Holiday Events in Tennessee 2019

Looking for something to do in Tennessee this holiday season? Look no further; we have compiled a list of great holiday events throughout the state. They are listed by major city, with Nashville’s section including 21+ events for those celebrating without children and Chattanooga’s section with 3 different versions of The Nutcracker!

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Nashville:

• Gaylord Opryland Resort’s A Country Christmas
  • November 8, 2019 – January 1, 2020
  • With over 3 million lights, the Opryland Hotel and Resort is a magical destination during the holidays. You can visit Opryland for free any day between 11/8 and 1/1 just to see the interior and exterior lights, or you can pay to do other fun activities.
• Drive-Thru Dancing Lights of Christmas
  • November 16, 2019 – January 4, 2020
  • The 10th annual Dancing Lights of Christmas returns to The James E. Ward Agricultural Center. Pile in a car with your family and friends to drive through an incredible dancing light show, which synchronizes with a special FM radio channel. The show opens nightly at 5:00 pm.
• Franktown Festival of Lights
  • November 22, 2019 – December 28, 2019
  • Franktown Festival of Lights is a nightly light display at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center in Franklin. There are over 50 light displays with synchronized music. Tickets are $25-$100 depending on the size of your vehicle.
• GLOW Nashville: Nashville’s Brightest Christmas Experience
  • November 22, 2019 – December 31, 2019
  • This event will take place at First Tennessee Park. The experience includes one of the country’s tallest Christmas trees, millions of lights, a custom-built ice skating rink, a life-size Santa’s workshop, and more! This attraction is for all ages. Tickets range from $15.99 to $79.99.
• Holiday LIGHTS at Cheekwood
  • November 23, 2019 – January 5, 2020
  • This event is back for the fifth year! It features a 1 mile long path with over 1 million twinkling lights. The experience includes other festivities such as real reindeer, s’mores pits, carolers, Santa, gingerbread workshops, and beverages for purchase (from alcohol to hot chocolate). Admission ranges from $9 to $27.
• Tim Rushlow & His Big Band: Home for the Holidays
  • December 2 – 4, 2019
  • Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and other legends who made us love classic, big band Christmas music are living on through Tim Rushlow & His Big Band. Tickets start at $41.50 with additional fees.
• Christmas Tree Lighting
  • Friday, December 6, 2019
  • Downtown Nashville’s Public Square Park will host the Metro Nashville Christmas Tree Lighting along with a visit from Santa, performances by local choirs, and food trucks.
• Nashville’s Nutcracker
  • December 7, 2019 – December 23, 2019
  • This is the 12th consecutive year the Nashville Ballet will perform Nashville’s Nutcracker at TPAC’s Andrew Jackson Hall.
• Christmas Parade
  • December 7, 2019
  • The annual Nashville Christmas Parade starts at 8:30 am on Saturday, December 7. There will be celebrity performances in addition to parade classics like giant balloons and marching bands.
• Drew & Ellie Holcomb’s Neighborly Christmas
  • December 9, 2019
  • Americana duo Drew and Ellie Holcomb, along with their band, The Neighbors, will perform at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. They will play Christmas favorites as well as their hits.
• Amy Grant & Vince Gill Christmas at the Ryman
  • December 11-12, 2019
  • Christian Pop queen Amy Grant and husband, legendary country singer Vince Gill are performing their Christmas show 12 times during December. The first show is December 11, with tickets costing over $100. For shows later in the month, you can snag tickets starting around $75.
• Porter Flea Holiday Market
  • December 13-14, 2019
  • This holiday market will be held at The Nashville Fairgrounds and include dozens of vendors selling everything from jewelry to paper goods. On site parking is $5.
• Dickens of a Christmas
  • December 14-15, 2019
  • This Victorian-era event is worth the 20 minute drive to downtown Franklin. For 35 years, Franklin has hosted Dickens of a Christmas, an event where the town square and streets transform into a scene from a Dickens novel. It is expected that over 50,000 will attend the free, family-friendly festival.

