UPDATE: A Happy Ending to the Dancing Lights of Christmas Saga
Last week, we told you about the dispute over the Dancing Lights of Christmas display that has been held at the Jellystone Park RV campground in Nashville’s Music Valley district for the past seven years. However, the Metro Council had prohibited the park’s owners from hosting the event this year due to concerns about traffic patterns and zoning ordinances.
But late Friday evening, Jellystone Park co-owner Mike Scalf announced that the show will indeed go on – albeit at a different location. Scalf says that the display will move to the James E. Ward Agricultural Center at the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, about thirty miles east of Nashville. The Dancing Lights of Christmas will reportedly reopen next month.
In a news release, Scalf “praised the people of Wilson County for rallying to help keep the holiday display alive, saying, “We have been overwhelmed by the support of this community. They were rooting for us, the little guy, and that support made us want to fight to stay open even more.” Last week, Scalf had implied that his business was being “singled out” by the city of Nashville in its decision to shut down the event.
The announcement is a welcome one for several Middle Tennessee non-profit groups who receive donations from the light show, as well as for the 92% of people polled by WKRN-TV who voted in favor of the Dancing Lights of Christmas returning in 2017.
To get to this year’s Dancing Lights of Christmas show from Nashville, follow Highway 70 east into Lebanon to the fairgrounds just past Tennessee Boulevard (or take I-40 east, exit Highway 70, and go north for about a mile). Last year, over 45,000 carloads of people visited Jellystone Park during the event. Scalf said, “We pride ourselves on being a fun, family tradition, and we are thrilled that our fans will get to experience this tradition again this year.”
(By the way, if you want your home to be the site of its own dazzling Christmas lights display give Platinum Holiday Lighting a call at 615-788-0085 or fill out this form today.)
All images courtesy of The DancingLightsOfChristmas.com.
