Weekend Plans: Christmas parades, Hanukkah festival, Disney on Ice, more

No plans this weekend with the family? Make them with our weekly Weekend Plans post.

Posted 2:46 a.m. Dec 7, 2017 — Updated 2:46 a.m. Dec 7, 2017

Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

The weekend is nearly here! Here’s what’s happening on the family fun front. As always, check WRAL.com’s Out & About section for more ideas.

If you’re looking for holiday events, also be sure to check our Go Ask Mom Holiday Central page, which includes lots of information about where to find Santa, holiday light shows and more.

Here’s what’s happening this weekend.

The focus is on Christmas this time of year, but there are other holidays to celebrate - including Hanukkah, which begins Dec. 12. The Levin Jewish Community Center hosts its Hanukkah Festival from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday. There will be Hanukkah-inspired games for kids, treats, music and more. Find details about this and other Hanukkah events in our round up.

And back to Christmas: We have Christmas and holiday parades in Holly Springs, Wake Forest, Cary, Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Clayton this weekend. Our list of Christmas parades and tree lightings has the details.

The Santa Train at the Museum of Life and Science, now in its 40th year, continues. And this year, it features more lights and after hours access to the museum’s butterfly house. Tickets are still available.

New Hope Valley Railway’s Santa Train also chugs through southwestern Wake County this Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available, but some time slots are sold out.

Disney on Ice is at the PNC Arena with shows through Sunday. This year, the show, called Dare to Dream, features Moana.

In downtown Raleigh, the annual Executive Mansion open house runs through Saturday. You can pop in to the official home of the N.C. governor to see the massive Christmas trees and listen to holiday music. It’s free. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Saturday.

The Grinch visits Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh at 2 p.m., Saturday, for photos and a special storytime.

In an effort to offer an opportunity for all kids to meet a Santa who looks like them, Black Santa will be posing for pictures at the Pope House Museum, noon to 4 p.m., Saturday. The museum is at 511 S. Wilmington St. in downtown Raleigh. You’ll also be able to find him in the coming weeks at Hayti Heritage Center in Durham and elsewhere around the Triangle in the coming weeks.

Historic Oak View County Park in Wake County is offering special Christmas-themed tours. Visitors can see decorations interpreting five different time periods in the farm’s history - the Antebellum era, Civil War era, Victorian era, Great Depression and World War II. Public tours are slated for 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., Saturday. They are free, but reservations are required. More details are on Oak View’s website.

Mordecai House in downtown Raleigh hosts its annual holiday open house and tours. The open house is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, and includes self-guided tours of the house, which will decorated to represent the holidays from the colonial era to World War II. The open house is free, and registration is not required. The holiday tours run from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and include guided tours of the house and grounds. Tickets are required for this one - and some time slots are sold out. Tickets for the evening tours are $5. For more information, call 919-996-4364.

Spring Haven Farm in Chapel Hill offers Santa with Goats this weekend. Tickets are $10 for kids and adults. During the event, you can visit with Santa, play with baby goats, feed horses, meet Peppa pig, take a ride on the Farm Express Train or enjoy a hayride. There also will be some treats, hot cocoa and other activities for kids. The event is scheduled on weekends through Dec. 24.

Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in Chapel Hill offers a Teen Science Cafe. It starts at 5:30 p.m., Friday, with pizza and continues at 6 p.m. with a special screening of “The Martian.” The movie will be followed by an audience discussion on the science depicted in the film - good and bad. It’s for teens ages 13 to 18 and it’s free.

And we have a lot of family-friendly shows, including Theatre in the Park’s “A Christmas Carol,” Raleigh Little Theatre’s “Cinderella,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical,” Theatre in the Park’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Burning Coal Theatre’s “Peter Pan & Wendy,” and lots of versions of the Nutcracker.

Our holiday show post has details about all of them. One show to note: Theatre in the Park will present a special sensory-friendly version of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at 11 a.m., Saturday.

Finally: If you do have tickets to Pullen Park's Holiday Express, have fun! If you don't, know that it is sold out and that the park will be closed to the public on the days of the event. It starts Thursday.

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