Southern Byways

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to everyone. Hope you are ready to have some fun! Because there is a lot going in the South the weekend. If the relatives are starting to overcrowd you, or you need to work off that turkey and dressing, I guarantee you’ll find some (or more) event(s) to attend.

Here’s a brief list:

 In you are in the “gifty” mood, there’s the…

• Alma (Ark.) Holiday Market on November 28 - 29.
• 21st Annual Winter Wonderland Arts and Crafts Festival in Hot Springs, Ark., on November 28-29.
• Eureka Springs (Ark.) Fall Art Show, November 29-30.
• Harvest Art Fest, Bastrop, Texas, November 28-29.
• Homestead Craft & Children’s Fair, Elm Mott, Texas, November 28-30.
• Tannenbaum, Mason, Texas, November 29.
• Santa’s Gift Market, Beaumont, Texas, November 29-30.
• 4th Annual Holiday Market, Cypress, Texas, November 30.
• Arts Market of New Orleans (La.), November 29.
• Deck the Hall Juried Art Sale and Exhibit at Artspace, Shreveport, La., through December 27.
• Christmas Shoppe at Willow Wood Park Recreation Center, New Iberia, La., November 30.
• 3rd Annual Artist Studio Tour, Natchez, Miss., November 29.
• 11th Annual Nettles Studio Open House Pottery Show and Sale, Pass Christian, Miss., November 29-30.
• Indoor Holiday Arts & Crafts Show, Lake Lowndes State Park in Columbus, Miss., November 29.
• Tannehill Crafter’s Open House, McCalla, Ala., November 28-29.
• 42nd Annual Trim-A-Tree, Foley, Ala., through December 23.
• Kitschmas, Birmingham, Ala., through December 24.
• Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Holiday Show, Gatlinburg, Tenn., through December 7.
• Artists at Gulf Place Annual Holiday Party, Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., November 28-29.
• Fall Arts & Crafts Festival, St. Augustine, Fla., November 29 - 30.
• Art of Giving Invitational at LeMoyne Art Foundation Center for the Visual Arts, Tallahassee, Fla., November 28 - December 28.
• Howard Alan Art Festival, Delray Beach, Fla., November 29 -December 1.
• 45th Annual Space Coast Art Festival, Cocoa Beach, Fla., November 29-30.
• The Holizaar: A Handmade Holiday Extravaganza, St. Petersburg, Fla., November 30.
• Naples (Fla.) Renaissance Fall Art Festival, November 29-30.
• Holiday Fest, The Market Shops at Sandestin (Fla.) November 28-30.
• Holiday Market, Rosemary Beach, Fla., November 29.
• Stecoah Artisans Drive About, Robbinsville, N.C., November 28-29.
• Curb Market/Old Timey Christmas, Hendersonville, N.C., November 29.
• Homethrown Pottery’s Open House, Trinity, N.C., November 29-30.
• Hard Candy Christmas Fine Art & Craft Show, Cullowhee, N.C., November 28-29.
• Sapphire Valley Art & Craft Festival, Cashiers, N.C., November 28-29.
• 6 Hands Studio Tour, Floyd, Va., November 28-30.
• Canter Holiday Art Studio and Gallery Open House, Floyd, Va., November 28-30.
• North Virginia Handcrafters Guild Arts and Crafts Show, Vienna, November 28.
• Prickett’s Fort - Annual Christmas Market, Fairmont, WVa., November 28 - December 7.
• Chestertown (Md.) Art & Craft Show, November 28-29.
• Country Crafts Guild Fall Arts & Crafts Show, Rockhall, Md., November 28-29.

Looking to get into the holiday spirit? Well, you are in luck, because there’s the…

• Thanksgiving Weekend at the Harbor, Mount Ida, Ark., November 28-29.
• 8th Annual Holiday Open House at Hawkins House, Rogers, Ark., November 30.
• Christmas in the Vineyards, Stonewall, Texas, November 28-30.
• Candlelight Christmas Home Tour, Waxahachie, Texas, November 28-30.
• Downtown Victorian Christmas Festival, Waxahachie, Texas, November 28-30.
• The Polar Express Train Ride, Palestine, Texas, November 28 - December 28.
• Holidays at the Arboretum, Dallas, Texas, November 28-December 31.
• Windows on the Holiday, Mt. Vernon, Texas, November 28- January 3, 2009.
• Christmas at the Boyhood Home, Johnson City, Texas, November 29.
• Christmas in Comfort (Texas) on November 29.
• Wassail Festival, Nacogdoches, Texas, November 29.
• Christmas Cruises on Buffalo Bayou(PDF file), Houston, Texas, November 29.
• Holiday Boat Caroling, San Antonio, Texas, November 29-December 21.
• Claiborne Parish (La.) Christmas Festival on November 29.
• ‘Twas the Light Before Christmas, downtown Lafayette, La., November 29.
• Ho, Ho, Ho on the Hot Side, New Iberia, La., November 30 - December 31.
• Victorian Christmas Festival, Canton, Miss., November 23 - December 23.
• Downtown Vicksburg’s (Miss.) Old Fashion Christmas Open House, November 30.

