Life

Christmas light show coming to WNC fairgrounds

A crew with Shadrack's Christmas Wonderland sets up displays at the WNC Ag Center.

By Bill Moss, Published: November 13, 2013

FLETCHER — A Christmas show featuring thousands of lights synchronized to Christmas music is coming to the fairgrounds at the WNC Ag Center.

Shadrack's Christmas Wonderland bills itself as "the world's largest drive-through, fully synchronized LED Christmas light and music show."

http://shadrackchristmas.com/asheville/
Crews were setting up the displays and stringing lights at the fairgrounds this week. It is scheduled to open on Friday, Nov. 22. The Bristol, Tenn.-based entertainment company has added Asheville to its locations this year. It also has shows in Sevierville, Tenn.; New Market, Md., and Myrtle Beach.
"Regionally from our home office in Bristol it made good sense as far as drive time," site foreman Wesley Denton said on Monday. "We felt like it was a good place. There's not another show like it in this area."
The company had a crew of 12-14 for the setup, and will have about six people on site during the show, which runs through New Year's Day.
The Asheville show has a theme of "The 12 Days of Christmas" and features around 200 displays — "pipers piping, drummers drumming and all that," Denton said. "There's hundreds of thousands LEDs. We may be approaching a million."
Besides the light show, the attraction offers a Santa's Village serving hot chocolate, coffee, funnel cakes, fried Oreos and Snickers, roasted marshmallows complete with s'mores and other treats, the company's website said.
The show is open from dusk to 10 p.m. (or later on weekends) every day including holidays. Admission, which is bought at the gate, is $20 for cars, $30 for activity vans or mini-buses, $30 for limousines and $75 for tour buses and school buses. Visitors tune to a low-frequency radio signal to hear the music.
Eva Ritchey, the owner of the Trolley Company, said she plans to offer both charters and trips open to the public.
Shuttles will leave from the Visitors Center at 5:30 and 8 p.m. Each trip will allow time for a visit to Santa's Village. She was told the drive through the light show takes about 30 minutes. For reservations or information about the trolley, call 828.606.8606 or email info@thetrolleycompany.com.
"This is going to be a really worthwhile event," she said. "There's no doubt about it."