PinePitch

PinePitch Ride the Rails With popcorn as a serendipitous side, recapture your holiday spirit with a free viewing of The Polar Express at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, at the Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. For more info, go to www.sunrisetheater.com.

Love and Joy Come to You

And to your holiday concert too! Join the Moore County Choral Society from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11, for its 48th season and the holiday concert, “Love and Joy” at Owens Auditorium in the Bradshaw Performing Arts Center, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Wassail not included. Information and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Auld Lang Syne for All

Pencil in downtown Southern Pines’ First Eve celebration and Pine Cone Drop on Saturday, Dec. 31, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., to ring in the New Year with live music, carnival games, face painting, and much more. The cone drops at 8 p.m. at the railway station in downtown Southern Pines.

Weymouth Wonderland

Walking in a winter wonderland has never been more magical — or more convenient. From Dec. 2 - 4 enjoy candlelight caroling, teddy bear teas, Santa Claus and more at the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. For additional info on each day’s festivities, go to www.weymouthcenter.org.

While Away The Hours

If the holiday cheer is overwhelming, settle down for an opera inspired by Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. Follow three women as they grapple with their inner demons in this compelling drama adapted from the 1925 novel written by Woolf and performed by the Metropolitan Opera live in HD on Saturday, Dec.10, at 1 p.m., at the Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. For information, go to www.sunrisetheater.com.

Wintry Writings

In all the holiday hubbub, be sure to reserve some reading time for those bookworms on the nice list. At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7, current Weymouth writer-in-residence Valerie Nieman will read from her novel In the Lonely Backwater, a mystery in the Southern gothic tradition. Free admission. Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. For info go to: www.weymouthcenter.org.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

It’s the sound of a nearly decade-old tradition that gets sweeter with time. On Sunday, Dec. 18, join a Moore County institution when Rev. Paul Murphy and his family perform their annual Christmas Concert at 2 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. at the Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. For information, go to www.sunrisetheater.com.

Giddyup

The colorful annual Christmas Carriage Parade staged by the Moore Country Driving club will be Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m., give or take, in downtown Southern Pines. Come on, it’s a bunch of horses so if they’re a minute or two late, cut ‘em a break. It’s worth the wait.

O Tannenbaum

Break out your holiday spirit for the Pinehurst tree lighting at Tufts Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 2, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. They officially flip the switch at 6:30 p.m., but with vendors spreading holiday cheer and Santa on-site, there’s some Christmas cheer for the whole family. For more information, visit www.vopnc.org.

Party in the Pines

Calling all night owls. Break out your dancing shoes and shuffle off to The Carolina Hotel, 80 Carolina Vista Drive, Pinehurst, at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve for a gourmet dinner buffet, dancing to The Band of Oz, a Champagne toast and a midnight breakfast buffet. Bring your best Shama Lama Ding Dong sashay to start 2023 on the right foot. For info: www. eventbrite.com/e/party-in-the-pines-tickets-464647592457.