Day Trips

Puccini's Madama Butterfly

North Carolina Opera Day Trip
Sunday, February 1, 2026
Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh, NC
Registration: $239

A love story of passion, sacrifice, and heartbreak, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly delivers some of the most exquisite music ever written. Young geisha Cio-Cio-San gives up everything for love, only to face a devastating betrayal in a story that unfolds with haunting beauty and emotional depth. With achingly beautiful lyricism and gut-wrenching tragedy, one of opera’s most powerful productions will stay with you long after the final note. This opera is performed in Italian with English translations projected above the stage.

North Carolina Opera day-trip participants will enjoy a continental breakfast at check-in, comfortable motorcoach transportation, premier seating, an amazing three-course meal at a Raleigh area restaurant, and a snack served on the return trip.

Art in Bloom

North Carolina Museum of Art Day Trip
Thursday, March 19, 2026
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
J.C. Raulston Arboretum, NC State University
Registration: $189

"Art in Bloom" is an annual five-day festival at the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) that features floral interpretations of artwork from the museum’s collection. Floral designers from across the state and the nation create unique arrangements inspired by pieces in the NCMA’s People’s Collection. 

Before the main attraction, we will visit the J.C. Raulston Arboretum at NC State University. This nationally acclaimed teaching and research garden is dedicated to promoting a greater diversity of landscape plants. It’s named in honor of its late director and founder, Dr. J. C. Raulston, renowned plantsman and professor of horticultural science at NC State. The visit will include a guided tour of the arboretum, with time to explore additional sections of the 10.5 acres of gardens to discover plants collected from around the world. 

Day-trip participants will enjoy a continental breakfast at check-in, comfortable motorcoach transportation, admission to exhibition and arboretum, a fabulous three-course luncheon, and a snack served on the return trip.

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