Live Entertainment | Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular
✦ Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular — Charlotte, NC

The Lights Are
Only the Beginning.

Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular is Charlotte's favorite Christmas light show — and free live entertainment is included with every ticket, every night at Ballantyne's Backyard in Charlotte, NC.

At Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular, Christmas doesn't just sparkle. It sings. It dances. It plays. Live entertainment included FREE with every ticket. Performers rotate throughout the season — check the schedule to see who's performing on your night.

✦ All Entertainment FREE with Admission
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Santa Claus at Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular Charlotte NC
✦ The Moment They've Been Waiting For ✦ Photos with Santa — FREE with Admission

And Then...
There's Santa.

The Big Guy. The Real Deal. The Moment They've Been Waiting For.

Step inside Santa's Christmas Tent, where little ones can slow down, color a Christmas picture and write their very own letter to Santa. Letters deposited here are headed straight to the North Pole.

Take your time. Tell him what you're wishing for. Ask a question. Share a story. Laugh. And take all the pictures you want.

Photos with Santa are FREE with admission. Bring your own phone or camera. There's no additional charge to visit Santa and no required photo package to purchase.

Because we believe meeting Santa should be part of the magic you already came to experience.

For parents and grandparents, the magic may be watching that little face — and remembering what it once felt like to believe completely.

Prima Ballerinas and Sugar Plum Fairies at Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular Charlotte NC
✦ The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Step Into the Land of
Sugar Plum Fairies

There is something about a ballerina at Christmastime that makes the world feel a little more magical.

Our Prima Ballerinas and Miniature Ballerinas bring the enchantment of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy to life in sparkling tutus as they twirl and dance around our glowing Snow Globe.

For a moment, the trail disappears. You've entered a world of Nutcrackers, Sugar Plum Fairies and Christmas dreams.

And the children don't have to simply watch. Our ballerinas invite their littlest guests to dance alongside them — twirling beneath the lights and becoming part of the magic themselves.

No velvet ropes. Just a little hand reaching out — and a ballerina who says yes.

Glowing micro-grand piano at Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular
✦ Part Concert. Part Christmas Decoration.

Follow
the Piano Lights

You might hear it before you see it.

Inside the Snow Globe sits something you don't encounter every Christmas: a micro-grand piano wrapped in twinkling lights.

Our pianist fills the Spectacular with Christmas music while the piano itself glows beneath thousands of tiny lights. It's part concert. Part Christmas decoration. And completely Spectacular.

Gather around, listen to a favorite Christmas song and enjoy one of those little unexpected moments you'll only find here.

Completely Spectacular.

Christmas Elves performing at Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular Charlotte NC
✦ North Pole Mischief

The Elves Are
in the Globe!

Some dance. Some play. Some spin glowing lights. Some have giant candy canes.

And some appear to have been sent from the North Pole with absolutely no adult supervision.

Our elves turn the Snow Globe into their own Christmas playground with dancing, comedy, music and plenty of North Pole mischief. But they're not very good at keeping the fun contained.

Children may find themselves dancing and playing right along with them. Because watching elves have all the fun would hardly be fair.

Christmas carol singers at Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular
✦ You Know the Words

Sing Loud
for All to Hear

You know the songs. We know you know the songs. So don't just stand there. Sing!

Join our singers around the Snow Globe and sing along with some of your favorite Christmas carols. Kids can sing. Parents can sing. Grandma can sing. Dad can confidently sing the wrong words.

We don't judge.

At Holiday Light Spectacular, Christmas isn't supposed to be quiet.

"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."

Victorian carolers at Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular Charlotte NC
✦ Christmas From Another Time

Christmas From
Another Time

Then the music changes.

Our Victorian Carolers transport guests to Christmases of another era with beautiful harmonies, traditional carols and timeless holiday costumes.

Standing beside a glowing Snow Globe surrounded by Christmas lights, it's one of those moments when the modern world seems to disappear for a little while.

Stop. Listen. Sing along if you know the words. And enjoy Christmas the way generations before us did — together, through music.

Don't Just Watch Christmas.
Be Part of It.

Dance with a ballerina
Play with the elves
Sing Christmas carols
Meet a princess
Listen to Victorian harmonies
Find the glowing piano
Write your letter to the North Pole
Tell Santa what you've been waiting all year to tell him

It's all part of Spectacular Entertainment — and it's all included FREE with your Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular admission.

Get Tickets — From $10 →
✦ Common Questions

Entertainment FAQs

Is entertainment included with tickets? +

Yes — all live entertainment at Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular is included FREE with every admission ticket. No separate entertainment ticket, no show charge, no add-on. Ballerinas, elves, princesses, Victorian carolers, live piano, singers and Santa are all part of the experience.

What entertainment is at Holiday Light Spectacular? +

Nightly entertainment includes Prima Ballerinas and Sugar Plum Fairies, playful Christmas elves, singing princesses, Victorian carolers, a live pianist on a glowing micro-grand piano, Christmas carol singers, and Santa Claus. Most performances center around the life-size Snow Globe at Ballantyne's Backyard in Charlotte, NC — as featured by Fun 4 Charlotte Kids.

Can children dance with the ballerinas? +

Yes — our ballerinas invite children to dance and twirl alongside them around the Snow Globe. The Snow Globe itself is a performance stage for contracted performers only, but the magic spills out all around it — and little ones are absolutely welcome to join in the dancing nearby.

Are photos with Santa free? +

Yes — photos with Santa are free with admission. Bring your own phone or camera. No required photo package, no additional charge. Santa appears nightly through December 23 in Santa's Christmas Tent.

What time does entertainment start? +

Live entertainment generally runs during evening hours after gates open at 5:30pm. Performers rotate throughout the season — not all performers appear every night. Check the 2026 Schedule page to see who is performing on your night.

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