CityView December 2025 by CityView Magazine

Unwrapped

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THE HOLIDAY ISSUE

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Thank you for supporting local reporting during the GivingTuesday campaign. Because of donors like you, Fayetteville has free access to reporting on the decisions that affect daily life. Your support keeps local journalism local and free.

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DECEMBER 2025

Publisher Kyle Villemain

Magazine Editor Valeria Cloës

Editorial Assistant Maydha Devarajan

Contributing Editor Katie Kosma

Director of Operation & Sales Talmadge Rogers

Administration & Operations Coordinator Caitlin Malson

Social Media Manager Grace McFadden

Graphic Designer Annette Winter

Sales Team Leader

Dawn Denham

Photographers

Israel Anta

Sabreena Czarnecki

Malgorzata

Dittmar-Nishimura

James Throssel

Sharilyn Wells

Tony Wooten

Contributing

Writers

Bill Horner III

Claire Mullen

Trey Nemec

Diane Parfitt

Teri Saylor

Tim White

Claudia Zamora

Distribution

Jennifer Baker

Wayne Robinson

For advertising inquiries please contact ddenham@cityviewnc.com

Above, Lori and Leonard Hawkins' home features a collection of more than 40 nativity scenes that Lori started collecting 40 years ago. Photo by Tony

On the cover: Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation's Christmas in the Park at Arnette Park on December 15, 2024. Photo by Tony Wooten

12 A Simple Beginning

For this military family of faith, a nativity collection is more than a seasonal aside.

18 Becoming a Master Trainer

How an Army novice turned confusion into connection, then became a leading instructor for reservist families.

20 Lighting Up the Season

Throughout Fayetteville, spectacular holiday light displays offer beauty and community connection through the holiday season.

26 A Season of Celebration

Discover Fayetteville’s new places to shop and gather during the holidays.

Wooten

Merry Christmas

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EDITOR'S TAKE

Spirit of the Season

BY VALERIA CLOËS

While it’s the best time of year to curl up on the couch with a warm blanket, a hot drink, and a movie, December also ushers in many opportunities for warm connections with each other.

With several holidays and celebrations this month—like Bodhi Day on December 8, Hanukkah, which starts on December 14, Christmas on December 25, and Kwanzaa, which starts on December 26—“The Holiday Issue” magazine immerses you in the spirit of the season.

Our cover story highlights the sparkly holiday light shows happening across our county: Segra Stadium’s Fayetteville Holiday Lights event, Christmas in the Park at Arnette Park, Cape Fear Botanical Garden’s Holiday Lights in the Garden, and Sweet Valley Ranch’s Festival of Lights. All of these events have dates throughout December.

A local military family celebrates Christmas with a unique tradition rooted in faith. Lori Hawkins, a former master trainer for the Army Reserve Command, and retired Col. Leonard Hawkins set out across their home and yard a collection of more than 40 nativity sets in different sizes, shapes, and materials from across the world. What began as a family tradition now brings joy to friends and neighbors alike, who gift them unique nativities they find during their travels.

If you’re shopping for gifts or want to dine out for your holiday celebrations, we’ve got a guide to the new businesses where you can do just that. For shopping, there’s The Little Trunk, Chapter House Books, Cavender’s Boot City, Bound and Vine. And for dining, there’s Snowy Town and Bounty Farmhouse Kitchen & Tap. For even more places to shop and dine, check out our 2025-2026 DestinationFAY magazine.

This month, our columnists share what the holiday season means to them. The first writes a letter to Santa with all his wishes for the Greater Fayetteville area and Cumberland County. Another reflects on the Christmas memories her children remind her of. The next shares her seven holiday book recommendations for families. And our bilingual columnist shares what December means to her and an end-of-year tamale recipe.

Our December To-Do List is sure to keep you entertained, with a Methodist University Chorale & Orchestra concert, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever shows by Cape Fear Regional Theatre, a Cumberland Choral Arts and Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra performance, and much more.

We also have a photo gallery of Cumberland County Veterans Council’s 2025 Veterans Day Parade, which took place on November 1 in downtown Fayetteville.

As this December magazine shows, whether you celebrate the holidays in December or not, there’s plenty the Greater Fayetteville area offers the community. We hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for reading!

For comments, questions, feedback, or to submit story ideas, email vcloes@cityviewnc.com.

Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation's Christmas in the Park at Arnette Park on December 15, 2024.

Photo by Tony Wooten

Letter to Santa

BY TIM WHITE

‘Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la Fayetteville!

It’s time to jump up on Santa’s lap (sorry, Santa, I’ve gained a little weight since we last sat together) and deliver our Christmas list. Not mine, but my list of gifts I wish I could give this year to Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

And, Santa, let me start by assuring you I’ve been nice, not naughty. Please don’t believe what the county commissioners are saying about me. Really, I’m a nice guy.

Kids are right up there at the top of my list, Santa. All of our kids—in the city, in the county, and across our region. We aren’t doing right by them. Too many are becoming adults without the skills and abilities they need to succeed, and it’s hurting us as well as them. Like all the other counties around us, Cumberland has a poverty problem. For a lot of kids, it’s a trap they may never escape.

We need a stronger, better education system. Way back in the previous century (really, that long ago!), the courts ruled that the state was violating its own constitution by failing to provide equal education to all its children. The decision has never been enforced, and the latest state Supreme Court hearing on the Leandro case has led nowhere—two years later, the justices are still avoiding it.

Anyone who can read knows that public education in North Carolina isn’t supported the way our constitution demands. And so, poorer counties like Cumberland still struggle to provide the kind of education that counties in the Triangle, for one example, can easily afford. Those kids are far more likely to find good jobs and success in life. Our kids can’t. Let’s fix that.

Speaking of the obstacles that our kids—and just about everyone else—face, there’s the issue of violent crime. We’ve got too much of it here, an issue that’s certainly related to the poverty that’s too prevalent.

While the overall crime rate in Fayetteville is down this year, the murder rate isn’t. Violence is claiming too many lives, and both victims and perpetrators are often young. Lives are being destroyed before they have even a tiny chance of thriving. Santa, we need some help here.

It’s not a policing issue—the problem starts long before the cops are called. Our kids need support, from their families, from schools, from our “social safety net,” from community organizations, from churches—from every one of us in the community. They need role models who can give them hope and a pathway to a good life.

And here’s a basic thing, Santa: How about a real municipal effort to make this a walkable city? How about giving us a plan to create sidewalks, crosswalks, and other things that make it safe—and dare I suggest it, even fun—to walk around and leave our cars parked and unnecessary?

While we’re at it, Santa, could you give us a hand in finding more creative, even visionary, leaders for the city and county? We’ve got some good ones, but not nearly enough.

Too many of our young and middle-aged best and brightest are sitting on the sidelines and deciding against offering their talents for public service. Too many of our perennial candidates—including some who keep getting elected to important posts—have a hard time finding solutions to our biggest problems.

