By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

The new year is upon us – made your plans yet? Our calendar has plenty of area events to ring out 2011 and ring in 2012. They range from the large – First Night Charlotte in downtown Charlotte Saturday – to the small – a free timed 5K run in downtown Davidson New Year’s day – to the wild – the 4th annual Polar Bear Plunge swim at The Point on Lake Norman.

At First Night Charlotte, activities begin at noon Saturday with First Night Kids, then the adults take over downtown beginning at 8 p.m.  Meanwhile, several area restaurants — Davidson’s Flatiron Kitchen + Taphouse and Jeffrey’s Restaurant in Mooresville, among others — have special New Year’s Eve dinners planned; and nightclubs — among them Skybar and Unleashed in Mooresville, Davidson’s Brickhouse Tavern, and Cornelius’ Dirty Martini, Rusty Rudder, Galway Hooker Irish Pub and Prosciutto’s Pizzeria & Pub — will celebrate the coming New Year. Read the full story

Can your sweater top these gems? Enter Saturday's contest.

Christmas in Davidson is nearly upon us, and besides taking in the atmosphere with a stroll on Main Street, you’ve got several ways to get even more involved.  Organizers have planned an Ugly Sweater Contest Saturday night, you can enter your pooch in the popular Doggie Fashion Show on Friday, or purchase a Christmas in Davidson ornament. Another new feature this year will be a skating rink at South Main Square, open extended hours all three days. Meanwhile, Town Hall is hoping to bolster the subscribers to its eCrier email lists with a prize drawing for ornaments or tickets for skating or carriage rides.  Details below.

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Davidson Lands Conservancy will host its annual road race, the Run for Green, on Saturday, Sept. 18, featuring 5K, 10K and half-marathon races. That’s followed by the 2nd annual Green Day festival with food, music and fun on the Village Green in downtown Davidson.

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Town Day is coming on Saturday, May 1, and with the annual Davidson – Cornelius Day Care Town Day 5K and Family Fun Run. The race through Davidson streets is a fund-raiser for the center, which has been providing quality, affordable day care for 40 years. Read the full story

A slew of fund-raisers is coming this weekend and in the near future, aiding Haitian earthquake victims, providing money for Rotary Club projects and helping to fund emergency home repairs in the area. Also, the River Run neighborhood’s Goodwill donation drive got snowed out last weekend. It has been rescheduled to this Saturday, Feb. 6. Read the full story

Fund-raisers this week in and around Davidson include a Saturday 5K race starting on the Village Green that will raise money for the Free Clinic of Our Towns, a Rake-A-Thon for the college’s Habitat for Humanity chapter, and a Sunday sale by Main Street shops to benefit the Salvation Army’s Women’s Shelter. Read the full story