Travel NC With Kids: October 2015

Tanglewood Festival of Lights Dates, Rates, and Times © Katrena

Tanglewood Park, located near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been dazzling guests since 1992 with their Festival of Lights display that now features over one million individual LED lights dappling nearly four miles of the park.

In 2015, the Festival of Lights opens November 21 through January 3 nightly from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m.

2015 Tanglewood Festival of Lights Rates	All Other Nights November 21 - January 3	Discount Nights: November 23, 24, 30 December 1
Family Cars, vans, trucks	$15	$5
Commercial Vans, limos, mini-buses	$35	$15
Motorcoaches & buses	$100	$65

Christmas Light Show in North Carolina © Katrena

The Festival of Lights is quite popular as it attracts about 250,000 guests yearly. They typically add or change a few of the displays, but my family has seen some favorites every year that we have visited. My kids particularly like the mermaid at the lake, the golfer who hits the ball down the fence line, and the reindeer who jump over the vehicles! If you prefer much shorter lines and lower rates, I recommend the discount nights per the chart above.

Christmas Gift Shop Featuring Local Artisans © Katrena

My family enjoys stopping to shop at the gift village in the big red barn. You can find a wide variety of locally crafted items at the shop, such as beautiful woodworking, crafts, sports memorabilia, and lots of goodies to eat and drink. Find additional pictures of the holiday shop at my Gift Village article.

Drive-thru Holiday Light Show © Katrena

Guests will also find Santa and Mrs. Claus near the gift shop on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays until December 23. Tanglewood offers their own horse-drawn carriage rides and tractor-drawn hayrides through the Festival of Lights and overnight accommodations at their bed and breakfast or campground.

Local Craft Shows and Christmas Gift Ideas © Katrena

Additional 2015 events are offered at Tanglewood after the light displays are up - see below for dates:

2015 Tanglewood FOL Events	Date
Golf Tournament	November 22
Souper 5K	November 7
Paws in the Park	November 10
Make-a-Wish Walk for Wishes	November 14
Arts for Life Roll and Stroll	November 20
Running of the Lights	December 31

Quite a few local folks volunteer to direct traffic and provide a variety of other services to help make this popular event run smoothly. Visit Tanglewood's Festival of Lights page for more information.