Noon Year’s Eve Starts the New Year Off with Family-Friendly Fun

For a daytime New Year’s Eve celebration that the whole family can enjoy, visit Williamsburg to take part in Noon Year’s Eve. This fun celebration starts earlier in the day so young children won’t be kept up past their bedtime and adults can share a special day of celebration for the coming of 2011 with their kids. This unique celebration takes place at Virginia Living Museum and features a number of fun, family-friendly activities including face painting, crafting projects featuring the way countries around the world celebrate the New Year, and games in addition to the usual museum exhibits and entertainment. It’s a great way to spend some quality time with your family as you get ready for 2011.

As a special treat, you can also visit Busch Gardens Williamsburg on December 31st when its open on the last day of 2010 for everyone to come and enjoy thrill rides, authentic European foods, and live shows. There are 3D rides, premier rollercoasters, and even themed rides for people of all ages to enjoy during their time at the park. It’s an adventure that is not only fun but educational about European countries.

After your special family New Year’s Eve celebration, start 2011 off with some fun activities in Williamsburg. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum offers guests an entertaining and entirely untraditional museum experience with exhibits ranging from merely strange to the truly bizarre. Some of the museum exhibits are even interactive to give you some entirely new and exciting experiences. This museum is an entertaining way for everyone to spend the day together.

Williamsburg Celebrates Thanksgiving in Its Jamestown Settlement!

As Thanksgiving Day draws closer, Williamsburg prepares for an authentic ”Foods and Feasts of Colonial Virginia” at their very own Jamestown Settlement, where visitors can explore the historic side of Thanksgiving. The event lasts from November 25-27, and there will be plenty of activities to watch and learn from. Each day, the settlers will gather food from the surrounding area, preserve it with their own methods and mix it with other ingredients to replicate some of the earliest Thanksgiving feasts in America. Learn from both the English colonists and their neighbors, the Powhatan Indians. All members of your family are welcome to participate in this historic event, so bring the kids along and book a Williamsburg hotel.

Add a little spice to your Thanksgiving vacation with a trip to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum Williamsburg, where you view and touch many of the 300 exhibits across the museum. The exhibits range from the small, shrunken heads to an enormous 500 pound gorilla model made out of nails. Focus in on each display, as some of them are illusions and may play tricks on your eyes. Much of the museum is littered with oddities like natural disaster areas and dark graveyards.

Finally, head back to your roots with a walkthrough of Colonial Williamsburg, where you’ll view 18th century style architecture and residents adorned in the same type of clothing that was worn long ago. The area was constructed to replicate an entire city, and you’ll be able to see the variety through well-maintained gardens, sunlit houses and large shelters like the Great Hopes Plantation. Don’t miss out on the chance to visit more history.

Trace Thanksgiving Day back to its origins with this exciting vacation to Williamsburg. Plan now, though, as the holidays are almost here!

Celebrate the Season with Ripley’s Aquarium Festival of Trees

Get your holidays started out on a high note with Ripley’s Aquarium Festival of Trees. With 50 trees that are decorated to represent all 50 United States, the Festival of Trees is a truly festive occasion with a patriotic flair. The festival begins November 1st and continues to December 31st, so you can come by anytime during those months and take a look at these beautifully decorated trees. With the festival at Ripley’s Aquarium, you’re certain to get some exciting looks at marine life while you’re there as well. It’s a two-in-one experience you won’t want to miss out on!

If you want to see more of Ripley’s amazing attractions after visiting Ripley’s Aquarium, visit Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum where the variety of strange and interesting exhibits will keep you exploring for hours. Check out the rollercoaster built from over 30,000 matchsticks or the vampire killing kit. You will laugh at some exhibits and be amazed at others. It’s a fun way to spend time with family or friends.

While you’re on a roll with your Ripley’s adventures, stop by Ripley’s Marvelous Mirror Maze. This maze covers over 2,000 square feet and has numerous paths, crazy circles, and dead ends for you to explore. The lighting and sound effects that work with the mirrors will have you entertained and wondering what surprise you will find next during the entire experience. This is not your average fun house mirrors experience!

Attend Branson’s Autumn Days Arts and Crafts Festival This Season

Fall is fast approaching, and Branson has the perfect lineup of attractions for visitors in the 37th annual Autumn Days Arts and Crafts Festival, which lasts from September 16-19. The event is free for all, and once you’ve made it to Historic Downtown Branson, you can enjoy locally crafted and made novelties, art, jewelry, and cuisine. You can see the work of approximately 150 crafters and artists and join the over 12,000 people that will be in attendance. Since the event is over a span of four days, don’t forget to pick out available Branson lodging ahead of time.

Branson has plenty of other fun venues for the adults and kids, such as Titanic – The Legend Continues. The museum features 400 gorgeous Titanic artifacts and several exhibits for you to see as you walk through. As you enter in the half-scale replica of the ship, you’ll be given a passenger “ticket” to use and put yourself in the shoes of those who once walked on the ship. Some of the highlights of the tour include the Grand Staircase, the Father Browne collection, and the touch of an iceberg.

If you’re into the history of the weird and wild, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum has some of the most odd exhibits and models in the area. The building appears as though an earthquake has shaken the foundations, and when you go in, you can see things like a two-headed calf model, an authentic vampire killing kit, a Roman Coliseum model built out of playing cards and many more attractions.

The crafts, shows, and attractions will make your vacation in Branson well worth it. You’ll love the local culture and Midwestern hospitality.