Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem 5-Week Holiday Festival Begins Nov. 20 at Steelstacks; Tix on Sale

Festive Main Street, Bethlehem. A great place to stay is the historic Hotel Bethlehem.

Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem, the popular holiday marketplace that takes place at PNC Plaza at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is set to return for its 22^nd year, with 100 artisans and vendors, a special 50^th anniversary celebration by Käthe Wohlfahrt and more. Advance discount tickets for the event, which takes place Thurs.-Sun., Nov. 20-Dec. 21, are now on sale at http://www.christmascity.org and 610-332-3378.

New this year is the Christkindlmarkt/Bethlehem: The Christmas City Movie combo ticket, which includes admission to the “Bethlehem: The Christmas City” film, highlighting Bethlehem’s rich history from its founding by the Moravians in 1741 through the present day.

Recognized as one of the best holiday markets in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure, Christkindlmarkt is a delightful family event that features aisles of exquisite, handmade works by the nation’s finest artisans, the heartwarming sounds of live Christmas music, delicious German and Austrian food, and more.

Each weekend, dozens of vendors and artisans come to the marketplace from as far away as North Carolina, Georgia, Indiana and Illinois. Approximately 135 different vendors will attend the market over its five-week run, with nearly 20 percent of them appearing at the event for the first time.

Among the thousands of holiday gift ideas guest will discover are beautiful glass art, handmade jewelry, wheel-thrown pottery, gourmet foods and hand-crafted candles.

One of the highlights of Christkindlmarkt 2014 is the return of Käthe Wohlfahrt, which is celebrating its 50^th Anniversary this year. In honor of the special occasion, the renowned German ornament and nutcracker maker is featuring a handful of special 50^th Anniversary collectibles and ornaments, all available only in very limited quantities.

Other new attractions include the first limited-edition Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem collectible from Rich Connolly, the popular local artist known for his hand-painted chalkware figurines created with century-old antique candy molds; as well as the opportunity for guests to work with the glass artists at the Glassblowing Tent powered by Think Energy to create their own Stamped Glass Bethlehem Star, the perfect souvenir of their visit to the Christmas City.

Families attending Christkindlmarkt will also enjoy the ice sculpting demonstrations, giant playhouses created by area architects, and visits with the market’s authentic German St. Nicholas.  Plus, the popular “Breakfast with St. Nick” is back Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 and 13 at 9 a.m. During the events, which sell out each year, children and their families enjoy a delicious hot breakfast, goodie bag and arts & crafts, as well as a photos with the jolly, old man himself.
Christkindlmarkt hours are Thurs., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving), Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sun., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Advance tickets are $8 for ages 13 and older, $4 for ages 6-12, and admission is free for ages 5 and under. Advance season passes are $16 for ages 13 and older, and $8 for ages 6-12;

Tickets for Breakfast with St. Nick are  $14.95 for ages 11 and older; $11.95 for ages 2-10, and $6.95 for ages under 2.

For complete Christkindlmarkt information, as well as tickets and season passes, visit http://www.christmascity.org or call 610-332-3378.

 

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Christmas on the Potomac at Gaylord National Resort

The Gaylord National Resort is the “capital of Christmas” with its “Christmas on the Potomac” festival, featuring nightly fountain shows and a new edition of ICE! © 2013 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

From indoor snowfalls to a 60-foot-tall glass Christmas tree to 12 miles of dazzling lights, every year Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center is transformed into the Washington, D.C. region’s “Capital of Christmas.” The sixth annual Christmas on the Potomac is a 52-day celebration running from November 15 through January 5 at Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland (just eight miles south of Washington, D.C.).

