HOLIDAY MAGIC

Our most magical event of the year is BACK!!


The Merrimon-Wynne House is so excited to be hosting our 4th annual Holiday Magic event to kick off the holiday season on Sunday, December 1st! Join us for an afternoon of Holiday Magic at Merrimon-Wynne! This year, in an effort to be able to host more families, we’ve added a second time slot so be sure to select the time that works best for you - 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM OR 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM.


Festivities will include bounce houses, carriage rides, kids crafts, family photo sessions, story time with Santa complete with milk & cookies, & more! Holiday Magic promises fun for the entire family!

 

A portion of proceeds go to our 2025 charity partner, Ripe For Revival.

 

Activities:

Throughout the entire event, Wicked Links will be serving food (for purchase) on the lawn.


Hot Cocoa and Warm Apple Cider will be available complimentary at it’s own designated drink station next to the bar on the lawn.


Beer, wine, spiked warm beverages, juice boxes, kids snacks and water will be available for purchase at the main bar, however, each adult ticket does also include a drink ticket for (1) complimentary alcoholic beverage that you will receive when you check-in.


Two bounce houses will be set up on the lawn - one will be designated for children under 5 years old and one will be designated for children 5 years & up.


The Carriage House will have the following children’s activities by Haute House Kids:

Letter to Santa

Ornament Making

Bubble House

Balloon Animals


Horse & Carriage Rides:

If you have purchased a Horse & Carriage ride, please confirm your ride time prior to your arrival on Sunday. There will be a waiting area for the carriage rides on the front lawn of the main house. Please make your way to the front lawn with your entire party no later than 5 minutes prior to your scheduled carriage ride so that we are able to load all carriages and begin rides at the scheduled time. Because the horses need to stay together during the rides, if you are not in the waiting area at your scheduled ride time, the carriages will need to leave without you.


Each carriage will have a bluetooth speaker so that you can enjoy holiday music while riding through Historic Oakwood! We will have a customized Spotify playlist so if interested, please be sure to download Spotify prior to Sunday!


If you haven’t signed up for a horse & carriage ride yet and are wanting to do so, we still have spots available!

Purchase Horse & Carriage Rides Here!

Mini Sessions:

If you signed up for a photography mini-session, please confirm your session time prior to your arrival on Sunday. Sessions will take place on the side porch of the main house. Please make your way to the front room of the main house no later than 5 minutes prior to your scheduled mini-session. Sessions will begin promptly - if you are late, time will not be able to be added to the back end of your session.

Toy Drive & Charity Partner:

A portion of proceeds from Holiday Magic will be donated to our 2025 charity partner, Ripe For Revival.

Their mission is to aims to bridge the gap between farm excess and food access by operating pay-what-you-can mobile markets in central and eastern North Carolina with continued expansion into the greater triangle region including Wake and surrounding counties. The Mobile Market Program offers the accessibility to affordable fresh often local produce, proteins, dairy and eggs to communities facing food insecurity. The pay-what-you-can model offers inclusive shopping opportunities for the whole community. We are excited to continue to make an impact for them through this event.


We will also be hosting a toy drive at the event for the children in Western North Carolina who were effected by Hurricane Helene. We will be collecting unwrapped, unused toys at check-in  and they will be hand delivered on December 14th!

A Big thank you to all of our vendors participating in this years event!

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Past Events

An Evening To Ignite 2024!

