Chattanooga Holiday Traditions Fun Facts
Fun Fact Friday this week is all about five of Chattanooga’s Holiday Traditions dating back to the WWII era and up to a brand new tradition started this year.
EPB Holiday Windows
EPB, one of the largest providers of electric power in the United States, is headquartered right here in Chattanooga, Tn. They have been displaying holiday windows Since 1941, just two years after they started providing power to Chattanooga. The planning for the Holiday windows starts in the summertime and for the last few years, they have been working with the STEM school of Chattanooga to create their holiday window displays. EPB’s Lauren Obermark leads the Holiday Windows project and was quoted saying, “EPB is proud to carry on a tradition that began during the World War II era,” The windows are open for public viewing from Thanksgiving day until January 6th.
Rock City Enchanted Garden of Lights
This year marks the 28th Season of this holiday tradition, with this year adding a new realm to the over one million lights at the Enchanted Garden of Lights, the Heart of the Mountain. “This part of the Enchanted Trail from Fat Man’s Squeeze through the Hall of the Mountain King has never been open at night during this event before, and we cannot wait to share it with you! Over the past few years, our team has worked to enhance this area, building on the lore of the Hall of the Mountain King to highlight the handiwork of the trolls who sculpt with stone, glass, and metal to create an amazing experience for our guests.” Doug Chapin, president, and CEO of See Rock City Inc. Tickets are only sold for the Enchanted Garden of Lights online so make sure you buy your tickets ahead of time. The lights are open from November 18th to January 1st.
Ice On The Landing
Ice On The Landing is a temporary ice skating rink set up in the Glenn Miller Gardens at the Choo-Choo complex. Reservations are not needed but you can reserve your skating time if you are planning an evening that needs to keep to a schedule. They use a 200-ton chiller, running constantly throughout the season, to keep the 3 inches of ice frozen on top of the 250 tons of gravel under the ice rink. Ice on the Landing is open Tuesday – Sunday from November 16th – January 29th.
Tennessee Valley Railroad
The Tennessee Valley Railroad offers a collection of “Magical Holiday Train Rides” throughout the Holiday season. The most popular is the North Pole limited Christmas Train, a family tradition since 1999. Other great holiday train rides are Santas Hiwassee Holiday, Christmas Tea, Holiday Christmas Lights Train, and the Christmas Dinner Train. Make sure to Get your tickets because they do sell out rather quickly. The Tennessee Valley Railroad offers these rides throughout December and the schedule can be found on their website.
Christmas With Coie
This year is the first year in the tradition of spending Christmas With Coie while enjoying what local Chattanooga businesses have to offer. The selfie trail may evolve to other things as life and social media change throughout the years, but one thing that will stay the same is the trail showcasing four of my favorite businesses that fit that year’s theme. An important part of building Chattanooga to be a better city both for tourism and locals alike is creating a strong network of locally owned small businesses and making sure that Chattanooga remains our city, not a replica of tourist cities across the country. The Christmas With Coie Selfie Trail goes from December 1st to December 31st with the last week being time to vote for your favorite selfie at each station, leading to the winner of the favorite Christmas selfie for 2022.
