Candlelight: A Colonial Christmas Celebration

This famed North Carolina tradition returns to Tryon Palace in 2016 with beautiful, new decorations and heartwarming holiday vignettes illuminated by the magical glow of candlelight.

Step back in time to a critical point in the Revolutionary War. The year is 1781 – New Bern has been raided by British forces and North Carolina’s Governor is held captive. However, with the recent retreat of the British from Wilmington, former North Carolina Governor Abner Nash has decided to embrace hope and help the citizens of North Carolina remember the good times from the past … and those that will come after America has won its independence. While walking around the candlelit grounds, be sure to catch the entertaining circus acts, fire eating, sword swallowing, and acrobatics of the Pickled Brothers Circus, the mysterious magic of 18th-century magician Rodney the Younger, the joyous sights and sounds of the Tryon Palace Jonkonnu troupe, and much more. Also, warm up with hot cider and cookies from Mack’s Cider House in the Trades Building. Then, end your enchanted evening with a show of black powder fireworks on the Tryon Palace South Lawn.

Candlelight is a rain or shine event, but fireworks may be cancelled during extreme weather conditions. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.