Charlotte Motor Speedway keeps up with Christmas-lights tradition — and adds ice skating
As Fraser Firs and Leyland Cypress begin to pop up in neighbors’ windows and flashing lights twist around tree branches and outline rooftops even before Thanksgiving, it’s apparent that in 2020, it’s never too early to decorate for Christmas.
Yet as the era of social distancing continues, holiday traditions look a little different this year.
Now in its 11th year, Speedway Christmas — which kicks off Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway — was ready-made for such conditions. Four million twinkling LED lights combine to create hundreds of holiday light displays stretching almost four miles of track, in the grandstands, under the concourse and through the still relatively new ROVAL road course (introduced in 2018).
“Speedway Christmas was already naturally a safer type of an event,” says Scott Cooper, Charlotte Motor Speedway’s senior vice president of communications. “The majority of the attraction can be enjoyed in your own car with your own family and friends.”
About a third of the displays are new this year and tie in with this year’s North Pole theme. Families can tune into synchronized Christmas music on their FM dial while they take it all in.
And while there’s no Christmas village, no live nativity, no petting zoo, and no climbing on Santa’s lap this year, the Speedway has added a 5,400-square-foot ice rink and will again show drive-in holiday movies on its 16,000-square-foot HDTV each Thursday through Sunday through Dec. 27.
In a year that’s devastated the live-entertainment industry and left artists, fans, and businesses scrambling for new ways to provide entertainment, the Speedway has hosted several drive-in movies and concerts, including two hometown shows by Concord’s Avett Brothers.
“We are glad to be able to put together non-traditional events — not a race or a car show,” Cooper says. “It’s been a real positive for us to put smiles on our staffs’ faces and return to a sense of normalcy through drive-in movies and live music. We hope to see even more of that. There’s something about festive lights that improves people’s attitude and mood.”
The Speedway has fittingly partnered with Count On Me NC — the N.C. tourism initiative to partake in safe, masked activities — for its holiday event. Speedway Christmas opens at 6 p.m. Saturday and runs through Jan. 17. Friday and Saturday are the busiest times to visit, so if you’re only interested in the light displays, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are your best bets.
Ways Charlotte Motor Speedway is keeping Christmas safe:
- Cashless concession stands for the drive-in movie and ice rink.
- Cashless transactions for the ice rink and skate rental.
- Rental skates are sanitized after each use.
- Hand sanitizer stations in the drive-in movie parking lot, at the ice rink, and in portable restrooms.
- Masks are required and capacity is limited at the ice rink.
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 1:38 PM.