Massive holiday event unlike any other debuts at First Tennessee Park – Tennessean
Imagine this: a Christmas tree so tall you can see it from blocks away, millions of twinkling lights and holiday-themed fun for the entire family.
What started as a pipe dream for a Nashville record industry veteran and his business partners has turned into a winter wonderland reality unlike any other holiday experience in the area. GLOW Nashville opened to the public Nov. 22 after weeks of set-up at First Tennessee Park. The event will run through Dec. 31.
“We always knew we wanted it to be big; we always knew we wanted it to be special,” said GLOW CEO Chris Stacey, who has held various executive positions in the Nashville recording industry for years. “Being on site, watching this thing get built, it’s probably turning out to be even bigger than I ever expected.”
Stacey and his GLOW partners, Aaron Clark and Patrick Wallain, are no strangers to organizing large events. They founded the Rock the Ocean’s Tortuga Music Festival, which hosts 100,000 fans annually in Fort Lauderdale.
In Nashville, the trio signed a multi-year agreement with First Tennessee Park to take over the Germantown stadium during the Nashville Sounds’ off-season. Stacey described GLOW as a “magical one-stop shop for the best holiday experience possible.”
“We literally sourced information from around the globe. We cherry-picked the coolest attractions from installations in Dubai, Korea, Vancouver and other places in the United States…and we just really tried to put everything into the pot and stir it around to create what ultimately became GLOW,” Stacey said.
The GLOW experience includes:
- One of the country’s tallest Christmas trees at over 100 feet, which is 20 feet taller than the Nashville Sounds’ iconic guitar scoreboard
- More than four million holiday lights
- A Frozen Fortress Ice Skating Rink with a three-story viewing platform
- A 32-foot-tall, 170-foot-long tube park built over the stadium seats
- A life-size Santa’s Workshop with a behind-the-scenes look at elves hard at work, story time with Mrs. Claus and photos with Santa
- Blitzen’s Band Box, where adults 21 and up can sip custom holiday cocktails and enjoy fire pits, igloos and themed entertainment
- A café featuring classic Christmas music, movies and holiday snacks
- A holiday-themed market with more than 25 local craft vendors
The set-up at First Tennessee Park required about 100 people a day to transform the stadium into a winter wonderland. Stacey estimated a couple hundred people a day will be operating the event.
Max Goldberg of Strategic Hospitality, which owns The Band Box at First Tennessee Park and partnered with GLOW to operate Blitzen’s Band Box, said the venue will have one of the best date night views in the city.
“First Tennessee Park has become a really special place in Nashville throughout the Nashville Sounds’ regular season. We have always wanted to extend the fun into the off-season and couldn’t be more excited to have that opportunity to make this happen with GLOW,” Goldberg said.
GLOW is kicking off in Nashville this year, but Stacey said the plan is to expand the event to other markets. He said they already have a second market confirmed for 2020. Each year, Nashville will get a refreshed experience with different themes, colors and specific attractions.
“We are building this thing to be a blast whether you’re 9 or 90. We feel like we have great experiences for everyone,” Stacey said.
GLOW also partnered with The Salvation Army to host the World’s Tallest Digital Angel Tree. Event attendees can digitally adopt angels or donate money at The Salvation Army’s on-site kiosks.
If you go
When: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. starting Nov. 22 through Dec. 31
Where: First Tennessee Park
Tickets: General admission tickets cost $29.99, with discounted value days available during the week, family packs, senior discounts and VIP experiences available. Children 3 to 12 years cost $19.99 with discounts available during the week. Learn more and purchase tickets here.
Reach Lizzy Alfs at lalfs@tennessean.com or 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.
Published 6:00 AM EST Nov 23, 2019
