High Point/Greensboro NC for travellers
April 30, 2018 7:53 AM Subscribe
My mother has just moved to a senior center in High Point NC (her choice), so I will be visiting on a semi-regular basis. What's good to see/do in High Point or surrounding areas? Mostly for me & MrR, as she'll have her own life there and it'd be nice to have something to do besides 'visit Mum'.
My interests are wide and varied (MrR's less so), and probably the only time we won't be visiting is November/December as that when it's busy here (and not during Furniture Weeks). Not all that interested in the foodie aspect or shopping for shopping's sake, but anything else (arts, nature, museums, festivals, off-the-beaten-track) is fair game.
My interests are wide and varied (MrR's less so), and probably the only time we won't be visiting is November/December as that when it's busy here (and not during Furniture Weeks). Not all that interested in the foodie aspect or shopping for shopping's sake, but anything else (arts, nature, museums, festivals, off-the-beaten-track) is fair game.
Best answer: The NC Zoo in Asheboro is one of the very best zoos in the world, no joke, with huge open exhibit areas that are more like native habitats than any other zoo I know of.
Seagrove, NC is an amazing community of potters. You can spend the day driving around visiting individual shops more or less randomly, or go during one of the festivals when they all bring their wares to the town square.
posted by hydropsyche at 8:31 AM on April 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
Seagrove, NC is an amazing community of potters. You can spend the day driving around visiting individual shops more or less randomly, or go during one of the festivals when they all bring their wares to the town square.
posted by hydropsyche at 8:31 AM on April 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
Best answer: One more: Old Salem (the historic district of Winston-Salem) is pretty amazing for colonial history stuff. I know you said you don't plan to be there in December, but if that ever changes, the Moravian Christmas traditions of Candle Tea are lovely. In the summer, they also have outdoor band concerts in the Moravian tradition.
posted by hydropsyche at 8:34 AM on April 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 8:34 AM on April 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Here's a festival that takes place every year.
posted by mareli at 8:35 AM on April 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by mareli at 8:35 AM on April 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The NC Folk Festival has been held in Greensboro the past few years, and is scheduled for Sept 7-9 this year. Winston-Salem's literary festival Bookmarks also takes place that weekend. Greensboro has started its own literary festival that is taking place in a few weeks.
Downtown GSO is growing with restaurants and breweries. They have a great independent bookstore, Scuppernong, that hosts readings and other events.
Guilford College hosts an annual speaker series, bringing in national-level talent. Wake Forest University also hosts events throughout the year.
Reynolda House in Winston-Salem is worth a visit, as is Tanglewood Park in Clemmons (west of W-S) particularly for their holiday Festival of Lights (if you do end up coming in Nov/Dec).
The nice thing about the Triad is it's also easy to make day trips to the Triangle, Charlotte, or even the mountains. Hope you enjoy your visits!
posted by Sweetie Darling at 8:49 AM on April 30, 2018
Downtown GSO is growing with restaurants and breweries. They have a great independent bookstore, Scuppernong, that hosts readings and other events.
Guilford College hosts an annual speaker series, bringing in national-level talent. Wake Forest University also hosts events throughout the year.
Reynolda House in Winston-Salem is worth a visit, as is Tanglewood Park in Clemmons (west of W-S) particularly for their holiday Festival of Lights (if you do end up coming in Nov/Dec).
The nice thing about the Triad is it's also easy to make day trips to the Triangle, Charlotte, or even the mountains. Hope you enjoy your visits!
posted by Sweetie Darling at 8:49 AM on April 30, 2018
Was going to suggest the zoo; High Point is also reasonable shooting distance to Pilot Mountain and Hanging Rock, and Mt. Airy, where I recommend at least seeing if the Snappy Lunch is still open.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:32 AM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:32 AM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: probably the only time we won't be visiting is November/December
That's a shame, but if you happen to be in town in January, you may be able to see the tail end of the spectacular Greensboro Christmas balls!
I am from the area and can cosign pretty much all of the above. (I really miss that zoo!) Go to a public event at Doodad Farm, an outdoor community performance space on a former tobacco farm on the outskirts of Greensboro. Run by some of the nicest folks you'll ever meet. And, a constant of my childhood (I went every single year I lived there) was the annual reenactment of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in March. (Don't worry, it's the Revolutionary War, so there are far fewer unpleasant overtones!)
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:17 AM on April 30, 2018
That's a shame, but if you happen to be in town in January, you may be able to see the tail end of the spectacular Greensboro Christmas balls!
I am from the area and can cosign pretty much all of the above. (I really miss that zoo!) Go to a public event at Doodad Farm, an outdoor community performance space on a former tobacco farm on the outskirts of Greensboro. Run by some of the nicest folks you'll ever meet. And, a constant of my childhood (I went every single year I lived there) was the annual reenactment of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in March. (Don't worry, it's the Revolutionary War, so there are far fewer unpleasant overtones!)
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:17 AM on April 30, 2018
Something off the beaten path: Körner's Folly in Kernersville, a Greensboro bedroom community.
posted by infinitewindow at 2:20 PM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by infinitewindow at 2:20 PM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I never go to Greensboro without a stop at Dame's Chicken & Waffles. It's a good thing I don't get by there too often or I would be enormously fat.
posted by rikschell at 2:50 PM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by rikschell at 2:50 PM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: This is all GSO, because despite being right up the road, I don't know anything about High Point, sorry. :( But, some of the bigger stuff to do here:
Nature: Bog Garden | Arboretum | 42 miles of hiking trails | Greenway
Science, History & Art: Greensboro Science Center | Weatherspoon Art Museum | Greensboro History Museum | Civil Rights Museum
Music & Theater: The Blind Tiger | Cone Denim | (check out the summer film series) | Triad Stage | UNCG Performing Arts (though we're getting ready to go mostly dormant for the summer) | UNCG Library Events | Spartan Cinema (free movies in the park!)
Sports: Carolina Cobras | Greensboro Swarm | Greensboro Grasshoppers | UNCG Sports
Also previously.
If you let me know what you like to eat and drink, I can make recs. There's too much good food here to start recommending stuff without parameters. :)
posted by joycehealy at 3:59 PM on April 30, 2018
Nature: Bog Garden | Arboretum | 42 miles of hiking trails | Greenway
Science, History & Art: Greensboro Science Center | Weatherspoon Art Museum | Greensboro History Museum | Civil Rights Museum
Music & Theater: The Blind Tiger | Cone Denim | (check out the summer film series) | Triad Stage | UNCG Performing Arts (though we're getting ready to go mostly dormant for the summer) | UNCG Library Events | Spartan Cinema (free movies in the park!)
Sports: Carolina Cobras | Greensboro Swarm | Greensboro Grasshoppers | UNCG Sports
Also previously.
If you let me know what you like to eat and drink, I can make recs. There's too much good food here to start recommending stuff without parameters. :)
posted by joycehealy at 3:59 PM on April 30, 2018
The Saturday tours at Elsewhere in Greensboro (a former thrift shop-turned-museum with artists in residence) are fantastic.
posted by 41swans at 6:00 PM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by 41swans at 6:00 PM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks all! Lots of good ideas here, and they'll keep us amused for a few trips. (and yes, it's a shame that we'll miss the Nov/Dec stuff, but between busy here and Mum visiting her sister in FL for the holidays and weather, we just don't expect to be going to NC then.)
posted by jlkr at 7:27 AM on May 2, 2018
posted by jlkr at 7:27 AM on May 2, 2018
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posted by brujita at 8:09 AM on April 30, 2018