Candlelight

Candlelight Holiday Event – Saturday, December 10, 4:30 – 9:30 PM

This famed North Carolina tradition returns to Tryon Palace in 2022 with beautiful decorations inspired by the four seasons and the tale of a mysterious princess illuminated by the magical glow of candlelight.

Candlelight is a site wide event for Tryon Palace that includes tours of the decorated Governor’s Palace, Stanly House, Dixon House, and holiday festivities and fun throughout the Palace grounds. Arrive early to enjoy all the festivities before your tour of the Palace. Spend your evening exploring the historic homes, participating in various activities, and being entertained in the Performance Tent. Food is available to purchase from food trucks located outside the Palace gates. Stop by the King’s Arms Tavern for adult libations, and Mistletoe Corner to enjoy drinks and delicious snacks in a festive holiday setting. At the end your enchanted evening, a show of black powder fireworks!

Gates open to all ticket holders at 4:30 p.m. Your ticket indicates your Palace tour time only. Please be in line prior to your tour time.

Candlelight tickets are available online, at the ticket desk or by calling 252-639-3524.

Candlelight is a rain or shine event, but fireworks may be cancelled during extreme weather conditions. Tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable.

To ensure a more historically accurate experience and fully immerse you in the joy, mystery, and magic of Candlelight, we request no photography or videography within the historic buildings. Tripods, lights, and drones are not allowed on Tryon Palace grounds at any time.

Candlelight 2022 Social Narrative

In a continuing effort to make Tryon Palace and its programs accessible and welcoming to everyone, we are pleased to announce new accessibility additions for Candlelight 2022. A social narrative has been created to help anyone, regardless of age, prepare for Candlelight’s sights, sounds, and programming. This tool is not only designed to help children who have sensory processing issues, but also any individual who is neurodivergent, or has intellectual and developmental disabilities. It serves to make them familiar with the details and happenings at Candlelight, so that they can prepare for specific areas and times that might be of concern. Find the Candlelight Social Narrative HERE.

Tryon Palace realizes that events like Candlelight involve many people near each other, and many things happening at once. This can be overwhelming to individuals who are sensitive to sensory stimuli. For those attendees who may need a place to get away, Tryon Palace will also offer a calming room – quiet space with calming elements. If a family needs to use the calming room, they simply need to inform a member of the Palace staff. Palace staff can always be found by the Palace front gates.

These new initiatives are part of Tryon Palace’s ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. We have the honor and responsibility to tell all the stories that make up New Bern and Eastern North Carolina’s history, and we want every guest on our site to be able to have access to that history and feel a sense of belonging.

If you are planning to attend Candlelight at Tryon Palace and need accessibility accommodations, please reach out to Matt Arthur, matthew.arthur@ncdcr.gov, 252-639-3587