PHOTO BY OCTAVIAN IORDACHE ON UNSPLASH

Getting a new fire station in your district is a lot easier than building and executing a plan to improve the economy, strengthen our schools, improve our cultural life, and make this a community that people want to live in. That requires big thinking and the ability to execute an effective plan. Greater Fayetteville has people who can do that, but not enough of them are stepping up to offer their time and expertise.

And while we’re talking about our leaders, Santa, please give us a gift we so desperately need in this time of divisiveness. Give us our local, nonpartisan elections back.

Even at the city council level, some candidates are campaigning on their party identities, although the posts are still nominally nonpartisan. Please, get that corrosive nonsense out of local elections.

Street paving isn’t a partisan issue. Nor is waste disposal. Nor is the location of the next rec center or deciding how to fight crime.

Partisanship shouldn’t be an issue in county government either. Taking care of public and mental health isn’t a place for partisan politics, nor is running a jail or a courthouse.

And speaking of courthouses, judicial races shouldn’t be partisan battles either. The law is the law, and judges need to invoke and interpret it with common sense, not party orthodoxy.

What do you think, Santa? Can we apply some of that common sense to the electoral process, too?

Merry Christmas, everyone! See you in 2026.

PWC

Tim White is the former editorial page editor of The Fayetteville Observer.

FAMILY MATTERS

Memories of Christmases Past

BY CLAIRE MULLEN

During the holiday season, my two children love to recount their most profound memories of Christmases past. At ages 9 and 11, they have just under and over a decade’s worth of recollections to pull from. And for a pair of kids whose parents have put an awful lot of time, thought, and resources into making sure Christmastime is as merry and magical as it possibly can be, the remembrances they choose to recount often fall short of holly jolly.

“Hey, Mom, remember that time you signed up to be the angel in the live nativity at my preschool, and you had to go barefoot because you were wearing cowboy boots that did not match the angel’s robe? And then when you took your boots off, you weren’t even wearing socks, and your toenails were painted black? And I was really embarrassed because I didn’t think angels would really wear black nail polish? And I told my best friend they probably should have asked Savannah’s mom to be the angel instead of you, because she is very beautiful and fancy, and doesn’t wear black nail polish?”

“Mom, how come Santa is supposed to be magic, he has all these elves to help him, and his sleigh is big enough to fit toys for every boy and girl in the entire world, but that one time he completely forgot to take his trash with him, and he littered, and we found all the boxes from our presents hidden behind the toolshed?”

“Mama, how come that one year you thought it would be a good idea to try to dress Annie [our dearly departed yellow lab] up as a reindeer and hook her up to our wagon filled with toys for our Christmas card picture? Remember how she saw a squirrel and knocked the wagon over, and all the toys spilled out? And then she tripped me and made me cry, and my little Santa suit got dirty? And sissy was already crying because her elf ears were too tight and

really itchy? And then everyone was crying, even you?”

“Remember when you and Dad both got the flu during Christmas, and somehow our Elf on the Shelf didn’t move for, like, a whole week?”

“Remember how Santa keeps forgetting that I ask for a PlayStation 5, an iPhone, and a puppy every single year, but he always brings me things I didn’t even ask for, like puzzles, underwear, multiplication flash cards, and mouthwash?”

The answer is always, “Yes, of course I remember.” I remember because my children won’t seem to let me forget the handful of times that our Yuletide happenings may have come up a little short. And I don’t think that they love to recount these things because they are ungrateful or malicious—it’s just that in the eyes of a child, the holiday season is just so very full of magic and wonder, that anything less than completely marvelous is difficult to even comprehend.

I am also fairly certain that with time and a little perspective, these lamentable recollections will fade, and what they will really remember most in the long run are the holiday moments that truly did feel like magic. After all, some of my best and most profound memories of my own childhood are from the Christmas season spent with my close-knit family. Traditional Christmas Eve dinner at my grandparents’ house served on fancy Spode Christmas Tree china. Sitting around a crackling fire, sipping nutmeg-sprinkled eggnog out of pewter cups specifically reserved for this occasion. Coming out of the 11 p.m. Christmas Eve candlelight service, well past our normal bedtime, into the cold night air, and feeling the anticipation of the clock striking midnight to officially herald in Christmas Day. Waking up on Christmas morning and impatiently waiting with my three

PHOTO BY GREG ROSENKE ON UNSPLASH

younger siblings at the top of the stairs in our matching pajamas for our parents to call us down to see if Santa’s sleigh had stopped at our house. Discovering a beautifully arranged selection of gifts and a stocking full of little surprises just for me, and squealing along with my sisters and brother, much to the delight of my beaming mom and dad. Loading into our family minivan and spending the three-hour drive to my grandparents’ farm for another round of holiday festivities, entertaining myself with a bag full of everything Santa brought: the latest Baby-Sitters Club novel, a Sony Walkman and accompanying Celine Dion cassette tape, a Petite Miss makeup kit, and Tetris on my brand new Nintendo Game Boy. Going to bed on Christmas night in a warm, cozy bed, feeling utterly exhausted and completely happy.

Even if I think really hard, I can’t dredge up a single negative memory from my first 17 Christmases as a child. Surely, there were times that Santa didn’t bring me exactly what I’d asked for, or our family Christmas card photo session was wrought with uncomfortable outfits and one too many poses. Times when I was a little too antsy during the Christmas Eve service sermon, or my siblings and I bickered all the way to the farm in Perquimans County.

But somehow, I simply just don’t remember.

Maybe part of the holiday magic is learning to let go of the bad and hold onto the good, or even in learning to see the good in what may have once seemed less-than, just like a brand new pack of underwear in your stocking on Christmas morning.

Claire Mullen can be reached at clairejlmullen@gmail.com.

Lori and Leonard “Hawk” Hawkins decorate their home in Gates Four Golf & Country Club with a collection of over 40 nativity sets of different sizes, shapes, and materials from around the world every Christmas.

Opposite, Lori and Hawk's Christmas decorating starts just after Thanksgiving, filling shelves and tables in their main living area with the nativities and other Christmas decorations.

FAITH

A Simple Beginning

For this military family of faith, a nativity collection is more than a seasonal aside.

BY BILL HORNER III | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN

Just like the original tableau—a feeding trough, angels, shepherds, lowly animals witnessing a miraculous birth— Lori Hawkins’ foray into collecting nativity sets began humbly.

She was a child when a cherished aunt and uncle from Minnesota mailed a Christmas gift to her home in Virginia. Lori unwrapped and examined the present quizzically: ceramic figurines of Mary and Joseph, three wise men, two lambs, and the baby Jesus—the tallest of the eight pieces measuring about an inch.

J“She’s an artsy, crafty person, but I thought it was kind of unusual to give a 10-year-old a nativity,” Lori remembers. She stowed it away after the holiday.

