by Christina Mimms for The Aha! Connection
Christmas at Gaylord Opryland in Nashville returns with a chill this year – a welcome one, with the ICE! exhibit headlining the holiday extravaganza at our neighbor to the north.
The ICE! exhibit is a signature experience at Opryland dating to 2001, when the first team of Chinese artisans hand-carved 5,000 tons of ice into massive sculptures with a holiday theme.
Past themes included “A Christmas Story” and “Charlie Brown Christmas.”
After a break the past two years (for obvious reasons), the artisans have returned to Nashville to work their holiday magic. This year, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and his pals will be on site for a walk-through experience in a 19,000-square-foot space chilled to 9 degrees.
The staff provide heavy blue parkas for guests to wear through the exhibit; bring your own hats
and gloves. Tickets are dated and timed and must be purchased online in advance.
In addition to touring the exhibit, guests can enjoy a wide variety of holiday activities at
Opryland, including ice slides, ice tubing, ice skating, gingerbread house decorating, Christmas-
themed water fountain shows, a boat ride through the property, an outdoor Nativity and
Rudolph’s Holly Jolly Breakfast.
The Oak Ridge Boys are headlining a dinner show in the theater on site, and the indoor portion
of the Soundwaves water park – featuring a rapids river, a lazy river, mega-slides and a splash
pad – is open as well. Some of these activities require additional tickets for entry. More details
are available on the Opryland web site.
Bundle up and make plans to visit ICE! and more, Nov. 11, 2022 through Jan. 1, 2023. It’s worth
the drive!
