• Hop on board the Holly Jolly Christmas Trolley for a fun and festive celebration of the season featuring live music!

• This seasonal favorite features an entertaining blend of holiday storytelling and traditional Christmas caroling. Enjoy stories of local lore and holiday traditions, then join-in with our on-board musician singing classic carols and songs of Christmas. And all the while the Holly Jolly Trolley is rolling past festive holiday decorations in downtown Asheville, Biltmore Village and the Montford and Grove Park neighborhoods.

This has all the makings of a jolly good family tradition!

• Recurrence: Recurring weekly on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
• Admission: Adults $29; Children (5-11) $13
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This Christmas, bring the whole family back to a simpler time with “NUTCRACKER! Magic of Christmas Ballet!” The acclaimed holiday tradition is LIVE in theaters for the 30th Anniversary tour. Gather friends and family to relive your fondest childhood dreams, overflowing with larger-than-life puppets, breath-taking acrobatics and dazzling costumes. Experience the exquisite artistry of the international cast, featuring stars of Ukraine ballet, performing at the highest level of classical technique. Share in the message of Peace and Harmony and get tickets now at Nutcracker.com!

This is the 15th year of this popular, free and elaborate Christmas display where you can bring the family, pets and your own camera to take your holiday
pictures in a beautiful Christmas setting.

Immerse yourself in a Winter Wonderland with Santa and his elves and of course, Santa’s reindeer at Carolina Ace Hardware. Bring the whole family and take your Christmas pictures in the magical Christmas display in the Garden Center. Free to the public. Bring your cameras.

The 30th Annual National Gingerbread House Competition will be held in-person at The Omni Grove Park Inn on Monday, November 21, 2022 with an Awards Ceremony following in the Grand Ballroom. Competition judging will be conducted in-person and is closed to the public. The competition’s esteemed panel of judges, including Chef Carla Hall, will announce a winner on November 21st at the Resort. All entries will be on display at The Omni Grove Park Inn (290 Macon Ave., Asheville) throughout the holiday season.

The official 2022 Gingerbread display begins on Monday, November 28, 2022 and will continue through Monday, January 2, 2023. Guests not staying at the Resort are invited to view the display after 6:00 p.m. on Sundays or anytime Monday through Thursday, based on parking availability and excluding holidays and the following dates: December 23, 24, 25, 30, 31 and January 1. All Fridays and Saturdays are reserved for registered resort guests and those that have confirmed dining reservations. Display access is subject to hotel capacity, including pedestrian traffic. Please note that only Registered Resort Pets will be permitted. No outside pets will be allowed.

HOLIDAY PARKING PROGRAM

Since the inception of the Holiday Parking Partner program in 2013, we have been honored to contribute over $680,000 to not-for-profit partners in Western North Carolina. During the Fall & Holiday season, there is no complimentary parking on property. Starting Saturday, October 1st, guests can drive up to the main entrance at The Omni Grove Park Inn and be assisted by a valet for $35 for day guests and $30 for overnight guests. Self-parking for day guests is $25 and $20 for overnight guests. A portion of the parking proceeds is donated to the community in support of local not-for-profit organizations.

Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) is pleased to welcome regional school choral groups and local musicians to the airport as part of our annual Sounds of the Holidays program. The musicians and students will perform festive music for the enjoyment of those arriving and departing from AVL this holiday season.

Following is a schedule of choral performances: Thursday, December 15 11:20am East McDowell Middle School Chorus Friday, December 16 12:45pm Erwin Combined Choirs Following is a schedule of Music in the Airport performances: Mike Anderson Mondays in December 10:30am Thursday December 15 5:30pm Phil Okrend Thursdays in December 11:00am Saturday December 15 5:30pm Joseph Olschner Fridays in December 10:00am and 2:00pm Saturdays in December at 11am Bill Cozzens-Bryant Tuesdays in December 11:00am Wednesdays in December 10:30am Jenna Jaffe Sunday December 18 11:30am Saturday December 24 2:00PM Sunday December 25 10:00am

Many downtown businesses have decorated their windows for the holiday season. Follow along our Holiday Windows Walking Tour as you shop for the perfect gift for everyone on your list and support small businesses. Charmed Asheville is offering a special 10% discount to people who mention the Holiday Windows Walking Tour (some exclusions apply).

Also, are you have a holiday sale, event or promotion? We’re happy to share through our social media, newsletters and press releases. All you need to do is fill out the brief form found here.

Join us Wednesday, December 21st from 10am- 1pm as
we welcome back a very special guest, all the way from the
North Pole!

see the beautiful holiday decorations and lights. Plus find lots of great gifts at the many local shops and businesses

Located in the Food Court at the Santa set. Visitors receive one FREE 4” by 6” photo and digital download of a single image (while supplies last). For more information, visit ShopAshevilleOutlets.com.

Enjoy an afternoon of select Christmas teas, mini-sandwiches and desserts — including a great
holiday dessert wine at Point Lookout Vineyards, Reservations required

North Carolina-native Fantasia burst onto the scene in 2004 as the season three winner of Fox’s “American Idol.” Later that year, she released her platinum-selling debut album Free Yourself and became the first artist in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart to debut at #1 with her first single, “I Believe.” Since then, she’s gone on to release 4 more albums, won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song. All throughout, Fantasia has sold out headline tours across the country and shared stages with the likes of Anthony Hamilton, Maxwell and Andrea Bocelli.