That was more than 50 Christmases ago, and it would be another 11 before she’d begin collecting nativities in earnest. Today, Lori’s growing portfolio delights friends and neighbors. And while she’s not precisely sure of how many she possesses—more than 40, maybe upwards of 50, coming in a wide variety of sizes and shapes, materials, and countries of origin—she’s fully aware of the joy they invoke.

But here’s what’s most important: for Lori, a former master trainer for the Army Reserve Command, 61, and her husband Leonard—a retired colonel who’s 69, and known to most as “Hawk”—the creche collection is more than a hobby, more than just holiday ornamentation. Because theirs is a family with a lived-in faith, the holy birth of a savior is a year-round focal point, not a seasonal aside.

A yearly tradition

The Hawkinses have lived on a corner lot in Gates Four Golf & Country Club since 2005, and after all these years, decorating for Christmas is something they’ve mastered. The process begins just after Thanksgiving. Lori and Hawk hire kids from church to assist around the house; it’s decorated inside and out and includes one lighted outdoor nativity. There’s also a 9 1/2-foot-tall artificial tree, adorned with ornaments they’ve collected over the years.

Lori alone handles the nativities, unpacking and arranging displays on shelves and on tables she clears in the home’s main living area. At least a dozen countries of origin are represented. In France, for example, on a visit to a cathedral, she and Hawk purchased one made from blown glass. Updated photos she takes each year include

any new sets and help guide her to what goes where; each individual nativity bears a hand-written notation or sticker providing background about its origin.

“I make sure everything is just so,” she said.

The first Lori herself added to the collection was just prior to Christmas 1985. She was pregnant with her first child, her son Scott.

“I said this is going to be for him, for my child,” she remembers. “So that nativity always has a special place, because it was the original one.”

Adding to it became a Christmas tradition. When Lori uses the word “snowballed” to describe the collection’s growth over the last 15 years, she does so without irony. She tries hard not to dampen the enthusiasm of friends who eagerly purchase, and give as gifts, unique nativities they find in faraway places. (She’s simply running out of display room.) Nativities made from unusual materials interest her, but at this stage, she and Hawk don’t buy just any nativity set they see—“just something that’s totally different or unique.”

This helps explain their most recent addition: the couple was in Ohio visiting family and went to Hawk’s sister’s church, where a group traveling from Israel was displaying

Lori keeps Christmas decorations up until the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6); nativities are packed away around February 1.

handmade creations.

“And they had this nativity,” Lori said, “and it was absolutely gorgeous. But it was big. And I told Hawk, ‘You know, we’re not buying any big ones anymore.’ And it was hand-carved and it was $1,200. I said, ‘We are NOT buying a $1,200 nativity!’ I said it was too big—it won’t fit on the shelf, right? The rules are it has to stay on a shelf.”

Hawk, though, wouldn’t let it go. He bought it.

“It’s so intricate,” Lori said. “It’s unbelievably gorgeous, just so intricate.”

Christmas decorations stay up until the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6); nativities are packed away around February 1. The couple, deeply involved in the ministry at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Hope Mills, also observe traditions there: Lori plays guitar, and Hawk sings, each year for the children’s mass on Christmas Eve, the midnight candle-lit mass that evening, and the Christmas Day mass.

A community affair

The smallest in Lori’s collection was a gift from neighbors Luiz and Andrea Correa, who live catty-corner from the Hawkinses. It’s carved from a pistachio shell and was acquired in Colombia.

That tiny nativity—“It’s as big as the nail on your pinkie finger,” said Andrea—is just one she and Luiz have acquired and gifted to Lori from their international travels. Sets from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the Caribbean islands are among them, expressions of love and appreciation for Lori and Hawk.

“Well, our relationship is beautiful because they have really adopted us,” Andrea said.

The Correa family moved to Fayetteville when Luiz, a fertility specialist for the Army, was assigned to Fort Bragg. Lori and Hawk immediately took to the couple and their two daughters.

“We had no one here, and she just stepped in,” Andrea said of Lori. “And our girls love Lori and Hawk. They call them ‘grandma’ and ‘grandpa,’ and we started coming over for dinner. Lori had nativity sets around, and I love nativity sets because we are both Catholic. And it’s something my mom also loved very much. And I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I know what to get her!’—and every time we travel, the first thing we do is to try to find a small nativity set for grandma.”

Andrea tears up talking about her own mother’s brain cancer diagnosis, and how Lori embraced her when

Lori holds a piece from her collection that was made in Colombia.

A nativity scene hand-carved in Israel sits in the dining room.

The Hawkins' home at dusk

Andrea had no family nearby.

“She took care of all of us,” she said. “Lori used to bring us food every day … She took care of the girls. She’s just a very giving person, and once you’re in her circle, she makes sure that you’re well taken care of. Having her in our life is a blessing.”

Andrea’s mother, Luz, passed away last February. Her young daughters never met Andrea’s father, and with Andrea’s and Luiz’s families mostly living in Florida and New Jersey, having Lori come in “during all of this craziness” has been more than a blessing.

“Lori has fulfilled all this emptiness in our family,” Andrea said. “It’s been beautiful for the girls to have this role model of a person who’s so giving and so loving.”

An enduring love

Every Christmas, a tinge of bittersweetness that accompanies setting up the display makes the redemptive message of Yuletide even more real. Scott, Lori’s firstborn—the child for whom that first purchase of a nativity was made—was a product of her first marriage, a union that resulted in three children over 16 years before a divorce. Hawk, whose 32 years of military service included 18 in active duty and 14 as a reservist, was also divorced when he and Lori met (see page 18). A 20-year union with his first wife produced four children.

The nativity Lori purchased for Scott all those years ago gets attention; it’s not only one of her larger sets, but it’s colorful and includes a wooden manger that Lori decorates with pine straw. Ornaments she bought for him include a tree-topper (a teddy bear holding balloons) and another that became his favorite: a man sitting on a couch with a beer and a TV remote, which she got when Scott was 21 years old.

He died tragically in an accident in 2013 at the age of 27. Lori never got to tell him goodbye.

“Sometimes people say, ‘Oh, where’d you get that one?’

Or, ‘Tell me about this one,’” she said of Scott’s nativity. “It’s … it’s very difficult … I would not have survived

without my faith, because I know that Scott is with the Lord, and if he could come back, he wouldn’t.”

Hawk also knows the pain of losing a child: His daughter Marjorie died in 1991 at the age of 21 months in a drowning in the family’s swimming pool, sneaking away from the family hours after her first swimming lesson.

Lori speaks for the couple when she talks about coming to a point where she’s at peace with the loss. “It took a long time,” she said, “because nobody expects to bury their own child. It’s not the way nature normally works.”

But it is part of life, a life that brought them to Fayetteville on what was at first supposed to be a twoyear assignment for Hawk. That turned into nine years, and they chose to remain in Fayetteville after Hawk’s retirement because of connection: they’d made many wonderful friends and loved being a part of the parish fellowship at Good Shepherd.

