Holly Day Celebration takes over Queen Street

Downtown Street Party to Kick Off Holiday Season

The 2007 holiday shopping season will be ushered in with a fun-filled Queen Street 'Holly Day Celebration' Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007. The street party will be launched at 5:00 pm with the lighting of a new community Christmas tree on the lawn of the Lenoir County Courthouse.

Plans for the Holly Day Celebration were announced by a coalition of downtown organizations and agencies sponsoring the event: The City of Kinston, Lenoir County, Parks & Recreation, Pride of Kinston, the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce, the Community Council for the Arts, Neuse Regional Library, Queen Street Methodist Church and the Gordon Street Christian Church.

"In years past, most of us would host our own individual Christmas holiday party. This year we decided to come together and sponsor one big party for the community and all our friends and advocates," according to Adrian King, director of Pride. "It's going to be lots of fun. We hope the whole county will come to downtown Kinston to jump start Christmas. It's a prelude to the annual Christmas parade, 10:00 am, Dec. 8th."

* The party opens at 5:00 pm with the lighting of a new community Christmas tree on the Lenoir County Courthouse lawn. The Kinston-Lenoir Community Chorale, the Woodington Middle School Band and the Art Center's Moppets will perform in the opening ceremony. When the switch is flipped for the courthouse tree, it will trigger the lights on the trees throughout Queen Street.

* Beginning at 5:30 pm, "Celebration Stage" - to be located at the intersection of Queen and Gordon Streets--will come alive with music and theater of the season provided by local school and church groups. Local talent Chris Raines will be emcee for "Celebration Stage."

• 1. 5:30: Moss Hill Elementary School chorus
• 2. 5:50: Vignettes from Lenoir Community College's production of "Ebenezer"
• 3. 6:10: Parrott Academy chorus
• 4. 6:30: Woodington Middle School
• 5. 6:50: Banks Elementary 5th grade chorus
• 6. 7:10: Gordon Street Christian Church bell choir

Four Walt Disney princesses--Belle, Cinderella, Snow White and Jasmine--will be in Kinston Tuesday, Nov. 27 from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm to get their photographs made with boys and girls enjoying the "Holly Day Celebration" on Queen Street. The event, to kick off the 2007 holiday season downtown, is being sponsored by a coalition of downtown organizations and agencies. These beauties of Disney fantasy lands will be hanging out at the Community Council for the Arts ready to pose with "Holly Day" fans while Moms and Dads snap a picture. Posing from left to right: Brooke Jarman, 16, playing the role of Belle; Adrienne Jarman, 16, plays Cinderella; Kristen Gay, 17, is Snow White; and Carrie Jo Oglesby, 16, will be Jasmine.

A Master Menu

* Also beginning at 5:30 pm, street party participants will be invited to sample "Holly Day" refreshments at four of the sponsoring offices:

• 1. Friends of the Neuse Regional Library (510 N. Queen) will offer "savories & sweets of the Dickens' era," catering to young folks for whom a special program of fun and learning is being prepared.
• 2. Community Council for the Arts (400 N. Queen) will offer hors d'oeuvres and beverages. Programs for the young and young at heart are also being offered by the arts council.
• 3. Pride of Kinston (327 N. Queen) is offering a tasty array of desserts and beverages.
• 4. The Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce (301 N. Queen) is offering ham and beverages.

The four "refreshment centers" will be designated with street-side signage for easy identification.

* Two downtown museums, the Caswell No. 1 Fire Station Museum at 118 S. Queen Street, and the Civil War Museum at 100 N. Queen, will be open to the public 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm during the "Holly Day Celebration."

* Children's activities will be featured at several locations on Queen Street:

• 1. Photo opportunities at the arts center (400 N. Queen) for youngsters with four Walt Disney princesses: Snow White, Cinderella, Belle and Jasmine.
• 2. 5:30 - 6:00 Children's crafts activities at Community Council for the Arts.
• 3. 6:00 - 6:30 Children's story time activities at the Neuse Regional Library.
• 4. 6:30 - 7:00 Children's crafts activities at Community Council for the Arts.
• 5. 7:00 - 7:30 Children's story time activities at Neuse Regional Library.
• 6. 5:30 - 7:30 Flimsy the Clown will be in full regalia at the Civil War Museum site.

* The Kinston High School Art Club will paint seasonal holiday scenes on storefront windows all along Queen Street.

* Buy your 2007 Christmas tree during the Celebration at the Civil War Museum site (100 N. Queen)

For more information contact: Adrian King 252-522-4676 Ext. 2020

For a schedule of the Holly Day Celebration events, please click here...

The Kinston Lenoir Community Chorale will help launch the first Holly Day Celebration festivities Nov. 27, 2007 in downtown Kinston. The popular chorus will perform at 5:00 pm on the Lenoir County Courthouse lawn as part of ceremonies to light the Kinston community Christmas tree. The tree lighting will be the signal to illuminate all the holiday lights along Queen Street. Performances and children’s events from King Street to Washington Ave. will trigger the start of the 2007 holiday shopping season for downtown merchants, according to Celebration organizers.