By Lindsey Simmons • March 19, 2024
WHAT. A. NIGHT! In partnership with Band Together and La Fête Planning & Design our annual fundraising event, An Evening to Ignite, was a night to remember! Hundreds of individuals came together in support of our 2024 charity partner, Neighbor To Neighbor , a local non-profit dedicated to reversing the debilitating effects poverty has on the most vulnerable families in Raleigh. They believe in providing long-term, one-on-one mentoring relationships for teens resulting in positive generational leaps in education, employment and personal development. What started as an idea and a dream in 2017 to bring together community members and events industry vendors to make a large-scale impact for one local, grassroots nonprofit has become a reality and grown into an annual event that raises over $150,000 each year! With the amazing support of our sponsors, vendors and local community, we are so proud to announce that we raised $201,933.32 for Neighbor To Neighbor ! Every single dollar that was raised will help bring to life Neighbor to Neighbor’s dream of a state-of-the-art teen tech center that will create more training pathways, mentorships, and employment opportunities for youth in our community. We cannot wait to see this space realized! The success of this event is due in large part to the generosity of our vendor community and their contributions of time, effort, staffing, materials, inventory, and talents. Over 40 local event industry vendors came together to donate over $250,000+ of goods and services to ensure 100% of the proceeds raised during the event went directly to Neighbor to Neighbor. Year after year, our vendor friends continuously raise the bar by outdoing themselves and helping make Evening to Ignite bigger and better than the year before. We are eternally grateful to be in such a collaborative and talented industry!
Fundraising event

An Evening To Ignite 2023!

By Amy Yarbrough • March 27, 2023
After wrapping up our annual fundraising event, An Evening To Ignite, we would like to share our success and thank our partners.

One Year Anniversary of An Evening To Ignite 2020 Benefiting Families Together

March 7, 2021
It’s hard to believe that An Evening to Ignite was a year ago! Right before our world changed, we threw the party of the year to raise money for Families Together, an organization that helps fight homelessness in Wake County. Guests were transported back to the Roaring Twenties to enjoy a night full of eating, drinking, and dancing all while raising money for a charity that we quickly came to love. A giant tent served as the entrance into the magic where people were greeted with secret hands offering champagne. Chandeliers made from pampas hung above while cozy lounges created the perfect speakeasy vibe. Jazz music flowed throughout, while cigars were rolled, tarot cards were read, and poker chips were stacked. In the Carriage House, the sounds of saxophones and trumpets echoed from the band while the numbers on the screen continued to rise. Auction items were on display and bid on again and again throughout the night. UNC basketball tickets, a weekend trip to Aspen, and diamond earrings were among these items just to name a few! Light-up neon rings known as “Bling Rings” on event night could be seen on everyone’s fingers and bought from any host. It’s safe to say they became a fashion statement by the end of the night! As the evening went on the party only got better. The space was transformed into a neon wonderland for everyone’s favorite- a silent disco! Guests jammed out to different songs on their headphones while dancers floated through the crowd. As the night progressed eyes were focused on the numbers on the board and determined to meet our goal.  With the help of some amazing vendor partners, we are so proud that we were able to raise over $100,000 creating homes for 41 homeless families in our community! We can not thank our guests enough for joining us in supporting such a wonderful cause. Each year we look forward to hosting this annual event that has helped so many amazing organizations in need and will continue to do so once it’s safe to be together again. We can not wait to do it even bigger and better next year! Cheers to a Roaring 2022!

An Evening To Ignite 2020 Benefiting Families Together

January 16, 2020
NEW YEAR. NEW THEME. SAME GREAT PARTY. We’re taking you back in time to the enchanting era of the 1920’s for an unforgettable party that you and yours can dress to impress, eat, drink and raise money for a very deserving local non-profit, Families Together , with the goal of raising over $100,000 to help end homelessness in the Triangle area! We are hoping you will join us to raise money for and celebrate this amazing organization! In 2018, we hosted CATCH Me At The Casino and raised over $100,000 with the help of local friends, family and companies and this year’s event is going to be bigger, better and one you will not want to miss!

CATCH Me at The Casino - Supporting Project CATCH

August 3, 2018
We are so excited to be CO-HOSTING, for the second year in a row, Catch me at the casino ! this amazing event benefits project catch , as all ticket proceeds and donations will be going towards helping end Child homelessness in wake county. Heyens Holdings , our parent company, is a strong believer in giving back to the communities we're lucky enough to be a part of, especially to those who give back to us each and every day.
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