Lori’s daughter Kristine and three granddaughters live just a half mile away, and they’ve become like family with Andrea’s and Luiz’s girls. In addition, Lori’s parents—Bob and Martha Seep—also live nearby (Hawks’ parents are deceased), and together they have family within a day’s drive in Tennessee, Maryland, Florida, and Ohio.

“After spending 32 years in the Army, we like the close connection with other military families, and Fayetteville offers us that opportunity,” Lori said. “Over the last 20 years we have watched it become a great place to spend our retirement years.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Former CityView Executive Editor Bill Horner III, who served as publisher and editor of newspapers in Sanford and Chatham County, is working on his first book. He writes columns on rural North Carolina for Business NC magazine.

Miniature nativity scenes, featuring one within a pistachio shell (second from the right), adorn a bookshelf in the Hawkins' home.

Becoming a Master Trainer

How an Army novice turned confusion into connection, then became a leading instructor for reservist families

BY BILL HORNER III PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN

FFort Bragg was Leonard “Hawk” Hawkins’ first duty station after enlisting in the U.S. Army back in 1979.

So when he and Lori moved to Fayetteville in 2005, a few years after their marriage, it was familiar territory for him.

Not so much for her.

She’d eventually find her way around—Hawk’s twoyear assignment turned into six, ending with his 2011 retirement—but she’d already found herself on a different, frantic upward learning curve: a crash course on military hierarchy and protocol, cryptic acronyms, and the explicit (and unspoken) rules governing base culture.

In time, Lori would become a go-to resource for thousands of soldiers and their families.

Here’s how it happened.

The couple met while Hawk was stationed in Pensacola, Florida, serving mission-critical positions as an Army reservist after having logistics and contract positions in Germany and the United States. Lori had settled there near her parents after a divorce. He’d been married before, too. Lori’s lasted 16 years and produced three children; Hawk’s, which lasted 20 years, produced four.

They attended the same church and played for the church’s coed softball team—she as first baseman, and he as a reluctant “call me only if there’s no one else to play” pitcher. A friendship blossomed, love called; after an 18-month courtship, they married in the spring of 2002.

A few months later, Lori recalls, Hawk arrived home to say his reserve unit might mobilize.

“I’m like, ‘What does that mean?’” she said.

Soon after, the couple flew to Pennsylvania for deployment briefings. One session provided advice for

Hawkins served as master trainer for the Army Reserve Command for 13 years.

soldiers and spouses about the separation deployment creates.

“So we’re sitting at this table, and this female major is talking to all of the families,” Lori recalled. “And she said, ‘Now, I’m sure if we have any questions, Colonel Hawkins’ wife can answer them.’”

Panic set in.

“I said, ‘Oh, no, no, no!’ I was fumbling,” she said. “I remember this like it was yesterday. I said, ‘I don’t know anything. We’ve only been married seven months!’”

Lori’s father served 23 years in the U.S. Navy. But she was just 14 when he retired, and never fully grasped military lingo—much less the myriad of other complexities active service members navigate.

She looked frantically to Hawk for answers.

“When we got back to the hotel, I said to him, ‘They expect that I know things,’” she said. “And he said, ‘Well, normally the colonel’s wife does.’ We sat in the hotel room that entire night, and he gave me Army 101 … He explained to me what a platoon was, what a brigade was, what a battalion was, what the rank of sergeant was. I mean, we literally sat, and we laughed, we had a bottle of wine. And I learned to speak Army.”

That was the start. After the move to Fort Bragg, Lori

Lori

attended a Family Readiness Group session at Hawk’s suggestion. It was there an officer Hawk worked for told Lori she’d be perfect in an instructional role for other military families. “You’re very outgoing,” Hawk remembers the officer telling Lori. “He said, ‘I’m sure her enthusiasm would be really good in that role.’”

So Lori agreed to go to Orlando for another Soldier and Family Readiness Group session, designed to provide a network of support and problem-solving. She proved an enthusiastic volunteer, eventually becoming a part of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program—a reintegration program providing resources and assistance before, during, and after deployments— which was formed for National Guard and reserve members.

“That’s when they would bring the family and the soldier together for a weekend before they deployed,” she said. “They’d tell the families what to expect, what resources there were, how to get through it.”

Lori became a speaker for the Army Reserve Command and at program sessions, then a master trainer. Eventually, she’d travel as many as three weekends a month to speak— amassing enough expertise to offer 60 different classes “on everything from recognizing the signs of PTSD, children who were challenging—all that stuff,” she said.

Her combination of energy and vulnerability made her a popular instructor for 13 years.

“A lot of it was just offering them resources,” Lori said. “‘OK, here’s how you get set up, this is how you get a new ID card.’ So we would talk about logistics, but we would also teach classes about how to help the children …”

Sometimes, after classes, family members would catch her in the hotel’s elevator or in the lobby.

“And they’d say, ‘I’m so worried,’” she said. “We told them what to expect when their soldier comes home, because some of these soldiers

came home wounded. Some of them came home with PTSD. And we would say, ‘Look, if he’s exercising too much, he may be trying to escape. If he’s playing video games, taking a day out, he’s trying to escape. If he’s drinking too much, if he’s starting to take pills that he never took before …’”

She remembers one wife asking, “How do you know when too much is too much?”

“I said, ‘If you’re having to ask me that you already know,’” Lori said. “And so a lot of it was them being able to ask somebody questions, and that’s what I offered. We had lots of teaching aids and resources for them, and so it really made it bearable.”

If called upon, she’d be willing to step in again to help.

“I might teach six classes on a Saturday,” she remembers of those days. “My throat would be so sore, and I’d be mentally and physically exhausted. But I would go back to my hotel room and I would think

just how blessed I am—and what an honor it is to serve these families.”

She worked from a detailed outline when leading classes, but sometimes a thought or a story would spring to mind. She’d feel compelled to share it.

“I can’t tell you the number of times people would grab me afterward and say, ‘I needed to hear that.’ I’d say, ‘God put it on my heart to share that, but I don’t know why.’ Those were the things that fed me.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Former CityView Executive

Editor Bill Horner III, who served as publisher and editor of newspapers in Sanford and Chatham County, is working on his first book. He writes columns on rural North Carolina for Business NC magazine.

Lighting Up the Season

Throughout Fayetteville, spectacular holiday light displays offer beauty and community connection through the holiday season

BY TREY NEMEC

Beginning in 2010, Christmas in the Park turns Arnette Park into a winter wonderland for 12 nights throughout December. Led by the FayettevilleCumberland Parks & Recreation Department, this free drive-thru holiday lights event—which spans just under one mile in length—offers over a million lights for eager holiday spectacle enthusiasts.

Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation's Christmas in the Park at Arnette Park on December 15, 2024. Photo by Tony Wooten

AAround this time each year, as temperatures dip and chilly winds breeze through the city, we are often tempted to hurry inside our homes, desperate to curl up with cozy blankets and hot beverages. Through the windows of many homes, the warm halo of carefully arranged holiday lights glows, cutting through the dark.

