November in the Smokies is when thoughts turn to the winter festivities. While fall colors linger for a while before fading, millions of Christmas lights appear throughout the Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and the area, there’s live music on the street and winter bluegrass indoors, great gift shopping with new wares from our arts & crafts community, and snow tubing on the mountain.
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Venues
Dollywood begins its Christmas program on November 1, as do some of the theaters, such as Dolly Parton’s Stampede and the Hatfield & McCoy Feud), while Country Tonite Theater opens its new program on November 2, and Array Variety Show follows suit on November 4. Magic happens too, on November 6, as the Illusionation magic show begins its Christmas program. And on November 18 the Comedy Barn opens its special Christmas show.
Christmas Lights
Starting up those millions of lights Skyland Ranch in Sevierville lights up on November 1 in its Festival of Lights, with over half a million lights, and Dollywood turns on its special light shows the same evening too.
On November 7, Pigeon Forge fires up 6 million lights across the town with Winterfest in Pigeon Forge, while Gatlinburg and Sevierville turn on their lights on November 8. Take the self-guided driving tour of some of the best displays using the downloadable pdf guides for Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
In Pigeon Forge, special events to match the season include the Wonders of Light Christmas Village in Patriot Park, with dozens of artisan booths featuring seasonal gift items and foods, happening November 7-10 and again twice more through the month. Take the Wonders of Light Walking Trail to immerse in the seasonal spirit and be amazed at the light displays set up along the town’s wonderful Riverwalk Greenway.
Gatlinburg meanwhile starts its festivities with the annual Chili Cook-off on November 7. Lots of different flavors to try, and live music in 2024 from Montana performers TopHouse Band. Here’s a video of the 2023 event.
For more light shows, visit the Gatlinburg SkyPark for its Lights Over Gatlinburg season starting on November 15. And the unique drive-through light-show experience of Shadrack’s Christmas Wonderland opens for the season on November 15 also. Anakeesta opens its special Enchanted Christmas season this same day too. And The Island begins its Winterfest season on November 16 with millions of lights and all kinds of entertainment, food and shopping to explore.
Music
The annual Bluegrass Christmas in the Smokies Music Festival, at the Gatlinburg Convention Center, November 14-16. As always, the show will be hosted by Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, and Lorraine brings in a ton of top bands from across the country for our musical pleasure in this three-day indoor festival. And to help out with parking, the free trolley that runs around Gatlinburg stops right at the festival door.
Outside on Parkway starting on November 29, the players and minstrels of the popular Tunes and Tales come out on weekend evenings with their street theater, music and stories to tell.
Shopping
Shopping in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge is always great, and handmade, artisanal items are a special feature of the area. On November 16, the Heritage Center in nearby Townsend holds its annual Holiday Handcrafters Fair for the day, featuring its own greatly talented community of artisans.
Then on November 26, the Great Smoky Thanksgiving Arts & Crafts Show opens, with hundreds of local artisans presenting their wares for some last-minute gift ideas, with world-class, heirloom-quality handmade art and craft works. Held again at the Gatlinburg Convention Center, this short show spans the Thanksgiving holiday into December, when it switches to Christmas wares.
Snow Tubing
Up at the ski area, it’s snow time. Ober Mountain opens its Snow Tubing on November 16. The resort tries every year to give us the tubing run by Thanksgiving, and with the state of the art snowmaking equipment they have up there, they can usually deliver. This is immensely popular so be sure to reserve a spot – online booking is open. The ski resort is also holding a Thanksgiving Feast on that special day, along with many other restaurants and venues throughout the area of course.
Check our Gatlinburg cabins, Pigeon Forge cabins and our Wears Valley cabins for your best place to stay in the Smokies.
