HUNTERSVILLE – Following is Lake Norman Charter School‘s honor roll for the first quarter of the 2013-14 school year. Read the full story

Holiday parades and festivals are the essence of small-town America. Long before Black Friday became an event, cities and towns used holiday festivals to draw customers to Main Street shopping districts. For many years Davidson and Cornelius have cooperated in staging a Christmas parade. North Carolina’s towns have enacted scores of ordinances related to holiday parades and festivals.  With memories of this year’s Christmas in Davidson and the North Mecklenburg Christmas Parade fresh in mind, we wanted to explore the numerous laws and ordinances regulating public holiday gatherings. Read the full story

A natural gas line through Huntersville will be vented and burned off Monday, Dec. 9, 2013, near 9232 Gilead Road in Huntersville, the Huntersville Fire Department said in an alert. Read the full story

Santa finished up the parade. See a parade gallery below.  (Clayton Joe Young/DavidsonNews.net)

Thousands of viewers lined NC 115 in Cornelius and Davidson Saturday afternoon to watch nearly 3,000 marchers in the 31st annual North Mecklenburg Christmas Parade. The march began with the Hunting Creek Farms Clydesdales pulling a wagon full of lucky riders, and included marching bands, dancers, public officials, fire trucks, a float with elected officials and even Santa Claus. Read the full story

Jewish Council of Lake Norman hosts its 2013 Hanukkah Celebration this Saturday, Dec. 7 at the Charles Mack Citizens Center, Mooresville. Also below, news about Christmas season events at Mt. Zion United Methodist and Davidson College Presbyterian Church, and more.    Read the full story

Pam Maier, this year’s Davidson Jack Burney Award winner, is the parade Grand Marshal.

The 31st annual North Mecklenburg Christmas Parade will march down NC 115 from Davidson to Cornelius Saturday afternoon, hosted by Cornelius-Lemley Volunteer Fire Department and Davidson Fire Department. Pam Maier of Davidson is this year’s Grand Marshal. Watch out for street closings because of the parade beginning at noon.    Read the full story

Click here to download a PDF of the official Christmas in Davidson guide.

Thousands of residents and visitors are expected for Christmas in Davidson 2013 Thursday through Saturday in downtown Davidson, where streets will be closed and there’s a packed schedule of performances and attractions, from shopping to a live nativity to a visit from Santa. Events run nightly from 6 to 9pm. Read on for traffic info and more about the festival schedule. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

CHARLOTTE – Mecklenburg County and Charlotte officials on Wednesday introduced a new emergency notification system that for the first time will enable officials to share information quickly throughout the region, including the county’s towns. The system eventually is expected to replace current systems, including the Blackboard Connect mass messaging service used in Cornelius and Davidson, town officials said Wednesday. Read the full story