There are new activities for the community starting this month.  A quilting class will begin at 9 am on January 13, and will again meet at that time on January 20 and 27.   Steve Schaffer will speak on the Battle of New Bern at 5 pm on January 13, preceding our Members Dinner.   Our normal knitting group will meet January 11 at 2 pm, and again at that time on January 25.

Special events include a prive Landscaping lunch and event all day on January 12th, a private party the evening of January 19, and a Bridal Show on January 22.  Finally, a thank you breakfast for our golf course Pride Volunteers will be held at 9:30 on January 30.

January is a slow golf month, but our normal Tuesday morning LGA and Wednesday morning MGA games go on.  Please sign up in advance in the pro shop.  And remember, times are reserved for ladies on Thursday mornings and for men on Friday mornings, make your own game or sign up in the pro shop if you don’t have a 4some.

Thanks to the many volunteers who got all our community wreaths and decorations ready for display, and to those hearty souls who climbed the ladders throughout the community to hang and display them.  As has been the case for years, Carolina Colours looks great at Christmas, thanks to a lot of labor and love.

The community Christmas party at our Pavilion had over 100 members in attendance.  Featuring a great meal by Chef Katherine and a coastal Christmas decoration motif, thanks to the social committee, everyone had a great time.  The Christmas gift exchange and “stealing” , as is the case every year, brought a lot of laughs, and gave everyone a chance to savor their wine.

On to our New Year’s party upcoming, as we will end the year in style!

Chef Katherine turned the normal Friday night members meal at the Carolina Colours Pavilion into an elaborate breakfast recently.  The food, including the home made  pastries, drew raves.  And those electing to attend in pajamas were the evenings entertainment!

The event was so popular, we can start looking at some Sunday brunches in 2012.

Also remember that we have an extensive magazine collection, and many puzzles.  Magazines and puzzles are located (along with some audio books) on the table beside the bookshelves.   Enjoy!

As an aside, (although not in our library yet), I strongly recommend the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny, for those that like detective fiction.  The writing is excellent, and the characters memorable.  Perhaps the best series of its genre I have come across in years.

Ken Kirkman

May 5, 12, 19, 16:  Yoga at the Pavilion, 8:30 am to 9:30 am

May 3, 10, 17,,24, 31: Ladies Golf Association playday

May 4, 11, 18, 25: Mens Golf Association playday

May 5, 12, 19, 26: Duplicate bridge at the Pavilion, noon to 4:30

May 6, 13, 20 27: Members dinner at the Pavilion, bar opens at 5

May 10, 26: Bunco at the Pavilion, 7 pm

May 12: Bunco seminar at the Pavilion, 4 pm to 5 pm

May 12: Lions Club dinner at the Pavilion

May 13: Nine and Dine, shotgun start at 2:30

May 14: Wedding and Reception at the Pavlion

May 14-15: Member-member golf tournament

May 19: Social Bridge at the Pavilion, 1 pm to 5 pm; CCC meeting, 8 am to 4 pm; full swing golf seminar by Pete Dunham, PGA pro, 4 pm to 5 pm

May 21: Wedding and reception at the Pavilion

May 22: Mixed couples member golf event, tee times start at noon

May 25: Neuse Board of Realtors luncheon at the Pavilion

May 27: Wedding and reception at the Pavilion

Friday, March 4: Mardi Gras party

Friday, March 11: St Patrick’s Day dinner

Sunday, April 24: Easter Egg hunt

Friday, June 10: Seafood picnic by Jerry T and friends

Sunday, July 17: Annual Pig Pickin’

Friday, October 14 -Sunday, Oct 16: annual appreciation weekend

Friday, December 2: Christmas Party

Saturday, December 31, New Year’s Eve Dinner/Dance

See you there!

March 3, 7, 14, 17, 21, 24, 28 and 31: Yoga for our members; alternately 8:30 and  9:00 am.

March 7, 14, 21 and 28: Yoga for members, 5:30 pm.

March 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31: Duplicate bridge, noon.

March 4: Mardi Gras dinner for members.

March 8 and 24: Bunco for members, 7:00 pm.

March 11: St. Patrick’s dinner for members.

March 17: Social bridge for members, 1:00 pm.

March 18 and 25: Members Friday night cocktails and dinner.

March 30: Neuse Board of Realtors luncheon.

We look forward to seeing our members at these and other community activities during March.

December has been a very active month at Carolina Colours, in New Bern, NC.   The 6th Annual Property Owners Association meeting was held at the Pavilion (community clubhouse) in early December, ending with a cookie exchange.  Next was the annual Christmas dinner and party, attended by about 100 residents.  Finally, was the Carolina Colours Home Tour, where about 50 residents were kindly invited to tour 6 community homes, to marvel at the Christmas decorations.  This tour was preceded by appetizers at the Pavilion, and ended up with desserts back at the clubhouse.

All of this has been in addition to the numerous New Bern area Christmas events, ranging from historic home tours, dinner theater, antique shows and the always popular Tryon Palace Christmas specials.  One retiree was heard to remark he never was so busy while working!

The Grand Opening of the full 18 hole Carolina Colours Golf Course took place Saturday, October 16, with about 70 members and property owners playing a highly contested scramble.  While the quality of golf ranged from excellent to the other extreme,  there was unanimous praise for the newly opened back 9 of the course.  With terrain changes and winding bridges over Brice Creek, the heavily wooded site is uniqely beautiful for the New Bern and central North Carolina coastal region.  And with limited public play available, all the golfers in our region have an opportunity to experience a memorable playing experience.

Our winners on Saturday were:

1st place:   Gale and Marilyn Biers; Karl and Sandra Berberich

2nd place:  Mike and Mary Ann Downs; John Gonzales; Luigi Montesano

3rd place:   Ray and Kathaleen Smith; John and Nancy Filipow

Closest to pin on par three  nos 2 and 12:   Larry Wolf and Jim McGraw

Drive closest to the line on no 7:   Peter Koines

Congratulations!