the Season with Author Gesine Bullock-Prado
Dec. 9
Plymouth, Vt.
Return to a simpler time at the Coolidge Holiday Open House in historic Plymouth Notch. The day includes a book-signing by author and culinary artist Gesine Bullock-Prado, celebrating her latest book “Pie It Forward: Pies, Tarts, Tortes, Galettes, and Other Pastries Reinvented.” There will also be live music, children’s activities, sleigh rides, weaving and loom demonstrations, gift shopping, wine tasting and more. www.HistoricSites.Vermont.gov/Coolidge

Holiday Concert at the Chandler Music Hall
Dec. 9
Randolph, Vt.
Join the Randolph Singers for Handel’s Messiah, carols by Alfred Burt, and a traditional sing-along! There will be a reception for singers and audience members. Admission by free-will offering. Contact: 802-728-6464. www.chandler-arts.org

Woodstock Winter Wassail Weekend
Dec. 7-9
Woodstock, Vt.
If you’ve never had wassail — a seasonal drink brewed with spiced apples and sugar — this is the place to try it. The hot beverage was traditionally served in England to singers during the winter solstice. Now it’s a Christmas tradition. The festival includes a parade, concerts, performances and home tours. woodstockvt.com/wassail.php

Stratton Foundation Winter Gala
Dec. 15
Stratton, Vt.
Join the Stratton Foundation for a gala evening with cocktails, buffet, live entertainment, an auction and dancing. www.strattonfoundation.org

The Elf Express
Dec. 15-16
Manchester, Vt.
This whimsical 2012 holiday train will leave R.K. Miles Depot Station and take its riders on a one-hour enchanting journey through the Green Mountains of Southern Vermont. www.manchesterlionselftrain.com

Hungrytown Music Performance
Dec. 17
Bellows Falls, Vt.
The Stone Church Arts Concert Series presents  Hungrytown, musicians Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson. “Their music mixes the snow of… Vermont, the dew on the grass of a cool summer morning in the Appalachians, the hard-scrabble grittiness and pluck of common folk the world over together with the melancholy of lost loves…”  Las Cruces (NM) Sun-News www.hungrytown.net

Monster Energy’s K-Town Showdown Rail Jam
Dec. 22
Killington, Vt.
This year, the Monster Energy’s K-Town Showdown will consist of three events: two rail jams and a slopestyle competition. This date is the first of the series. www.killington.com

Heavy Medal Boardercross Camp
Dec. 22-23
Stratton, Vt.
Olympic medalists Ross Powers and Lindsey Jacobellis bring their world-class competition experience to Stratton for this two-day snowboardcross camp. Coaches will teach the ins and outs of boardercross racing to intermediate to advanced snowboarders ages 10-18. www.stratton.com

Family New Year’s Eve, Okemo Mountain Resort
Dec. 31
Midnight arrives early at Okemo. Enjoy early evening ice skating, snowtubing, snowshoeing, mountain coaster rides, horse-drawn wagon rides, cookie decorating, a trivia tournament; families can ring in the New Year early with a DJ dance party – and still get the kids to bed in time for a full day on the slopes the next day. www.okemo.com

First Night Burlington
Dec. 31
First Night Burlington is Vermont’s largest, single-day arts festival, providing an accessible and affordable New Year’s Eve celebration featuring 110 performances and activities at 20 venues. Fun for all ages, Burlington was the fifth city in the world to embrace the First Night concept. www.FirstNightBurlington.com

More events across Vermont are listed in the Travel Planner of www.VermontVacation.com; please note event organizers can post events to this listing as well.  If your publication prefers more advance notice of events or has specific requests, please email jen.butson@state.Vt.us.

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