NASHVILLE, TN - The most wonderful time of the year is upon us again as Gaylord Opryland Resort kicks off its A Country Christmas celebration.

Horticulture and engineering teams have worked tirelessly since mid-July to hang more than 3 million lights in time for the hotel's 35th annual A Country Christmas, presented by Pepsi®, taking place Nov. 9 through Jan. 1.

"We are incredibly proud of the work we do to create special memories for families staying with us through the Christmas season," said Gaylord Opryland General Manager John Adams. "This year, we are extra excited with the December grand opening SoundWaves. This first-of-its-kind upscale indoor/outdoor resort water attraction will provide another exciting way families can experience the holidays with us."

The resort's signature holiday attraction -- ICE! presented by DEI—features Dr. Seuss's How The Grinch Stole Christmas! Experience scenes from the beloved 1957 Dr. Seuss classic in 2 million pounds of colorful ice sculptures. Kept at nine degrees Fahrenheit, ICE! is hand-carved by 40 master artisans from Harbin, China, and will include scenes of The Grinch, Max, Cindy Lou Who and the rest of the Whos from Who-ville. If you can't get enough of The Grinch, try the brand new Feast with The Grinch character dining experience or The Grinch's Wonderful Awful Idea Scavenger Hunt through the resort's nine acres of indoor gardens.

Back by popular demand, Cirque Dreams Holidaze returns to the Grand Ole Opry House with its electrifying stage spectacular. Broadway Director Neil Goldberg has assembled the world's most unique cast of incomparable cirque artists, singers, dancers and theatrical talent -- from candy cane contortionists, wheel-rolling engineers, jingle bell bicyclers, spiraling aerialists, intricate puppeteering and more than 300 dazzling costumes. This critically acclaimed Broadway musical, cirque adventure and family show is the perfect holiday gift wrapped in one.

Country superstar and Grand Ole Opry member Trace Adkins joins the festivities this year with a new Christmas show featuring songs from his holiday album, The King's Gift. The Grammy winner will entertain fans with Christmas standards, Celtic classics and a few of his favorite things. The evening begins with a holiday meal prepared by Gaylord Opryland's award-winning culinary team.

Inside the resort's Holiday Halls, guests will find an 8,000-square-foot indoor ice rink where they can skate and catch a 30-minute ice skating show, hop aboard the Opryland Express kids' train, stop by the Gingerbread Decorating Corner, or take a whirl on the Santa's Spinners tea cup ride!

The Build-A-Bear Workshop® experience lets guests make their very own furry winter friend -- a cuddly, cute polar bear plush, designed exclusively for Gaylord Hotels that can be personalized with cozy winter clothing and accessories.

Additional holiday festivities include an extreme ice tubing hill, toe-tapping holiday cruises on the General Jackson Showboat, carriage rides, photos with Santa and an outdoor nativity.

When it comes to ringing in 2019, Big Night Nashville at Gaylord Opryland is one of Music City's hottest New Year's Eve events. Rooms and tickets are available now at BigNightNashville.com.

A Country Christmas has been hailed as one of the "Ten Great Places to Catch up with Santa" by USA Today; "The Most Christmassy Hotel in the Nation" by the Travel Channel's "Extreme Christmas;" one of the top 10 places to spend Christmas in the world by Travel + Leisure; and a "Nashville treasure" by Southern Living.

Opryland Resort & Convention Center, located at 2800 Opryland Drive in Nashville, Tenn., is the flagship property of Gaylord Hotels, part of the Marriott portfolio of brands. The 2,888-room hotel offers "everything in one place" -- diverse dining options, a full-service spa, top-notch entertainment, on-site shopping, an award-winning golf course and more. For more information, visit www.GaylordOpryland.com.

BY THE NUMBERS

3 million holiday lights
1 million visitors to the resort during the holidays each year
15,000 poinsettias
15 miles of green garland
10 miles of hand-tied, red ribbon
48-foot-tall Christmas tree
2+ million pounds of ice for ICE! attraction
Nearly 7,000 giant blocks of colored ice
40 ice artisans from Harbin, China

PEPSI, PEPSI-COLA and the Pepsi Globe are registered trademarks of PepsiCo, Inc.
TM & © 2018 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. All Rights Reserved.
© & ® Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Source: Gaylord Opryland Resort