Union City, Tenn.–Discovery Park of America has announced that its annual “Let It Glow” Light Show will begin a week earlier than usual.
This year, Friday, November 13, 2020 will be the opening night for the popular “Let It Glow” Light Show that is held each year during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season.
The drive-through light show allows friends and families to meander through the 50-acre heritage park, never leaving their vehicles, as they experience more than a million twinkling lights synced to the beats of popular Christmas songs. The biggest fundraiser of the year for the 501(c)(3) non-profit museum and heritage park is one of the most unusual holiday light shows in the world because of the location. Guests get a unique look at a Titan Missile, the outside of the 199-foot-tall Discovery Center museum, an authentic Settlement of mid-1830s log cabins and more, all decorated for Christmas and enhanced with various vignettes of popular and traditional holiday scenes.
Even though many of the favorite scenes are repeated each year, guests can always count on surprises. “Last year, we added an incredible waterfall of lights that appeared to roll down the hill at Mill Ridge that was very popular,” said John Watkins, Discovery Park’s director of landscaping who designs and installs the show each year along with Karl Johnson, director of information technology. “This year, we have some other surprises up our ‘Santa Claus sleeve,’” Watkins said.
While one popular Discovery Park event, “The Polar Express,” was canceled for 2020 because it could not be held while adhering to social-distancing policies, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas at Discovery Park” has been added on Tues., Dec. 22, 2020, 1 – 4 p.m. Like the light show, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas at Discovery Park” is an event you can enjoy without ever leaving your vehicle. Guests will drive through the park, stopping along the way to enjoy a series of live performances as the guests read the story aloud. Inspired by the well-known Christmas poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore, the experience has been created to inspire a love of reading in a fun and unique way while providing an excellent beginning to Christmas celebrations.
Although Discovery Park’s museum is closed on Tuesdays, Sabin’s Café and the Discovery Park Gift Shop will be open from noon to 5 p.m. that day, so guests can purchase a cup of hot cocoa or other refreshments and shop until the “Let it Glow” light show begins at 5 p.m. The Gift Shop has hundreds of unique gift items in stock, as well as locally made soaps, candles and mustard.
The drive-through “Let It Glow” Light Show is sponsored by McDonald’s and is open 5-9 p.m., Nov. 13 – Dec. 30, 2020, closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Although Discovery Park closes at 4 p.m., the Gift Shop and Sabin’s Café will remain open until 5 p.m. Fri. – Sunday.
“‘Twas the Night Before Christmas at Discovery Park” is $10 per car and is on Tues., Dec. 22, 2020, 1 – 4 p.m. This event is sponsored by ATA.