Nashville’s 21+ Events:

• Reindeer Games: A Christmas Pop-Up Bar
  • November 30, 2019 – December 30, 2019
  • Located at Headquarters Beercade in SoBro, this Christmas themed pop-up bar features drinks and food, free pinball and vintage arcade games, and large, interactive photo-op areas.
• Winter Waldenland
  • November 15, 2019 – January 1, 2020
  • East Nashville’s neighborhood bar Walden is going all out with the Christmas theme this year (including a fireplace lounge and dancing Santas).
• Miracle at Hidden Bar
  • November 25, 2019 – December 31, 2019
  • With free admission and no reservations necessary, this pop-up bar seems like a great choice for adults wanting to get into the holiday spirit. Located at Hidden Bar inside the Noelle Hotel, Miracle is a holiday pop-up concept that will be featured internationally as well as in Nashville.
• Nashville Santa Rampage
  • December 14, 2019
  • Over 1,000 people dress up in a Santa suit for a pub crawl in Nashville on the second Saturday of each December. This year, it will be December 14, beginning with all the Santas meeting at the Christmas tree at Public Square Park at 8 pm. Bring plenty of cash and a valid photo ID!

Knoxville:

• Christmas at Chilhowee and Capitol Christmas Tree
  • November 22, 2019
  • This is a free event in Chilhowee Park and Exposition Center. There will be a tree lighting as well as live music and many other free activities. There are many activity options for children, so bring the whole family.
• Downtown Peppermint Trail
  • November 29, 2019 – January 5, 2020
  • More than 100,000 lights and garlands cover downtown Knoxville to create this beautiful, peppermint coated scene. Restaurants, bakeries, and bars in the area will offer special menu items featuring peppermint!
• Downtown Elf on the Shelf Scavenger Hunt
  • November 29, 2019 – January 5, 2020
  • The now famous Christmas tradition of The Elf on the Shelf is coming to Knoxville in an exciting way. Over two dozen downtown Knoxville businesses will have elves on their shelves and children of all ages are invited to join the scavenger hunt to find them.
• Holidays On Ice Presented by Home Federal Bank
  • November 29, 2019 – January 5, 2020
  • In downtown Knoxville’s Market Square, you will find an outdoor ice skating rink beginning November 29 this year. Follow the link above to keep up with the latest news, including closures due to inclement weather.
• Regal Celebration of Lights
  • November 29
  • This is a Christmas tree lighting (of a massive 42’ tree) in Krutch Park Extension. The event includes live music, train rides, pictures with Santa, and more. The tree ceremony begins at 6 pm.
• WIVK Christmas Parade
  • December 6, 2019
  • This is a great Christmas parade which will be hosted for the 47th time this year! The parade is rain or shine, so don’t let poor weather discourage you from going.

Chattanooga:

