With only a week remaining until Christmas Eve you can bet that jolly old elf from the North Pole – Santa Claus – is going to be busier than ever visiting with children inside the HSN Christmas Village at the Food City Speedway In Lights powered by TVA at historic Bristol Motor Speedway.
Santa Claus, who has been an important fixture at the signature fundraiser for the Bristol Motor Speedway chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities for nearly three decades, has once again been set up to visit with thousands of children in his wonderfully-decorated Barter Theatre Santa Hut, located inside the iconic NASCAR short track’s infield, since the dazzling light show opened in November.
But with only a week remaining until go time, Santa will be working overtime to check his naughty and nice list, and also will be busy putting together a list of Christmas wishes from the thousands of children who share their perfect gift ideas with him. That wish list might include a brand-new bicycle, or a high-tech digital tablet. Perhaps it will be a fun video game console, toy kitchen set, Barbie dream house, or even a new combo game table set.
Children are able to visit with Santa Claus in the Barter Theatre Santa Hut from 6-10 p.m. each night of the Food City Speedway In Lights. Santa will continue to be present at the popular holiday light show each night until Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), when the Barter Theater Santa Hut will close for the season at 9 p.m. Of course, Santa will continue working, just at other locations around the world.
The Barter Theatre Santa Hut is located in its usual spot on the back side of the track’s Goodyear building (near turn two) in the HSN Christmas Village. To help families capture the special memory, children who visit with Santa are eligible to have an official portrait created that will be enclosed inside a festive Speedway In Lights framed Brightspeed photo card for $10 each.
After visiting with Santa, the Christmas Village has so many other fun things to explore, including additional photo opportunities in front of several special holiday displays, roasting marshmallows over an open fire, shopping with a variety of local vendors and checking out some great arts and crafts. Several family-friendly midway rides also will be available to provide additional thrills for the kids.
Long-hailed as a premier holiday destination, The Food City Speedway in Lights powered by TVA is comprised of a dazzling five-mile route of more than 3 million lights attached to 300 festive displays that winds throughout the Speedway’s sprawling campus.
The Food City Speedway In Lights route offers more than 40 new displays in its Santa’s Safari collection, and also has two new attractions in the Christmas Village, the Turbo Tube Slide presented by State Water Heaters and SnowMazing presented by Healing Hydration. Guests will continue to enjoy some of their longtime favorite displays, including traditional favorites The Twelve Days of Christmas, Ripley’s Sea of Illumination, Mycroft Signs Race to Space, NASCAR Pit Stop, Dinosaur Land, the beautiful Candelabra, Drag Cars, Victorian Village, Beech Mountain Resort Snowman Maker, the Nativity Scene presented by Visit My Smokies and Toy Land.
The popular King University Symphony in Lights, located in the Darrell Waltrip Grandstands inside the BMS oval, returns to showcase more than 300,000 lights all coordinated to flicker and flash to the tunes of popular holiday music.
The Food City Speedway in Lights has added new dynamic pricing for 2024, where depending on the night of the week and time of the visit, prices for cars will range between $20-35. Guests are encouraged to check the Food City Speedway In Lights webpage for specific pricing for each night. Visitors should also be aware of several coupons and discounts available Sunday-Thursdays. For larger groups, vans are $85 and buses are $150.
Guests should monitor Food City Speedway In Lights social media channels to be on the lookout for a variety of discount opportunities available through special partners on the following nights: WCYB and Food City (Sunday); Wendy’s (Monday); Southeast Industrial Construction (Tuesday); Hardee’s Restaurants (Wednesday); and Goodwill Industries of Tenneva (Thursday).
THE FAST LANE PRESENTED BY CITI: On select nights, the Fast Lane presented by Citi is a speedy $75 option that will get you in to see the tradition-rich holiday lights display quicker than you can say “Santa Has a Speedy Sleigh!”. When you arrive at the entrance to Food City Speedway In Lights off Highway 394, just select the Fast Lane by Citi route and you will be directed to the start of the light show quicker than a spaceship making the jump to hyperspace. Upcoming dates where the Fast Lane presented by Citi will be available are December 20, 21, 22, 23, 27 and 28.
TRI-CITIES AIRPORT ICE RINK: After touring the Food City Speedway in Lights presented by TVA, guests are encouraged to visit the Tri-Cities Airport Ice Rink at Bristol Motor Speedway presented by Stateline Services. Located at BMS Entrance No. 1, the Tri-Cities Airport Ice Rink at Bristol Motor Speedway presented by Stateline Services returns to bring joy to local ice-skating enthusiasts. The Ice Rink remains open until Sunday, Jan. 12. Hours of operation vary from day to day, so please review the schedule on the BMS website in advance.
The Bristol Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities, a 501c(3) nonprofit organization committed to raising funds for distribution to children-based nonprofit organizations, was established in 1997. Since its inception, the chapter has raised more than $21 million, awarding grants to hundreds of qualified organizations in the 18-county area surrounding Bristol Motor Speedway. The board of trustees for the Bristol Chapter consists of 18 members, a diverse group of individuals from across the region with wide-ranging backgrounds. The trustees, two staff members and more than 300 volunteers are responsible for hosting numerous events at Bristol Motor Speedway and throughout the Bristol (Tennessee/Virginia) community. For more information about the Bristol Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities, visit speedwaycharities.org/bristol.