Throughout Fayetteville, holiday lights events offer fun and festivity for everyone, encouraging us to venture outside our dens and experience what the season has to offer. From glowing dugouts to illuminated nature displays, the true spirit of the holiday season shines, even on the frostiest nights.

Segra Stadium

Each winter for its Fayetteville Holiday Lights event, the home of the beloved Fayetteville Woodpeckers trades its baseball gloves and bats for garlands and holiday spirit.

Since 2021, Segra Stadium has packed every inch of its space with twinkling lights—more than 2 million, the team’s General Manager Michelle Skinner told CityView Andrew Chapman, a Woodpeckers broadcaster, said planning for the almost month-long event begins in late

September, shortly after their popular Pecktoberfest event (in celebration of Oktoberfest) concludes. He said that lining the massive stadium and field requires a true team effort, but the results always pay off.

“We don’t hire a crew or anything to come in, it’s just all us,” Chapman said. “There are a couple of guys in our office who do the majority of the work, and then we have a few all-hands-on-deck days where everybody funnels out of the office. Once it’s all lit up at night, you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s why I was putting in all this work.’”

“It’s nice to get people back in the winter and be a hub to the community when baseball’s out of season,” Skinner said.

The Woodpecker’s team is continually working to grow the event, Chapman said, adding more lights and displays each year. This year the event boasts larger displays, new theme nights, and giveaways—including a specialized holiday jersey for one lucky attendee.

The Fayetteville Holiday Lights at Segra Stadium opened on November 28, and will welcome holiday-lightlookers almost every night through December 31. To see a full schedule, purchase tickets, or find more information, visit the Fayetteville Holiday Lights event website.

Fayetteville Holiday Lights included tens of thousands of holiday lights around Segra Stadium on December 23, 2023.

Photo by Malgorzata Dittmar-Nishimura

Arnette Park is located at 2165 Wilmington Highway in Fayetteville. Photo by Tony Wooten

Sweet Valley Ranch

What does a field of glowing dinosaurs, a nativity scene— complete with a 17-foot angel—and live animals adorned with holiday lights have in common? Fred and Anita Surgeon, owners of Sweet Valley Ranch, and their team are excited to make the connection this holiday season.

The Festival of Lights at Sweet Valley Ranch, Fred said, is a favorite in the community. From their drive-thru holiday lights display to Tiny’s Winter Wonderland, a free activity space for guests to enjoy holiday movies and crackling fire pits, the ranch offers multitudes of holiday fun.

The Surgeons love Christmas, Fred said, a glimmer in his eyes as he spoke about the expansion of the festival over the years. With the addition of new buildings, like their guest cabins that opened for overnight guests earlier this year, comes the exciting task of deciding how to decorate for the holidays. The ranch has worked with vendors and artists from across the globe to design custom light displays, offering a unique and one-of-a-kind spectacle to the Fayetteville community.

Beginning as early as June, Sweet Valley Ranch begins stringing lights to ensure the over 350 animal residents of the ranch—including new additions like emus for the 2025 season—are comfortable and prepared for holiday festivities. When all the decorating has been done, the lights number in the millions.

For Fred, creating a positive space for the community, creating memories, and giving back during the holiday season are critical.

“Family and community and faith: it’s essential. It’s the

lifeblood of our city… what better way to reinforce that than by having something where everything about it is positive,” Fred said of the festival.

Fred explained that this year, through their “Sweet Valley Ranch Gives Back” initiative, more than $30,000 in grant funding will be awarded to several nonprofit and faith-based organizations in the community. The recipients will be announced early this month.

The Festival of Lights at Sweet Valley Ranch opened November 28 with more dates from December 5-6, 12-14, 19-23, and 26-27, offering drive-thru light displays, free holiday activities, and a space for community to all who attend. For a complete schedule and ticketing information, visit the event website.

Arnette Park

Beginning in 2010, Christmas in the Park turns Arnette Park into a winter wonderland for 12 nights throughout December. Led by the Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation Department, this free drive-thru holiday lights event—which spans just under one mile in length—offers over a million lights for eager holiday spectacle enthusiasts.

Brian Christopher, special events coordinator for the Parks & Recreation Department, told CityView that the planning and preparation process for this longstanding event begins in late September, and lights begin to adorn the park in November. He said the team all works together to make sure the event runs smoothly, and with over a decade’s worth of experience under their belts, they have it down to a science.

Holiday Lights in the Garden at Cape Fear Botanical Garden on December 22, 2021. Photo by Sharilyn Wells

“Our Parks & Recreation crew,” Christopher said. “They take a lot of pride in this.” He explained that the department adds new displays every year, so even wellseasoned light viewers have surprises in store.

This event is free, open to the public, and operated from 6-9 p.m. on December 7-11, 14-18, and 21-22. For more information about Christmas in the Park and other holiday events hosted by the Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation Department, visit the department's events website.

Cape Fear Botanical Garden

Cape Fear Botanical Garden glows each December with more than a million twinkling LED lights, encasing more than 20 landscaped areas in light. Since its beginning in 2012, Holiday Lights in the Garden has grown into a beloved winter tradition, drawing over 16,000 visitors in recent years, Sheila Hanrick, director of marketing, events, and guest services, said.

This year’s theme, “Harmony in Nature”—a new endeavor by the garden team—will offer nature-themed displays in tandem with time-honored classics that Fayetteville residents know and love. Two old holiday rivals—Santa and the Grinch—will also make special appearances among the lights displays, Hanrick said, with photographers on standby to ensure that those sweet holiday memories are captured. The Heritage Garden, a historically themed section within the larger Botanical Garden, will also be accessible, lit with warm-toned lights and 1800s-themed displays.

While walking along the carefully lit paths, a spirit of community and togetherness during the holiday season grows at Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

“The one thing about the holiday spirit is that it brings out the best in us,” Hanrick said. “Every person can become a kid again at Christmas, and we need to foster that all year long.”

This year’s Holiday Lights in the Garden will welcome guests from 5-9 p.m. December 5-7, 11-14, and 18-22. For more information, visit Cape Fear Botanical Garden's website.

Holiday lights have long been a favorite marker of the holiday season, and something about the extra illumination makes this season the most welcoming of all. From grand shows of millions of carefully arranged lights to the gentle twinkle of a single strand through foggy windows, the season offers more than just candle lighting and holiday feasts. One glowing bulb at a time, this season gives us opportunities to connect with the community— and that may be the greatest gift of all.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Trey Nemec is a contributing writer for CityView. He is a Fayetteville State University alumnus, and holds a bachelor's degree in communication and media studies.

A Season of Celebration

Discover Fayetteville’s new places to shop and gather during the holidays

BY TERI SAYLOR

TThe holiday season has officially arrived in Fayetteville, and the city is brimming with festive inspiration.

