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2016 Christmas Program At Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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"Granny Franny" shares mountain herb lore at the Festival of Christmas Past/NPS

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host its 41st annual Festival of Christmas Past celebration at the Sugarlands Visitor Center on Saturday, December 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free event is offered each year on the second Saturday of December.

Sugarlands Visitor Center is located at park headquarters, two miles south of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on U.S. 441. Although details for the 2016 program have not been finalized, events typically include craft demonstrations, mountain music, and living history walks with rangers and volunteers dressed in period costume dating to the early 1930s, just prior to the establishment of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The walks begin at the visitor center and will be offered two times during the day. Craft demonstrations in prior years have included the making of toys, games, rugs, dolls, quilts, and apple cider. Visitors may participate in at least one craft which has typically been wreath-making. Stories are told by members of the Smoky Mountain Historical Society and hot cider is served to guests.

The park's Oconaluftee Visitor Center will offer its Holiday Homecoming one week later on December 17. Activities are expected to include traditional craft demonstrations and an old-time music jam. Craft demonstrations typically take place in the morning beginning at 10 a.m. while music begins in the early afternoon. Hot apple cider and cookies will be served during the music portion of the event.

The Oconaluftee Visitor Center is located on Newfound Gap Road, two miles north of Cherokee, North Carolina. Check the park's website for specific times and other details as dates for the two events grow nearer.

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