Experience the beauty of the season ...
WinterLights December 13-17 // December 20-23 // December 27-30 Elizabethan Gardens. 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Come experience Holiday lights and music transforming The Elizabethan Gardens into an illuminated winter wonderland complete with peacocks, butterflies, deer and other garden creatures created with flowers, seeds, natural elements, as well as traditional holiday decorations. Stroll through The Gardens and enjoy the spirit of the season. Festive trees grace the Gatehouse, Reception Hall and great Lawn. WinterLights is 18 nights of lights and floral displays at The Gardens! Each evening enjoy The Gardens' Gift Shoppe and plant sales, which offer 10% off all merchandise. Friends' receive an additional 10% off. For the occasion, a special holiday promotion is planned featuring many gifts under $15.00 ~ pre-wrapped and ready to give for Christmas. Garden plant sales will feature winter annuals; ornamental vegetables; forced bulbs; rosemary Christmas Trees; and conifers with bows. Tickets for Friends' and Non-members: $9 for Adults; $7 for youth (ages 6-17); $4 for children (5 and under). elizabethangardens.org 
Dinner with Santa December 16 6 - 9 pm prices are reduced. Celebrate the beginning of the holidays with your child by dining with Santa in the magically decorated Embellished Hall at The Elizabethan Gardens. Culinary delights will be provided, and Santa will be available throughout the evening. Attendees are encouraged to bring their cameras to capture wonderful family holiday photos. The Gardens will also have a professional photographer available to take photos which can then be purchased from the photographer’s website. Your ticket includes dinner, Santa and WinterLights. Dinner seating is at 6 pm, 7 pm, or 8 pm. Come experience holiday lights and music transforming The Elizabethan Gardens into an illuminated winter wonderland complete with peacocks, butterflies, deer and other garden creatures created with flowers, seeds, natural elements, as well as traditional holiday decorations. Enjoy the spirit of the season, dinner and Santa! Friends’ tickets: Was $35 now $25 for Adults; Was $20 now $12 for youth (ages 6-17); $6 for children (5 and younger). for children. Non-members tickets: Was $40 now $27 for Adults; Was $22 now $14 for youth (ages 6-17); $8 for children (5 and younger). elizabethangardens.org Kids Craft Day December 17, 21 10 a.m. - Noon. Let Mom and Dad go shopping, while we entertain the children! This is a special day for children 5 and up. We will have an arts and crafts activity, healthy snacks, lunch, story time and a special stroll through The Gardens. Let the children enjoy the seasonal displays while you get ready for the Holidays! Children will delight in seeing floral creations of peacocks, butterflies and deer! Make sure they bring their coats! Mom or Dad can enjoy the Home and Gardens Workshop. Space limited to 30 children. Friends' $15; Non-members $20. elizabethangardens.org 
108th Annual Celebration of the Wright Brothers First Flight December 17 Wright Brothers National Memorial. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Gather at the exact site at the exact time as the historic flight to remember, reflect and celebrate this milestone. The daylong anniversary tribute will be held at the site of Wright’s first flight. Visitors to the site experience a replica of the Wright Brothers’ 1903 encampment and majestic, 60-foot tall granite monument perched atop a 90-foot hill that serves a striking and lasting reminder of the important historical achievement that happened on this site a century ago. Video: December 17th at Wright Brothers National Memorial 
UNC Greensboro Amahl and the Night Visitors December 18 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Indoor Theatre at Roanoke Island Festival Park. The tender, heartwarming story of Amahl and the Night Visitors, is one of the most popular of American operas. It is performed internationally every Christmas season and remains one of the most frequently performed operas of the 20th century. Amahl and the Night Visitors was written by the Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti who as a young boy became lame. The doctors had no cure for him. He was taken to be blessed at the holy Sanctuary of Sacro Monte and thereafter, miraculously, the young Menotti was cured of lameness.The event is part of the RIFP Performance Series. Tickets are $10 adults and $5 for those 12 and under. roanokeisland.com