Store shelves are packed with cozy accessories and seasonal treats, and local restaurants are serving up a nurturing respite for busy shoppers and a welcoming setting to connect with friends.

For individuals of the Christian or Jewish faith, or for those who celebrate Kwanzaa, this season is a time of reflection, generosity, and connection with family and community. Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or simply the spirit of giving, thoughtful presents can honor the values of tradition and togetherness.

Christmas

Christmas, celebrated on December 25, is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon, according to History.com.

Although the holiday is commonly associated with decorated Christmas trees, visits from Santa Claus, sharing meals with friends and family and gift-giving, the heart of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. For Christians, the story of Jesus’s birth is the reason for the season.

In the Christian faith, Advent is the four-week season leading up to Christmas, observed with an Advent wreath and candles. This tradition is practiced by many churches and families in Fayetteville as a time of spiritual preparation and anticipation of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean Revolt against the Syrian Greek oppressors over 2,000 years ago. Recapturing the Temple led to establishing an eight-day “Festival of Dedication” or Hanukkah, according to Jennifer Alexander, with the Beth Israel Synagogue in Fayetteville.

Ornaments in the center of town signify the beginning of the holidays in downtown Fayetteville on November 14, 2024.

Today, Jews celebrate Hanukkah by burning one candle in a menorah each night for eight nights.

This year, Hanukkah starts in the evening on December 14 and runs through December 22. Traditions include feasting on fried foods, including latkes (shredded deepfried potatoes) and oil-based, dairy-free cakes, Alexander says. Families and friends often get together to spin a dreidel (a four-sided spinning top) and compete for tokens or gold-covered chocolate coins called gelt.

Gifts are not traditionally associated with Hanukkah, Alexander says, but in keeping with the secular practice of giving gifts during the holiday season, some families do exchange gifts.

“The emphasis is on the candles and certain songs we sing, blessings we give, and foods we eat,” she said. “And while gift giving is not typical, a nice bottle of Jewish wine is always welcomed.”

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa celebrates families, communities, and heritage. The seven-day holiday starts on December 26 and runs through January 1. Each day focuses on different principles: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.

The Umoja Group of Fayetteville invites the community to join its annual Kwanzaa Celebration from 1–4 p.m. on Saturday, December 27, at Smith Recreation Center, 1520 Slater Ave., Fayetteville.

Photo by Tony Wooten

For more than 30 years, the Umoja Group has brought Fayetteville families and friends together to celebrate the principles and values of Kwanzaa, which is a cultural celebration and not a religious one.

Traditionally, members gather at individual homes throughout the week to reflect on the principle of the day, culminating in a vibrant community celebration held on the first Saturday after December 25. Gifts are sometimes exchanged and focus on books, cultural items, art, and hand-created items—stressing culture and creativity and less commercialism

“Kwanzaa gives us an opportunity to celebrate culture, family, friends, and community,” said Wanda Wesley, director of the Umoja Group. “It’s a time to reaffirm our bonds, honor our ancestors, and pass cultural traditions to younger generations.”

Learn more: umojagroupfay.wixsite.com/website

EATS AND TREATS

The gift of food can be a meaningful choice at holiday time. Whether you wrap up a gift certificate for a good meal or a nice bottle of wine, or plan a sit-down function for family and friends, you can’t go wrong with Fayetteville’s restaurant scene. This year, Fayetteville welcomed several restaurants, cafes, and nightspots.

Snowy Town

Snowy Town brings a taste of Korea to Fayetteville with its shaved ice cream and baked delicacies.

The coffee and dessert shop opened its doors on February 14, ushering in a sense of romance and a place to celebrate special occasions, says Sojin Kim, who owns and manages the shop with her husband Kwangsuk Ku.

“This is a new concept in Fayetteville, and we thought Valentine’s Day was the perfect time for a Korean dessert shop where couples can hang out when they’re dating,” Kim said. “So we just picked that day to open.”

First-time restaurant owners, the couple and their family moved to Fayetteville from Seattle, Washington, where Korean shaved ice cream is plentiful. In their new city, this favorite treat was nowhere to be found.

“We had to drive all the way to Raleigh to find the ice cream, because my kids love it so much,” she said.

The couple was keen to start a business in Fayetteville and determined coffee and dessert shop featuring shaved ice cream was just what the area needed. They also sell Korean desserts of all kinds.

Kim describes shaved ice cream as “a milk-based, shaved ice with a soft, fluffy texture like snow.”

And that’s how the shop got its name.

1828 Owen Drive, Suite A, @snowy_town_official on Instagram, 472-248-2659

Snowy Town co-owner Kwangsuk Ku. Photo by James Throssel

Snowy Town serves coffees and croffles, among other treats.

Photo by James Throssel

Bingsu, or Korean shaved ice cream, is Snowy Town's signature dessert.

Photo by James Throssel

Bounty Farmhouse Kitchen & Tap features a large bar area and a double patio for outdoor seating. Contributed photos by Tony Wooten/Bounty Farmhouse Kitchen & Tap

Left, Bounty Farmhouse Kitchen & Tap’s seasonal meals are filled with locally sourced ingredients. Contributed photos by Tony Wooten/Bounty Farmhouse Kitchen & Tap

Bounty Farmhouse Kitchen & Tap

A fresh and flavorful concept has planted roots in Fayetteville, just in time for the holiday season.

Bounty Farmhouse Kitchen & Tap took over the former Mash House Brewing Company and celebrated its grand opening on September 22.

The Nutcracker

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5 AT 7:30 PM

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Holiday shopping

This year, the area welcomed a plethora of new shops and restaurants to its landscape, adding diversity and charm to a vibrant marketplace where its welcoming holiday vibe sets the tone for exploring what’s new, discovering local businesses, and selecting gifts that feel personal and meaningful for people of all faiths.

CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES

Chapter House Books

When Annie Clymer and her husband Andrew Ridgeway moved to Fayetteville from upstate New York last year, their new bookstore, Chapter House Books, wasn’t far behind. For Clymer, establishing an independent bookstore felt natural.

“I’ve worked in bookstores my entire adult life, and when we moved down here, I was just ready to take the next step,” she said.

With Chapter House Books, Clymer aims to build a sense of community around people who love to read, and in an age where independent book stores are rare, she is looking forward to tackling any challenges that come her way.

So far, business has been brisk, and the community has embraced her shop.

Annie Clymer, Chapter House Books. Photos by James Throssel

“It’s been a lot of fun so far,” she said. “I’ve had a positive reception and have felt welcomed into the community with open arms.”

Chapter House sells new, used, and vintage titles. Clymer has started a philosophy book club and plans to launch a subscription service. She hopes to host author events in the new year.

Through her shop, Clymer hopes to pass along her love of reading to others.

“Books are a passage into other worlds and other lives,” she said. “It’s such a joy to read a book, and I think people who love to read would agree that books make their lives richer.”

