Lone Star Lights Christmas Event

01 September 2022

Since 2002, Carolina Creek has rallied behind the mission of helping people experience and know the love of Jesus. That mission has been embodied through summer camps, retreats, winter weekends, family camps, and many, many other ways that have allowed the team at Carolina Creek to serve guests with a mission-focused heart. 

In 2018, the idea was born to explore what it might look like for Carolina Creek to create an experience around Christmas that invited people to take part in that same mission. Since then, a small team has invested hundreds of hours investigating what makes Christmas events special. Traveling across the country exploring experiences that have earned the merit of “Best” Christmas experiences, taking copious notes, interviewing the staff and creators of these events and networking with vendors who provide the supplies for these events, a thorough strategy had been developed.

In February of 2022, the Carolina Creek board of directors voted unanimously to “green light” (no pun intended) Lone Star Lights for the 2022 Christmas Season. From that moment, the race was on. Lone Star Lights will open its inaugural season with a showcase of touchpoints that add up to a spectacular Christmas Experience unmatched by anyone, anywhere.

The park will offer 8 different thematic zones that play host to a number of interactive activities and immersive light displays. Over one million lights will cover 17 acres of the park, serving as the backdrop and the focal point to beautifully crafted installations.

Walking into the Welcome area, you’re greeted with fresh, live trees available to meander through and even take home! The sound of live carolers will usher you though the gates and into Winter Wonderland, a snow-filled land with over half a million pounds of snow, the Wonderland Harbor installation over the water, and a magical corridor welcoming you into the heart of the park. 

Lone Star Ranch is home to the Heritage Tree, a custom 45 foot tall christmas tree that holds the names of those who have worked tirelessly and given generously to make Lone Star Lights a reality. Mosey on over to the Chuck Wagon cafe for a bite to eat, then catch a ride out at the stables on horseback. Stop by the barn to witness first hand the tradesmen at work forging steel, silver and other materials. 

O Little Town gives you an immersive stroll through old world Bethlehem as you encounter over 40 goats, pigs, chickens and other livestock in the petting farm, a classic playground where kids can be kids and a unique marketplace full of local vendors. You may even cross paths with a local Bethlehem resident who invites you to consider what it was like back then.

Adjacent to O Little Town, you’ll find the Reason for the Season- an intentionally crafted nativity experience that invites you to view the manger from 360 degrees and recount the night of Jesus’ birth. Make your way over to the Vertical Cathedral, a 35 foot tall tower that surrounds you with thousands of sparkling lights as you look up to find the Christmas Star. Round out your path through the prayer arbors as you read, and if you’d like, leave your own prayer request for others to join you in prayer. 

The Fractal Forest is a unique blend of the serene environment of nature mixed with the vibrant colors and shapes that light creates as it travels through a prism. Home to our Kaleidoscope Stage, this performance venue hosts community talent to showcase their artist within. Walking through the meadow, you’ll discover giant mushrooms, elegant butterflies, weeping willows and more of this eclectic celebration of nature. Don’t miss Pixel Grove, an immersive kinnesti display in the canopy of the trees just across from Prismatic Coffee- our local coffee shop with live music and a place to enjoy your fresh latte. 

Gingerbread Square invites the young and the young at heart to explore the bustling town square where the smell of gingerbread fills the air. Santa is busy in his workshop where you can stop by and say hello, go across the square to the toymaker’s workshop and build your own toy, bounce around the gingerbread house, lay your eyes on the enormous Gingerbread creation that the local bakers are crafting, and you may even come across one of Santa’s reindeer and have a chat with them. Gingerbread Square is also home to the Glacier Express 3000, an escape room where passengers help to melt Jack Frost’s blistering plans to derail the express.

And let’s not forget the Arctic Adventures that are unquestionably a feature of the Lone Star Lights experience… zip across the top of the frigid waterfall as you soar downstream where the water turns to ice and you race the splitting ice to the end. Take your Christmas adventure to new heights out on the aerial course high above the forest floor amidst thousands of twinkling lights. If you’re up for it, take a plunge off the top of the tower on the quick flight as you leap into a rapid decent down to the ground.

Amidst all of this, you’ll find local food vendors who craft carefully selected fare, sure to keep your stomach full as you explore the park.

As if all of this wasn’t spectacular enough, Lone Star Lights will offer a VIP Overnight experience where guests can stay in 12 uniquely themed hotel rooms on site, stay with the family in one of our 12 christmas cabins complete with accommodations for 6, and if you just want to bring the whole gang along, our group cabins can host up to 12 guests in bunk-style lodging. 

Lone Star Lights also is home to a Dinner Theatre, in partnership with the premiere christian-based theatre company, A.D. Players. So come and enjoy a first-class meal of filet mignon or salmon while you enjoy some of the best theatre out there.

We are so incredibly excited for our family, friends and those we’ve yet to meet to experience all that Lone Star Lights has to offer. It has been thousands of hours of thought, prayer and hard, hard work to see this event come to fruition. But make no mistake- this event is not just about hundreds of thousands of lights, theatre, high adventure or food… every element of this experience has been intentionally chosen, crafted and tailored to lend themselves to the mission where families, friends and everyone in between can come together to experience and know the love of Jesus in a new and unique way. This Christmas, a new tradition is born. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating in a way unlike anything you’ve seen.

Wes Armstrong
Lone Star Lights Director