Light the Knights at Truist Field opens Nov. 25 and runs to Jan. 3. For three weeks in a row in early December, it also closes Monday through Wednesday. Those dark weeknights line up closely with the dates the theaters on South Tryon and the Uptown Holiday Market picked. If you live within walking distance of Mint and Tryon, it helps to plan the season week by week.
Two Kickoffs, One at Each End of Tryon
The season starts with two free events eight days apart, and they happen on different stretches of Uptown.
The 13th annual Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC Tree Lighting, presented by Belk, is Tuesday, Nov. 17, at Bank of America Stadium. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. The ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m., the tree lights at 7 p.m., and a festival runs on the concourse from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is free, but you need a mobile ticket, so claim one before you walk over. The event stays at the stadium this year, even with the redesigned McColl Park now open as a public gathering space at Trade and Tryon.
Then, on Wednesday, Nov. 25, the Novant Health Thanksgiving Eve Parade celebrates its 80th year. It steps off at 5:30 p.m. and WCCB airs it live at 6 p.m. It goes on rain or shine. The route covers about a mile of Tryon Street, from 9th Street to Good Samaritan Way. The parade is free. Organizers suggest bringing your own chair and setting up along Tryon between 9th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Reserved VIP seats are sold if you'd rather not claim a curb spot early. The organizer also points to the LYNX Blue Line, the CityLYNX Gold Line and Charlotte B-cycle as ways to get to the route. For anyone living in First or Fourth Ward, walking is probably faster than any of them.
Light the Knights opens that same Wednesday. On Thanksgiving Eve you can watch the parade on North Tryon and still make the first night at the ballpark on South Mint.
The Ballpark Sets the Weekly Rhythm
The 7th annual Light the Knights Festival puts an NHL-size ice rink on the field and a 10-lane, 150-foot snow tubing hill in right field. It also has a choreographed light show set to holiday music and themed walk-throughs such as Christmas Tree Lane and Santa's Workshop. A market of local vendors on the outfield concourse sells baked goods, clothing and gifts for the whole run. Santa is usually there every open day through Christmas, and photos cost nothing beyond admission if you bring your own phone or camera.
Closed dates, as published for the 2026 run:
- Thursday, Nov. 26 (Thanksgiving)
- Monday, Nov. 30 through Wednesday, Dec. 2
- Monday, Dec. 7 through Wednesday, Dec. 9
- Monday, Dec. 14 through Wednesday, Dec. 16
- Thursday, Dec. 24 and Friday, Dec. 25
So for the first three weeks of December, the ballpark is open Thursday through Sunday. Hours change from day to day, so check the Knights' hours and calendar page before you head over.
Skating and tubing tickets are sold in limited numbers. Once a night sells out, the Knights stop selling the activity ticket online and at the box office, and only general admission is left. Tickets can't be used for re-entry, so you can't walk home for dinner and come back.
What Fills the Dark Nights
Put the Uptown venue calendars next to the ballpark's closed dates and most of the gaps are already filled, mostly by stages within a few blocks of Truist Field.
Light the Knights closed | What's on in Uptown that night |
|---|---|
Wed., Dec. 2 | Uptown Holiday Market opens at Legacy Union Plaza, noon to 8 p.m. |
Tue., Dec. 8 | Rocky Mountain High Experience: A John Denver Christmas, Booth Playhouse |
Wed., Dec. 9 | Charlotte Ballet's Nutcracker run continues at Belk Theater |
Mon., Dec. 14 | Tosco Music Holiday Party, Knight Theater |
Dec. 15–16 | Nutcracker run continues at Belk Theater |
The Nutcracker table rows are dates within its listed Dec. 4 to 23 run. Check Blumenthal's show page for the specific performance times.