225 Franklin St., chapterhousenc.com, 910-263-8765

Cavender’s Boot City

This fall, western fashion rode into Fayetteville just in time for the holiday season.

For the urban cowboys and cowgirls in your family or anyone who feels at home on the range, Cavender’s Boot City brings its signature Western style to Fayetteville’s retail landscape.

The 14,000-square-foot store in the Fayetteville Pavilion

opened September 26 and held an official ribbon cutting on October 18.

At Cavender’s, shoppers will find wall-to-wall racks and stacks of western wear, including boots as far as the eye can see. A large selection of hats, shirts, jeans, and accessories will outfit the whole family. Cavender’s features well-known labels such as Ariat, Wrangler, and Resistol, in addition to the store’s own line—Rockin’ C, Rafter C, and JRC & Sons brands. The store also offers specialized services, including hat-shaping and boot fitting and stretching.

Store manager Kate Burgess moved to Fayetteville from Stillwater, Oklahoma, to open and run this latest in Cavender’s family of 100 stores across 15 states. The Fayetteville location is the second Cavender’s in North Carolina, joining its sister store at Concord Mills Mall in Cabarrus County near Charlotte.

“I love it here so far,” Burgess said. “Business has been great, and the people are amazing.”

Founded in Texas in 1965, Cavender’s celebrated its 60th anniversary this year.

2065-4 Skibo Road, Unit 4, cavenders.com/ storedetails/?StoreID=118, 910-600-0288

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FUTURE READY.

Bound and Vine

For months before opening the new Bound and Vine, a new bookstore and wine bar combo, in downtown Fayetteville, Kellie Artis was already creating a strong presence at vendors’ markets, pop-up shops, and events at local breweries.

Bound and Vine now has a home of its own in the former Capital Room event space at 134 Person St. in Fayetteville, and Artis could not be more excited.

“We’re mostly a bookstore, but we wanted to provide reasons for people to stay and make connections, so we added a wine bar,” she said. “We carry both fiction and nonfiction and feature a rotating menu of wine varietals.”

Artis and her husband Andrew are long-time residents of Fayetteville, settling at Fort Bragg when he was stationed there. After his retirement, they decided to deepen their roots by starting a small business. She hopes the new shop will help customers discover new titles and new wines while expanding their palates in both books and beverages.

“We’ve added plenty of seating and are planning wine-tastings, authors’ book signings, and other events,” she said. “We will have space to welcome book clubs and other groups that want a space in a cozy, welcoming refuge.”

134 Person St., boundandvine.com, 472-263-8731

The Little Trunk

Fayetteville native Taylor Henrickson parlayed a teaching career into a small business last fall when she opened The Little Trunk, a precious children’s clothing and accessories shop and embroidery service on Raeford Road, September 27.

Henrickson taught at Alma Easom Elementary School for six years until her daughter, now 2, was born.

“I decided to stay home with her, and bought an embroidery machine to start a home embroidering business,” she said.

When the business outgrew her home studio, she and her husband, Andrew, opened a storefront and

added a children’s boutique to her services.

Shoppers can drop in and peruse a selection of clothing and accessories for boys and girls, with monogramming available. Her holiday shop is stocked with seasonal items and clothing perfect for those pictures with Santa.

“When I opened the store, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but business has been steady, and I stay busy on the embroidery side as well,” Henrickson said.

In addition to personalizing items purchased in the store, she also provides embroidery services for items her customers bring in.

“I would say a lot of my embroidering skills come from my personal experience, and I have an eye for children’s clothes,” she said. “It’s about what I love and what I think other moms in the area love too.”

2830 Raeford Road, shopthelittletrunk.com

If you’re looking for even more places to shop for the holidays this year, take a look at our shopping guide from CityView ’s DestinationFAY 2025-2026 magazine.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Teri Saylor is a freelance writer based in Raleigh.

Taylor Henrickson, The Little Trunk.

Photos by James Throssel

Holiday Books for Families

BY DIANE PARFITT

Reading together as a family is a cherished holiday tradition that can also encourage a love of literature. It fosters a love of reading in children and brings families closer during the holiday season. Gathering by the fire or Christmas tree to enjoy classics like Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol creates lasting memories. Consider reading a different chapter each night or a different short story from a Christmas collection. Another idea is to wrap a collection of different holiday books so the family can unwrap and read a new story each night, like an Advent calendar of books. This not only gives everyone the joy of opening a gift every night, but it also helps build your holiday library. Many Christmas stories, though originally written for children, can be enjoyed by all ages and are a wonderful way to build a holiday library. Here are some that are especially good for reading together as a family, as well as a way to start building your own holiday library.

1. The Night Before Christmas: The Collectible Edition Leather by Clement Moore (Author), Charles Santore (Illustrator)

“‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse … ”

Who doesn’t remember reading this book during the holidays? Originally published in 1823, this iconic Santa Claus story is a favorite of so many and is the perfect one to read during the holidays and particularly on Christmas Eve. This edition, with an imitation leather cover, has a four-page foldout and vintage illustrations that add to the fun of reading it aloud to the family.

2. Saint Nicholas the Giftgiver: The History and Legends of the Real Santa Claus by Ned Bustard (Author, Illustrator)

This award-winning children’s book will become a family favorite as we learn the history of Saint Nicholas, a real bishop who, through his amazing acts of kindness and generosity, inspired the story of Santa Claus. While his story has been embellished over the years, his legacy will forever be remembered when we celebrate our Santa Claus today.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

—Clement Moore

3. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry (Author), Lisbeth Zwerger (Illustrator)

Since its original publication in 1905, O. Henry’s classic tale of the unselfish love between an impoverished couple who each sacrifice their most prized possession to buy each other a Christmas gift has warmed the hearts of everyone who has ever read it. This edition has beautiful watercolor illustrations that enhance this simple story of unconditional love.

4. A Christmas Carol in 20 Minutes a Day: A Read-With-Me Book with Discussion Questions, Definitions, and More by Charles Dickens, edited by Bushel & Peck Books

What better way to read Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas story to the family than with this unabridged version that is broken up into 20-minute sections that can be read over several nights. At the end of each section, there are thought-provoking questions that will prompt wonderful discussions with the family.

5. Nutcracker Hardcover by E. T. A. Hoffmann (Author), Maurice Sendak (Illustrator), Ralph Manheim (Translator)

Maurice Sendak designed the sets and costumes for a Christmas production of Nutcracker and then created magnificent illustrations for this edition of the book. Whether you have seen the ballet or not, you will be bowled over by this impressive rendition of the story. Read as Clara receives a nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve, and then see her toys come alive!

6. A Treasury of African American Christmas Stories compiled and edited by Bettye Collier-Thomas

This collection of poems and stories, edited by Dr. Bettye Collier-Thomas, features holiday-themed works by prominent and lesser-known Black writers. These beautiful Christmas works were “originally published in African American newspapers, periodicals, and journals between 1880 to 1953,” according to the Main Historical Society. The anthology explores themes of love, faith, and racial identity, celebrating a rich literary tradition.