• Arctic Express Christmas Train, Silverhill, Ala., November 28 -December 24.
• Grand Illumination, downtown Chattanooga, Tenn., November 28.
• Christmas Carol Dinner Cruise, Chattanooga, Tenn., November 28 -December 21.
• Holiday Harmony, Nashville, Tenn., November 28-December 31.
• Christmas in the City, Knoxville, Tenn., through December 31.
• Candlelight Tour of Historic Homes, Roswell, Ga., November 29.
• Christmas in Roswell (Ga.), through December 31.
• Holidays in the Garden at Atlanta (Ga.) Botanical Garden on November 28 - January 4, 2009.
• Christmas on Diamond Hill, Atlanta, Ga., through January 3, 2009.
• Twelve Days of Christmas at the Hay House, Macon, Ga., November 25 - January 6, 2009.
• Savannah (Ga.) Holiday Frolic, November 29.
• Savannah (Ga.) Harbor Gingerbread Village at The Westin Savannah, November 26 -December 25.
• 11th Annual Holly Jolly Trolley Tour, Savannah, Ga., November 28 -December 23.
• Savannah (Ga.) Harbor Boat Parade of Lights, November 29.
• Season Lights Up, Santa Rosa Island, Fla.,  November 28.
• Winterfest Trolley Tour, Pensacola, Fla., November 28- December 29.
• Santa and Christmas Tree Lighting at HarborWalk Village, Destin, Fla., November 29.
• Outdoor Movie Night at Destin (Fla.) Commons, November 29.
• Christmas Around the World, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., November 29 - December 22.
• Outdoor Holiday Movie Night, November 28, The Village of Baytowne Wharf in Sandestin, Fla.
• Village Tree Lighting, The Village of Baytowne Wharf in Sandestin, Fla., November 29.
• Holiday Parade and Turn on the Town, Seaside, Fla., November 29.
• Tour of Homes, Rosemary Beach, Fla., November 28.
• Tree Lighting and Merchant Open House, Rosemary Beach, Fla., November 28.
• Tree Lighting at Pier Park, Panama City Beach, Fla., November 28-29.
• Home for the Holidays, Panama City Beach, Fla., November 28 - December 19.
• Christmas in Apalachicola (Fla.) November 28 - 30.
• Christmas on the Coast, Port St. Joe, Fla., November 29.
• Santa’s Big Red Christmas Train Tour, St. Augustine, Fla., through December 28.
• Villa Zorayda Nights of Lights Tour, St. Augustine, Fla., November 28-29 and December 27-31.
• Holly Jolly Trolley Tour, St. Augustine, Fla., November 28 - January 31, 2009.
• Nutcracker Tour of Homes at World Golf Village, St. Augustine, Fla., November 28 - December 7.
• Festival of Lights, Lake City, Fla., November 28-29.
• Holiday Harbor Lights at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Studios Orlando, Orlando, Fla., November 28.
• Leu Holiday House, Orlando, Fla., November 27 - January 1, 2009.
• 14th Annual Christmas at Pinewood Holiday Home Tours at Bok Towers, Lake Wales, Fla., November 28 - January 4, 2009.
• Home for the Holidays at Wray Home in Flamingo Gardens, Davie, Fla., November 28- December 30.
• Train Ride with Santa, Winnsboro, S.C., November 29.
• Christmas on the Farm at Kings Mountain State Park, Blacksburg, S.C., November 30.
• Heartland Holiday Happenings at the Village of Pinehurst (N.C.), November 26 - December 6.
• Christmas at Korner’s Folly, Kernersville, N.C., November 29 - January 4, 2009.
• 25th Annual North Carolina Holiday Flotilla, Wrightsville Beach, November 29.
• A Dickens of a Christmas, downtown New Bern, November 28 -December 24.
• A Plantation Christmas, Huntersville, N.C., November 28-29.
• Heaven Hill Distilleries Holiday Trolley Tours, Bardstown, Ky., November 28-29.
• My Old Kentucky Home Candlelight Tours, Bardstown, Ky., November 28-29.
• Grand Illuminations at Founders Inn (PDF file), Virginia Beach, Va., November 30.
• Holiday Tours at Poplar Forest, Forest, Va., November 29 -30.
• Marion County (WVa.) Historical Society - Holiday Historic House Tours on November 29.
• Trainspotting & Holiday Fun, Bowie, Md., November 30.
• Mt. Vernon by Candlelight, Alexandria, Va., November 28 -December 14.

And if that’s not enough, there’s always the…

• 11th Annual Mountain Rendezvous in Petit Jean State Park, Morrilton, Ark., November 28-30.
• Art Encounters at Beninis, Johnson City, Texas, November 29-30.
• Citywide Garage Sale, Austin, Texas, November 29-30.
• Louisiana Renaissance Festival, Hammond, La., November 28.
• USS Bounty to visit USS Kidd, Baton Rouge, La., through December 7.
• “Pirates on the Mississippi” Family Fun Day at USS Kidd, Baton Rouge, La., November 29.
• 1st Annual Hog Wild Charity BBQ, Jackson, Miss., November 30.
• 10th Annual Poor Man’s Yacht Club Fish Fry, Ocean Springs (Miss.) Harbor, November 29.
• 144th Anniversary of the Battle of Franklin (Tenn.) at the Carter House on November 30.
• YOLO Board Winter Stand-Up Paddle Series Race, Destin, Fla., November 30.
• Lighthouse Preview Days, St. George Island, Fla., November 29-30.
• Pirates in Paradise Festival, Key West, Fla., November 29.
• Chitlin Strut, Salley, S.C., through November 29.
• From the Forest to the Sea -Myrtle Beach (S.C.) State Park on November 29.
• Hearth and Home in Early Maryland, St. Marys, Md., November 28-29.

Photo credit: (page one,top) Blue Snowflakes, flickr, creative commons by wardi; (page one, middle) Christmas Ornaments, flickr, creative commons by tlindenbaum; (page two, top) Christmas_Bulbs_4, flickr, creative commons by emosoda; (page two, bottom) A.M. Walzer Co. United States Inlay Puzzle (detail), flickr, creative commons by Marxchivisit