The Uptown Holiday Market, presented by Coca-Cola Consolidated, returns for its fourth year on the Legacy Union Plaza turf at 620 S. Tryon St. It runs Wednesday, Dec. 2, through Saturday, Dec. 5, with daily activations including a Letters to Santa mailbox, The Jolly Line telephone and a Doors of Christmas advent calendar. Two things are different from 2025. The market moved one day earlier, from last year's Dec. 3 to 6. And Thursday and Friday now close at 8 p.m. instead of 9, so an after-work visit has an hour less than it did last year. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.
Friday, Dec. 4, Is the Night Everything Overlaps
Most weeks the market, the theaters and the ballpark are spread across different nights. Friday, Dec. 4, has all three, and they're all on or close to South Tryon.
That night the Holiday Market is open until 8 p.m. at Legacy Union Plaza. Charlotte Ballet's Nutcracker opens its Dec. 4 to 23 run at Belk Theater, with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra playing live and tickets starting at $35. The Charlotte Symphony's Handel's Messiah starts its Dec. 4 to 6 weekend at Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St. It's a Friday, so Light the Knights is open too. Knight Theater and Legacy Union are two blocks apart on South Tryon, so you can shop at the market and still make a 7:30 curtain without moving the car.
If you'd rather skip the busiest night, the weekend after is calmer and still full. The Symphony's Festival of Lights is Thursday, Dec. 10, and Cirque de Noël runs Dec. 11 to 13, both at Knight Theater. The Three Spirits plays Booth Playhouse the same Dec. 11 to 13 weekend.
The Rest of the Stage Calendar
Uptown's holiday performances start before December and continue past Christmas:
- A Magical Cirque Christmas, Sunday, Nov. 22, Belk Theater
- A Motown Christmas, Friday, Nov. 27, Knight Theater
- Lisa Morman-Patterson Presents: A Christmas Carol, Saturday, Nov. 28, Booth Playhouse
- Jim Brickman: A Christmas Celebration, Thursday, Dec. 3, Booth Playhouse
- Noel & Maria: Christmas in a New Key, Sunday, Dec. 6, Booth Playhouse
- Charlotte Symphony Holiday Pops, Dec. 18 to 20, Knight Theater, with carols and an appearance from Santa
- Holiday Pops Family, Saturday, Dec. 19, Knight Theater, where children under 3 sitting on a caregiver's lap don't need a ticket
- Charlotte Bronze's Holiday Concert, Monday, Dec. 21, Booth Playhouse
- The Hip Hop Nutcracker, Dec. 29 through Jan. 3, Knight Theater
The Hip Hop Nutcracker closes on Jan. 3, the same day as Light the Knights.
The Season Pass Math for Neighbors
People who drive in from the suburbs usually visit Truist Field once. If you live a short walk away, a return trip is easy, and the Knights' seasonal passes are priced for that.
Ticket | Single visit | Season pass | Visits to break even |
|---|---|---|---|
Admission only | $14.37 | $44 | Pass is ahead by the 4th visit |
All activities, with skating and tubing | $44.40 | $134 | Pass is ahead by the 4th visit |
Three single admission tickets cost $43.11, about the price of the $44 pass. Three all-activities tickets cost $133.20, against $134 for the pass. Either way, the fourth visit is where the pass comes out ahead, and the passes are good every day the festival is open. Skating and tubing are only sold together as part of the all-activities ticket, so admission is the only cheaper option. A household that goes for an hour after dinner a few weekends in December, or uses the light show as the route for a regular walk, will reach four visits quickly. A pass can't get you onto a Monday in December, though. Plan those nights around the theaters.
For more seasonal ideas around the region, see our events page or our look at what August felt like in Uptown, when McColl Park at Trade and Tryon first became the neighborhood's center.
At The Sears Group, we like knowing which two blocks of Tryon will be busiest on Dec. 4 and which Mondays the ballpark goes dark. That's the same street-level knowledge we bring to Uptown homes. If you're curious what your condo or home near the stadium district is worth this season, Request a Free Valuation & Consultation and we'll walk you through it.
