Onslow County this week highlighted a lineup of holiday events intended to give residents family-friendly, low-cost ways to celebrate locally.

Salem Clark of Onslow County tourism encouraged residents to "be tourists in their own backyard," pointing to local attractions and the county events calendar and blog as central places to find details. Clark cited offerings ranging from Mike's Farm and ELJ Farms to newer options like Poggies at the Farm and said the tourism pages include a "Holidays Happening" blog and a weekly restaurant spotlight called "Tasty Tuesdays."

The Parks & Recreation department will host Lights Over Onslow on Sunday, Dec. 7, at Onslow Pines Park from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., featuring live entertainment, free hot chocolate, pictures with Santa, food trucks, a small Christmas market and a drone show that leads into the tree lighting. Parks staff said parking will prioritize paved spaces for accessible parking and use adjacent fields for general parking; park attendants will direct traffic. Onslow Pines Park is listed at 1250 Onslow Pines Road. Organizers asked attendees to follow directions from park staff to ease vehicle flow.

Parks staff also noted a series of Santa visits under the "Santa in the Park" program: Santa will appear at Richland Steed (Dec. 16) and then at Hines Farm Park and Stump Sound Park on subsequent days. The department said holiday camp will be held at Hines Farm Park's social hall; recreation registration is available at onslow.recdesk.com and questions can be directed to the Parks phone at (910) 347-5332. (Transcript references to camp dates were not precise; residents should confirm dates on the registration site.)

The Onslow County Public Library listed branch events for families: Richlands and Swansboro branches will each host morning programs on Dec. 6 at 10 a.m.; the main branch will hold a themed evening "Pajamarama" on Dec. 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Library staff said structured story-time programming will pause Dec. 20 through Jan. 5 but libraries will remain open for general use. Digital resources listed by the library include Hoopla and Libby; the library phone is (910) 455-7350 and the library web pages list full schedules.

The Onslow County Farmers Market confirmed a winter market schedule — once a month in December, January, February and March — with dates announced for Dec. 13, Jan. 28, Feb. 14 and Mar. 28. The market is located at 4024 Richlands Highway and features winter vegetables from growers using high/low tunnels and hydroponics, plus local meats, eggs and preserved goods. Market organizers provided a contact number, (910) 455-5873, and a market web page for vendor and visitor updates.

Officials urged residents to check the listed county web pages and social channels for final times, vendor lists and weather-related changes. The program closed with a holiday greeting from Onslow County Manager David Smitherman and a reminder from hosts to consider neighbors during the season.