Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Thanksgiving in Savannah, Georgia

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Many of us have friends and family visiting for Thanksgiving and you might be looking at something fun to do with your gang for the weekend. How about a trip to Savannah? Savannah is always a beautiful city to visit with its many squares, hanging spanish moss and charming Riverstreet and City Market. During the holiday season there’s a lot going on. This weekend it’s the kick off weekend for the Savannah Holly Days as well.

Just take a look at this list.


Savannah Harbour Festival of Lights 
Nov 23, 2012 – Jan 1, 2012 

The Road Course at Savannah Harbor on Hutchinson Island will become a twinkling winter wonderland, with over 60 larger-than-life lighted, holiday-themed displays. This holiday lights event is destined to become a Savannah holiday tradition for years to come. 

The light displays will be open Wednesdays through Sundays from 6 – 9 pm, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Park at the Pit and Paddock at the end of the drive-through and partake in a variety of festive family-friendly activities, snack on tasty treats, warm up by the bonfire with hot chocolate and a s’more and enjoy all the sights and sounds of the holidays. Walk-through, trolley and horse-and-carriage rides are also available. 

Special weekend programming is scheduled throughout the season to enhance this experience and includes an opening ceremony with the arrival of Santa who will illuminate the lights, live scenes from A Christmas Carol, exotic animal shows and entertainment from Staples Safari and the second annual Alive in Savannah on New Year’s weekend.

Admission: $20 per car (which includes a $5 food and beverage voucher); $5 per person in commercial vehicles.

Call 912.220.6108 for more information or visit SavannahHarborFestivalofLights.com

 

Savannah Westin Hotel, GeorgiaSavannah Harbor Foundation Gingerbread Village
Nov 22 – Dec 21, 2012 


Take a trip to the Westin to see not just a house, but an entire Village! This is a popular destination for the younger kids. This display of culinary delights is created anew each year by local chefs, students, community groups. This is a can’t-miss for anyone with a sweet spot for candy delights and holiday cheer! Viewing November 22 through December 21, 2012.

Aqua Star at The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa. call  912.201.2000

Georgia State Railroad Train Rides
Nov 23 – Dec 25, 2012 

Come to the Georgia State Railroad Museum, which features diesel locomotive rides with admission to the museum. The train rides schedule and locomotives are subject to change, please call ahead. Call  912.651.2338 or visit www.chs.org

Fort Pulaski Grand Thanksgiving Fete and Festival
Nov 24, 2012 


Fort Pulaski National Monument will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Grand Thanksgiving Fete and Festival of 1862 on Saturday, November 24, 2012. The event will recreate the field day offered by the 48th New York Infantry to celebrate their first Thanksgiving in Fort Pulaski. 

Everyone is encouraged to participate in foot races, sack races and wheelbarrow races. Amusements of the day will include guided tours of the fort and historic weapons demonstrations.

The event will also be an opportunity to try on clothing of the Civil War era. All are encouraged to participate in the “burlesque dress parade.” There will be clothing for men, women, and children, as well as accessories for the proper period look. Call 912.786.5787 or visit http://www.nps.gov/fopu for more info. $5 per person, 15 and under free.

Savannah Harbor Foundation’s Annual Boat Parade of Lights
Nov 24, 2012 

A Christmas Parade – Savannah Style! A Christmas parade, Savannah style! About 50 lighted vessels parade both sides of the waterfront, accompanied by live music performances, tree lighting ceremony and a fireworks extravaganza.  912.201.2201

Happy Thanksgiving!

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It’s finally here. It’s Turkey Day! Enjoy a day with good food, good friends an family. We here at Coastal Companion wish you a relaxing, safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Please check back in after the holidays – we’ll have a surprise for you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

happythanksgiving

Fall Arts and Crafts Festival Comes to St Augustine, Fl

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FALL ART AND CRAFT FESTIVAL COMING TO ST. AUGUSTINE
52nd Annual Event!

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (Nov. 20) – The 52nd and largest edition of one of the Southeast’s favorite art and craft extravaganzas returns to St. Augustine on Thanksgiving Weekend, November 29-30. The Fall Art and Craft Festival will feature 160 of the finest regional artists, including jewelers, glass blowers, sculptors, woodworkers, gourd artists, potters, painters, photographers, textile batik artists and more, as well as jazz musicians and food vendors.

This juried festival is sponsored by the St. Augustine Art Association and serves as the primary fund raiser for this non-profit organization formed in 1924. Held at Francis Field, the festival takes place on both Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is only $1 and plenty of parking will be available at the adjacent Historic Downtown Parking Facility located on West Castillo Drive just off US 1. For more information, call 904.824.2310 or go to www.staaa.org.

Each evening after the festival closes, the historic district of the oldest city will be bathed in the holiday glow of more than two million tiny white lights that make up the festive Nights of Lights – the perfect setting for dining, shopping or just strolling through the picturesque streets of old St. Augustine. For more information, go to www.nightsoflights.com.

The Fall Art and Craft Festival is sponsored in part by a grant from the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council. For more details visit www.Getaway4Florida.com or call 1.800.653.2489.

Georgia Tech’s Yellow Jacket Marching Band in Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade

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State of Georgia Represented in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Georgia Tech’s Yellow Jacket Marching Band Makes Debut in Annual Holiday Event

ATLANTA (November 24, 2008) Georgia will be well represented in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as Georgia Tech’s Yellow Jacket Marching Band takes center stage. The group is one of two college bands selected to perform during the traditional kick-off to the holiday season.

The parade will be broadcast live Thursday, November 27, 2008, on NBC from 9:00 a.m. until noon (EST). The Yellow Jacket Marching Band has been informed that they will be marching by the camera at approximately 10:07 a.m.

“With 2008 representing the band’s 100th anniversary, we cannot think of a better way to celebrate than taking part in this traditional holiday event,” says Band Director Chris Moore.

Transporting 360 members plus their instruments is no small task. The group will be transported via eight buses along with one truck loaded with instruments ranging from 30 tubas to 31 drums. The band is set leave on Sunday, November 23 for the 800-plus-mile trek.

Established in 1908, the Yellow Jacket Marching Band is one of the oldest such programs in the country. Members of the band are part of a group of more than 1,100 Georgia Tech students who sing, play or study music each semester at a university that offers no undergraduate degrees in music. Band members represent every major and many nations around the world.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is not the first time the band has been in the limelight. Band members appeared at the Kenny Chesney and Sugarland concert during their 2007 summer tour in Atlanta. They also were asked to perform with Keith Urban during his spring concert at Gwinnett Arena earlier this year.

For more information on the Yellow Jacket Marching Band’s major milestones, visit their Web site at http://www.gatech.edu/band/.

The Thanksgiving Dinner for Cruisers – St Marys, GA

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St MarysIf you are a cruiser and going south for the winter- St. Marys is a stopping place for boaters from all over the world. Each cruiser brings a covered dish, local boaters provide the turkey and ham for delicious food and fun filled Thanksgiving. This is the fifth annual Thanksgiving Celebration for boaters wanting to share their cruising stories and meet new people in our friendly historic waterfront town.