Marvel at the hotel’s largest, award-winning indoor attraction, ICE! featuring a brand-new theme, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Hand-carved from more than two million pounds of colorful ice (all kept at a frigid 9 degrees), Clement Moore’s classic American holiday poem is brought to life in an icy wonderland. The attraction includes beloved scenes such as Ma in her kerchief, Pa in his cap, visions of Sugar Plums, and Saint Nick with his eight reindeer – all hand-carved into life-size ice sculptures. Children and adults alike thrill going down the 20-foot-tall ice slides. New this year: “Christmas in New York City,” bringing to life the iconic sights and sounds of the Big Apple at Christmastime, and featuring the tallest ice sculptures ever created at ICE!

ICE! is open daily and can be accessed at its new location, connected to the resort and entered from inside the hotel’s 19-story atrium. Tickets start at $27 for adults ages 12 and older, $19 for children ages 3 to 11 and free for kids ages 2 and younger.

For the ultimate ICE! experience, overnight guests at the hotel who book the “Christmas on the Potomac” Hotel Package receive unlimited admission to the attraction available at any time during daily operating hours throughout their stay. The package also includes one-night accommodations, a souvenir photo and $100 resort credit that can be used on-site toward dining, seasonal spa treatments, Gingy’s Gingerbread Decorating and additional activities. The package is available for select dates from November 15 through January 5 and starts at $269** for two guests. To make a reservation, call 301-965-4000 or book online at www.ChristmasOnThePotomac.com.

Additional hotel offerings include: Gingy’s Gingerbread Decorating, Brunch with Santa, DreamWorks’ Madagascar Crack’ A Lackin’ Cook-in Character Breakfast, a new Gourmet Holiday Cake Pop Experience, PEEPS & COMPANY Potomac Express Train Rides, Photos with Santa Claus, Tree of Light and Nightly Tree Lighting Show; and DreamWorks Themed Scavenger Hunt and Seasonal Spa Treatments at Reláche Spa

Also, each night, from 5 to 9 pm, there are four free Holiday Fountain Shows and Nightly Indoor Snowfalls. These feature a narration of the classic Christmas story during the Brightest Star Fountain Show, or both modern and classical Christmas carols during the Sounds & Songs of Christmas Show. Each show also features an indoor snowfall within the 72 degree atrium.

Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center is the largest, non-gaming hotel and convention center on the Eastern Coast, located along the banks of the Potomac River in National Harbor, Maryland. Opened in April 2008 and only eight miles from Washington, D.C., the AAA-Four Diamond resort offers 2,000 rooms including 110 suites; a 19-story atrium; 470,000 square-feet of convention space; acclaimed restaurants including Old Hickory Steakhouse; a modern resort spa, Relache Spa and Salon; and Pose Rooftop Lounge.

For additional information on Christmas on the Potomac and its offerings, visit www.ChristmasOnThePotomac.com or call 301-965-4000.

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Ice Carvers from China Create Gaylord National’s ICE! featuring How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

The welcoming portal to ICE! How the Grinch Stole Christmas! at the Gaylord National Resort in Washington DC © 2010 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com.

You can easily imagine what it’s like for the elves at the North Pole when you peak inside the massive tents where 40 artisans from Harbin, China are at work in a 9-degree environment, creating all-new interactive ice sculpture world, “ICE! featuring How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” on view at Gaylord National Resort just outside Washington D.C. from Nov. 18, 2010 through Jan.  9, 2011.

Working with 5,000, 400-pound blocks of colored ice, custom manufactured at an Ohio plant and shipped to the 15,000-square foot structure, over a six-week period the artisans create 10 life-sized scenes straight out of the pages of the original storybook, all sculpted into full-color, with amazing detail that bring the Grinch story about how he learns the true meaning of Christmas into three-dimensions.

Chinese ice carvers work to create ICE! How the Grinch Stole Christmas! at the Gaylord National Resort in Washington DC © 2010 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com.

The climax is a room with four two-story slides, entirely created of ice, which adults and children alike will delight in sliding down.