In addition to being a mainstay in music, Fantasia adds author and actress to her growing list of accomplishments. In 2006, she released her New York Times bestselling memoir Life Is Not a Fairytale and starred as herself in the Lifetime movie of the same name. The following year, she landed the coveted role of Celie in Broadway’s The Color Purple, for which she won a Theater World Award. She returned to Broadway for After Midnight, a dance-focused musical celebrating the iconic Cotton Club during the Harlem renaissance in the 1920s and ‘30s.

In 2017, Fantasia released her first holiday album Christmas After Midnight on her own imprint Rock Soul Entertainment in partnership with Concord Records. The 12-track album covers holiday favorites, including “This Christmas,” “Silent Night” and “Jingle Bell Rock.”

THE POLAR EXPRESS™ with the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is back in 2022! The 1¼ hour round-trip passenger excursion comes to life as the train departs the Bryson City depot for a journey through the quiet wilderness for a special visit at the North Pole. Set to the sounds of the motion picture soundtrack, guests on board will enjoy warm cocoa and a treat while listening and reading along with the magical story. Children’s faces show the magic of the season when the train arrives at the North Pole to find Santa Claus waiting. Santa will board THE POLAR EXPRESS™, greeting each child and presenting them with a special gift as in the story, their own silver sleigh bell. Christmas carols will be sung as they return back to the Bryson City Depot.

Weather

We encourage guests to plan ahead and stay apprised of the latest weather developments. Cancellations of a POLAR EXPRESS departure because of inclement weather are very rare. If you’re staying in the Gatlinburg/Sevierville, Tennessee area, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Service announces road closures and openings on Twitter, or call (865) 436-1200 extension 631 for a recorded message. In such case Highway 441 is closed through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Interstate 40 typically remains open. Use 45 Mitchell Street, Bryson City, North Carolina 28713 as your destination to find an alternate route.

Join the JCC community in the front courtyard for a half hour of warmth and light —plus a singalong led by JCC music legend Penny White.

Honor the special qualities of this season, bring new awareness to your life, and benefit from the mysterious possibilities of this darkest night of the year.

In this ancient ceremony in the Nahua (“Aztec”) tradition, we call on the deep, alive creative force behind the flow of Time and Change to help us let go of what no longer serves us and open to receive the benefits from what is coming. In this precious moment, a doorway swings wide, and, with the help of these ancient rites, our human longings and requests can be heard by the living world that both created us and supports us throughout our existence.

The ceremonies and life-ways of this lineage, based in the Central Highlands of Mexico, are now brought forward throughout the lands by initiated traditional weather workers who hold the responsibility of honoring and renewing our relationship with the natural cycles in these lands where we live.

Hosted by Sacred Fire Asheville, this gathering takes place around a consecrated fire in the Sacred Fire Council House. It is led by quiatlzques weather worker and tepahtiani healer Erin Everett, one of the Asheville weather workers in the living, unbroken tradition of don Lucio Campos Elizalde of Morelos, Mexico.

This ceremony is one embodiment of a prophecy that the Nahua ceremonies will be brought forward to re-enliven human beings and our communities, renewing our relationship with Cycles, Weather, Healing and Sacred Time.

This traditional ceremony was employed by many generations of very practical native people because it works to align human beings with the sacred cycles.

There will be online registration for this event and a limited number of seats. Learn more by emailing [email protected]

Online registration is required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/444545426337

This is a free event. Donations are requested, which support Sacred Fire Asheville and the Asheville-area Nahua-tradition weather workers.

This holiday season, visit Tryon Resort’s Winterfest Village to find festive fun for the entire family. Meet Santa and your favorite Who-ville characters with your Winterfest Village ticket, or come enjoy free live music and character interactions in Legends Plaza. There is something to get every member of the family in the holiday spirit!

Biltmore House glows with candlelight and firelight during this nighttime tour, changing the daytime visit’s mood and experience. Candlelight Christmas Evenings in Biltmore House allows guests to step back in time with an experience reminiscent of the Vanderbilt’s first Christmas spent in Biltmore House in 1895. Musicians stationed throughout the house perform seasonal favorites. Setting the scene is a 55-foot Norway spruce encircled by illuminated evergreens and shrubs sparkling in the center of the front lawn.

A holiday tradition for many mountain families returns to Lake Julian Park (37 Lake Julian Rd. in Arden) in December. Festival of Lights continues with all its illuminated magic and more, as the annual event now finds itself on a mission.

Festival of Lights is a fun, inexpensive way to celebrate the season and make memories. As the original – and longest running – drive-thru holiday light show in the area, is excited to once again turn on the tradition of making spirits bright.

Mark your calendars, Lake Julian Festival of Lights will thrill visitors of all ages, nightly from 6-9 p.m. from Dec. 2-23, with two special walk-thru nights on Dec. 2 & 3. The festival thrives from its connection to the community; twenty percent of proceeds are donated to Special Olympics Buncombe County, while the remaining income is reinvested to enhance the festival for the following year.

Get your tickets for the Walk-Thru Nights

Get your tickets for the Drive-Thru Nights

Visitors can expect the drive circling Lake Julian Park to transform into a magical journey with tunnels of dazzling animated and stationary light displays. Watch the lights twinkle over the lake and listen to your own favorite holiday music while taking in the sights.

Vehicle entry for the Festival of Lights is $10 per passenger vehicle, $25 for large vans, and $50 for motor coaches and buses.

Inclement weather note: December can be month for inclement weather in Buncombe County. Make sure to stay up to date with all the latest information by signing up for alerts and notifications from Buncombe County. Text bcalert to 99411.