• Holiday Trail of Lights Selfie Station at the Chattanooga Visitors Center
  • November 15, 2019 – January 17, 2020
  • On Fridays and Saturdays beginning November 15, you can stop by the Chattanooga Visitors Center at The Block (located at 215 Broad Street) to take some fun selfies with the provided props! You can even bring your leashed dogs. Share your selfies to social media with the hashtag #TrailofLightsCHA and see who else made it!
• Tennessee Valley Railroad’s Christmas Dinner Train
  • November 15, 2019 – December 29, 2019
  • Travel on board a restored 1924 dining car this year! The train departs from Grand Junction Station and travels at a leisurely pace through urban Chattanooga while guests enjoy a four-course meal.
• Snow Day at the Creative Discovery Museum
  • November 16, 2019
  • “Snow” will fall every 30 minutes during this family-friendly event where you can enjoy all the winter activities the Creative Discovery Museum has to offer between flurries.
• Tennessee Valley Railroad’s Nightcaps with St. Nick*
  • November 29, 2019 – December 22, 2019
  • *21+, not one for the whole family
  • Wanna go to the North Pole? Check this out – you can board a first-class observation train, enjoy alcoholic beverages and dessert, and listen to costumed characters sing carols and read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” all before reaching your destination. Once you’ve reached the North Pole, Santa will board the train for a history lesson. Despite its whimsical nature and inclusion of Santa, this event is strictly for adults only.
• Cirque Dreams Holidaze at the Tivoli Theatre
  • November 29, 2019
  • This critically-acclaimed extravaganza is both a Broadway musical and new Cirque adventure wrapped into the ultimate holiday gift for the entire family!
• Chris Tomlin Christmas: Christmas Songs of Worship at the Tivoli Theatre
  • December 3, 2019
  • This holiday season, Grammy winner Chris Tomlin will perform a variety of favorite Christmas carols, holiday tunes, and worship songs.
• MAINx24 24-Hour Festival in the Southside District
  • December 7, 2019
  • This day-long festival will include fashion shows, parades, parties, live music, a chili cook off, and more! It includes free and paid activities, so you can celebrate there regardless of your budget.
• Chattanooga Holiday Market at the Chattanooga Convention Center
  • December 7-8, 14-15, 21-22
  • Last minute gift shopping? Check out the Chattanooga Holiday Market; it’s free to attend and will feature over 200 vendors selling unique, locally-made items, artisan foods, and more.
• Family Fun Day at the Hunter Museum
  • December 8, 2019
  • If you couldn’t tell by the title, this one goes out to the kids. Ages 17 and under are free, and they get to try hands-on art making such as collage and weaving. Additionally, kids can take a picture with Santa, write a letter to the North Pole, and go on a museum scavenger hunt. Adults can get in for the price of museum admission.
• The Nutcracker in Chattanooga: Chattanooga Ballet Presents The Nutcracker at the Tivoli Theatre
  • December 13 – 15, 2019
  • Nooga Nutcracker at the Walker Theatre
  • December 21, 2019
  • Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker at the Tivoli Theatre
  • December 24, 2019

Memphis:

• Christmas at Graceland
  • If you’ve never been, you really don’t want to miss Graceland’s Christmas celebrations. Elvis Presley’s home is decked in holiday bling, including a life size nativity scene outside and red velvet curtains inside. Fun fact: most of the holiday decorations used at Graceland were purchased by Elvis himself.
  • November 21, 2019 – December 24, 2019
• Christmas at The Peabody Hotel
  • Already one of the more festive places in Memphis, The Peabody Hotel truly goes all out for Christmas. They have everything from a huge Christmas tree to a gingerbread village that took 250 hours to create. For live music to get you in the spirit, go on a December day at 11 am – just in time for the duck march.
  • November 29, 2019 – December 31, 2019
• Starry Nights
  • Running every evening through December 28, Starry Nights has more than 1.5 million lights on display. Guests can choose between driving through the scenes in their cars or signing up for a horse-drawn carriage or hayride.
  • November 29, 2019 – December 30, 2019
• Zoo Lights
  • Friday & Saturday nights November 16 – December 30, 2019
  • The Memphis Zoo has light displays and lighted trails, Santa in his workshop, reindeer, special crafts, and more! Hot cocoa and other holiday treats are available during the event, which runs through December 30 on select evenings.
• Holiday Wonders at Memphis Botanic Garden
  • November 29 – December 30
  • MBG hosts a series of holiday events referred to as “Holiday Wonders.” From one called “Snowy Nights” to a festival of old-growth trees lit up for the season, there is something the whole family can enjoy. Themed lighting, a musical light show, fake snow, and more make this a truly magical holiday hot spot.
• New Year’s Eve on Beale Street
  • Ring in 2020 with live music, dancing, fireworks, great food and drinks and thousands of your closest friends. This street-wide NYE celebration, open to all 21 years old and older, is part of a night-long celebration of Memphis music and a big fireworks finale!

Now you can print the holiday events for your city!

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