I watched as they worked – some with chain saws, some with chisels, and some with fine tools – the designs laid out in a 250-page book. When they are done, they will have craeted these famous scenes: The Grich’s frozen lair Christmas Eve in Who-ville; The Grinch creating his “ramshackle” sleigh, complete with “reindeer” Max; Mount Crumpit – where visitors can climb to the mountaintop and zip down ice slides to Who-ville; The Grinch stealing Christmas from the Who houses; and Christmas morning in Who-ville and the famous Roast-Beast Feast!

A work in progress: Chinese ice carvers work to create 10 life-sized scenes from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, this year's ICE! event at the Gaylord National Resort © 2010 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com.

Some of the sculptures are illuminated internally by some of the exhibit’s specially designed LED tube lights, evoking the ice lanters of old Others are engineered to support thousands of visitors over the exhibit’s 50-day lifespan, such as the ice bridge in the snow forest, the towering Christmas Castle ice slides and the full-sized ice horse and sleigh.

A sneak peak at ICE! How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which will be on view at the Gaylord National Resort during its "Christmas on the Potomac" festival © 2010 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com.

A few of the artisans remain behind in order to touch up their sculptures nightly – a spritz of water here, and chisel there.

A master ice carver from Harbin, China, works on the Nativity scene in crystal clear ice that concludes ICE! at the Gaylord National Resort © 2010 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com.

ICE! visitors will also enjoy:

• “The Art of Seuss” Exhibit – a renowned, museum-quality exhibit that features artifacts and memorabilia celebrating the art of Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Geisel.  Highlights include lithographs, serigraphs and sculptures reproduced from Geisel’s original drawings and paintings. (Included with ICE! admission)
• “From Harbin to WHO-ville” Display – learn about the making of ICE! and the artists who traveled halfway around the world – from Harbin, China – to create our amazing ICE! attraction. (Included with ICE! admission)
• Meet the Grinch – in this special experience, visitors can meet the hairy, green guy himself and even pose for a photo with him! (Additional purchase required)

Some 185,000 people visited ICE! last year – 8,000 people a day – and more are expected this year.

All four of the Gaylord Resorts have ICE! but they all have different shows – in Nashville, Gaylord Opryland’s ICE! event is themed Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town®; the theme for the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando ICE! event is Twas the Night Before Christmas,and the Gaylord Texas Resort, in Dallas, has A Charlie Brown Christmas. And while there are other ICE! events in the world, these are the only ones in North America.

ICE! is open daily (hours vary), and is priced at $24-29/Adults, $13-18 for Children 4m $18-23 for Seniors (ages 62+), $21/Military Adults  and $13/Military Children. Tickets should be purchased in advance (since many popular days sell out) and can be purchased  online at www.wefrozethegrinch.com; via phone at 301-965-4000; at the Gaylord Concierge Desk (Hotel Lobby) or ICE! Box Office (inside attraction).

But why not make it a real holiday, and stay over?

The Gaylord National is offering value packages for the Christmas Holidays which incorporate a visit to ICE!

The “Christmas Memories” Package provides for one night deluxe room accommodations, one ticket to ICE! and a Souvenir ICE! photo (one per room), daily self-parking and resort fee (a $40 value), for $99 per person, double occupancy (extra adult and child rates are available) The package is available for select dates between November 2010 through January 2011.

The “Grandparent Getaway” Package (because there is no better time than the holidays for grandparents to create lasting memories with their grandchildren),  provides two nights deluxe room accommodations at Gaylord National Resort, one ticket to ICE! and a Souvenir ICE! photo (one photo per room), one ticket to Breakfast with The Grinch, daily self-parking and resort fee for $203 per person, double (with extra adult and child rates available).

There are loads of other activities and entertainment that are all part of the Christmas On the Potomac festivities, and most are open to both resort guests and day visitors.

For more information, to purchase tickets, or make dining reservations, visit www.ChristmasOnThePotomac.com; call 301-965-4000 or 866-9-GRINCH (866-947-4624).

See more about Gaylord National’s “Christmas On the Potomac” at www.examiner.com/eclectic-traveler-in-long-island/karen-rubin.

–Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate

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