Arts & Recreation in the Triad -- Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem

If you love cultural amenities as well as recreation in the great outdoors, the Triad offers boundless opportunities to enjoy yourself.

North Carolina is a little slice of heaven for golfers. Real enthusiasts often relocate to this region just because the climate practically allows for year-round golf! The Triad, with its hilly topography and natural beauty, offers a wide choice of courses for every skill level from the weekend duffer to the scratch player looking for a challenge. There are more than 30 courses in the region, ranging from municipal to PGA Championship courses with green fees starting as low as $20 on the weekends and even lower for weekday early evening rounds. Most courses still provide the option of walking during the week. In addition to traditional nine and 18-hole courses, you'll find a few par-3 courses, great for a quick round or an outing with someone new to the game.

If spectator sports are your cup of tea, enjoy one of several professional golf tournaments in the area including the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. The Triad is also the heart of the Atlantic Coast Conference offering the best in college basketball, football and a host of team sports featuring nationally ranked NCAA teams. If you enjoy professional sports, the Triad offers the growing popularity of Class A baseball with your choice of the Greensboro Grasshoppers and the Winston-Salem Warthogs.

Public parks are beyond plentiful in the Triad. Bryan Park, a municipal facility just north of Greensboro offers two championship golf courses, a state-of-the-art soccer complex, sailing, fishing and a choice of picnic facilities for personal or company outings.

Tanglewood Park, just west of Winston-Salem is a 1,300-acre park featuring horseback riding, swimming, fishing, boating, hiking, tennis and two PGA golf courses. It is also home to one of the state's most spectacular Christmas light displays.

Bur-Mill Park in Greensboro offers hiking and biking trails, two fishing ponds, nine-hole and par-3 golf courses, swimming pools, volleyball courts and more. And Festival Park at Oak Hollow Lake in High Point boasts 1,500 acres of recreational opportunities including boating, fishing, camping and golf. It is also well known for its annual Oak Hollow World Championship Drag Boat Races, held each July.

Another bonus of living in the Triad is that the Appalachian Mountains and their many recreational offerings including hiking and white-water rafting, are an easy day-trip if you're looking to get away. If your interests are the beach and its beautiful shoreline, head east. Many points of the coast can be easily reached in about three hours.

If the arts are more your style you'll have numerous outlets at your fingertips in the Triad. As the nation's first arts council, The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County continues to foster new avenues for artistic expression in the Triad. Whether you go for opera, symphony, Broadway shows, ballet, local theatre, film or museums, this region has what will satisfy your cultural cravings.

Both Winston-Salem and Greensboro have restored 1920's era theatres providing exceptional performance venues for theatre and other cultural events. Both cities also offer local opera companies and symphony orchestras. Community Theatre of Greensboro, Livestock Theatre, the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem and Children's Theatre offer numerous opportunities to enjoy theatrical performances graced with distinguished local talent. Many of the teaching staff at the internationally known North Carolina School of Performing Arts, located in Winston-Salem, participates in the local performing art groups, raising the standard of quality far above regions of similar size. If bluegrass is more your style, head to Clemmons for the Carolina LITE Blues Festival, held in May. For classical enthusiasts, plan early to attend the infamous Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro. Enjoy a host of national and international performances by popular artists at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex or the Carolina Theater in Greensboro and the Joel Coliseum Complex and the Stevens Center in Winston-Salem.

The N.C. Shakespeare Festival Company operates from the High Point Theatre and draws fans of the Bard during its annual Shakespeare Festival each fall. The Company also performs Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" every December.

Winston-Salem is home to the N.C. Black Repertory Theatre, one of the premier black theatre groups in the U.S. and home to the biennial National Black Theatre Festival, which runs for a week and draws top rated actors and actresses from around the globe.

The N.C. School of the Arts, also in Winston-Salem, stages more than 300 performances a year. NCSA is the only state-supported, residential school for the arts in the United States. Its students are the future stars of stage and screen. The school also hosts the popular RiverRun International Film Festival for independent and foreign-language filmmakers each year. And during the holidays the Nutcracker, Piedmont Crafts Fair and the Carolina Crafts fair are generally on everyone's list of things to do.

Throughout the Triad you'll find museums, galleries and historic sites to satisfy just about any interest - master American artists, science and nature, African heritage, decorative arts, the list goes on. The Triad begins early by attracting even its youngest citizens to the Natural Science Center, Children's Museum and the Greensboro Historical Museum. Also on the first Friday evening of every month, Winston-Salem's Downtown Arts District sponsors a gallery hop of local studios, galleries, shops and businesses that feature area artisans' work.

You'll never be at a loss for something to do in the Triad. We've got something for everyone!

Resources

For a list of special events throughout the year, click here

For a list of local attractions and places to go, click here

For a list of arts and music organizations, click here

For a list of parks and recreation areas, click here

For a list of area golf courses, click here

For Charlotte Region information, click here