7. Holiday Memories by Rip Gerber

More than a journal, this is a beautifully illustrated keepsake with stories of holiday traditions, facts, and trivia from around the world to accompany your jottings. This is a wonderful way to start recording your own holiday traditions as you create the memories for years to come. It also has a guide on the best way to capture these memories.

These are just a few of the many books that can help you build your Christmas library and start a tradition that will preserve your memories for the future.

Diane Parfitt owns City Center Gallery & Books in downtown Fayetteville. She can be reached at citycentergallerybooks@gmail.com.

PHOTO BY ANDREEA RADU ON UNSPLASH

Holidays, Rituals, and Recipes

BY CLAUDIA ZAMORA

December carries a scent that’s hard to describe. It smells like simmering corn, warm bread from the oven, a house being lovingly scrubbed to welcome something new. It smells like people. Like history. Like family. And something more: longing.

Not longing for things or lists or wrapped-up presents. Longing for connection. For being seen.

For healing what the year may have broken.

In many Latino homes, the holidays are more than a celebration. They are emotional rituals.

They’re a way to honor those who are no longer here, and to protect what’s still ours.

On the night of December 24, when the carols play and the chairs multiply, something happens that never makes it to social media: There’s a quiet forgiveness. A hug that wasn’t asked for but was given.

An unspoken decision to begin again, even when it hurts.

That’s the real meal of the season: the emotional one. What’s cooked with soul. What’s shared without explanation.

And then there’s the other feast, the one made of flavors that crossed borders with us. In my family, like in many others, December tastes like tamales and empanadas. It tastes like teamwork, corn husks passed from hand to hand, laughter, debates over how much spice is too much, and stories told in between batches of dough and hope.

Here’s a simple recipe, passed down in spirit: end-of-year tamales.

Tamales aren’t fast. They take time. And that’s part of the message, too. To care. To share. To give thanks. All of that takes time.

As the year comes to a close, it’s not about how many boxes you checked. It’s about how many people you loved, fully. Who you gave your time to. Whether there was a moment when you simply said: “I’m here. All of me.”

Ingredients:

• 2 cups corn flour (masa harina)

• 1 ½ cups chicken or veggie broth ½ cup oil or lard

• Salt, cumin, and garlic to taste

• Filling: shredded chicken or pork, olives, raisins, hardboiled egg

• Soaked and pliable corn husks

Preparation:

1. Mix the flour with hot broth until the dough is smooth and pliable.

2. Add the fat and seasonings. Knead slowly, like you’re meditating.

3. Assemble the tamales: Spread the dough onto each husk, spoon a bit of filling into the center, and wrap it gently, like a gift.

4. Steam for about an hour. Serve with presence. Make eye contact.

This December, I wish you what can’t be bought: Rituals that root you. Meals that hold you. Memories that don’t ache. And a new year that finds you faithful to yourself. Because what’s cooked with love never leaves us. And what’s celebrated from the soul lasts.

Claudia Zamora is an Argentinian author, mental health and wellness coach, and passionate community advocate. Since 2011, she has made Fayetteville, North Carolina, her home, uplifting the Hispanic community.

PHOTO BY ANDY HAY ON UNSPLASH

DECEMBER

2025

THE TO-DO LIST

Here are just some of the things happening in and around Fayetteville this month. Scan the code with your phone for more events, additional information, and to post your event on our website. Events are subject to change. Check before attending.

December 4

MU Chorale & Orchestra Fall Concert

Matthews Chapel

Matthews Ministry Center

Methodist University 5400 Ramsey St. methodist.edu

December 4–7

Singing Christmas Tree 2025

Snyder Memorial Baptist Church 701 Westmont Drive snydermbc.com

December 5–7, 11–14 & 18–22

Holiday Lights in the Garden 2025

Cape Fear Botanical Garden 536 N. Eastern Blvd. capefearbg.org

December 5

Peoria Rivermen vs. Fayetteville Marksmen—Wicked Night

Crown Coliseum

Crown Complex 1960 Coliseum Drive marksmenhockey.com

December 6–21

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Cape Fear Regional Theatre 1707 Owen Drive cfrt.org

December 7

Peoria Rivermen vs. Fayetteville Marksmen—Salute to Service

Crown Coliseum

Crown Complex

1960 Coliseum Drive marksmenhockey.com

December 7–11, 14–18 & 21–22

Christmas in the Park

Arnette Park

2165 Wilmington Highway fayettevillenc.gov

December 11–14

Disney on Ice Presents JUMP IN!

Crown Coliseum

Crown Complex 1960 Coliseum Drive crowncomplexnc.com

December 13

Fayetteville Rotary Christmas Parade

Downtown Fayetteville rotarychristmasparade.com

December 13

Messiah with Cumberland Choral Arts and Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra

Huff Concert Hall

Methodist University 5400 Ramsey St. fayettevillesymphony.org

December 13 & 14

Blume School of Dance Presents: The Nutcracker

Crown Theatre

Crown Complex

1960 Coliseum Drive crowncomplexnc.com

December 16

Fayetteville NEXT’s Ugly Sweater

Social Segra Stadium

460 Hay St. instagram.com/fayettevillenext/

December 19

Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs vs. Fayetteville Marksmen—Winter

Wonderland: A Dickens Holiday

Crown Coliseum

Crown Complex

1960 Coliseum Drive marksmenhockey.com

December 20

Knoxville Ice Bears vs. Fayetteville Marksmen—Winter Wonderland: Frozen

Crown Coliseum

Crown Complex

1960 Coliseum Drive marksmenhockey.com

The 25th annual A Dickens Holiday in downtown Fayetteville on November 24, 2023. Photo by Sabreena Czarnecki

SEEN @ THE SCENE

Cumberland County Veterans Council’s 2025 Veterans Day Parade

The Cumberland County Veterans Council held its 2025 Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, November 1, in downtown Fayetteville. Supporters came together for this meaningful tribute, celebrating the spirit of service and unity in the Fayetteville community.

Photography by Israel Anta

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Mike and Kim Foust

Down 100 pounds, nothing’s holding her back now.

After being diagnosed with diabetes about 20 years earlier, Ginny

Capiot was beginning to experience complications that come from reduced blood flow in some diabetes patients: eye problems that led to worsening vision, and nerve damage that caused a growing numbness in her feet. After years of trying to lose weight, the efforts seemed futile. Until she underwent gastric bypass surgery.

Post-surgery, Ginny is down 100 pounds. She no longer needs medication to treat diabetes, and she’s also off medication for high blood pressure. She says weight loss surgery saved her life, and that there’s nothing holding her back now.

What could bariatric surgery do for you? Cape Fear Valley’s bariatric team is here to walk you through your own weight loss journey.

Your health, our specialty.

Learn more: capefearvalley.com/bariatric (910) 615-BARI(2274)