Gift of Lights Opens Thanksgiving Night
The ninth annual Gift of Lights presented by Eastern Propane & Oil is bigger and better and will support the local community Thanksgiving night through January 5, 2020, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
LOUDON, N.H. – With the holidays fast approaching, New Hampshire Motor Speedway is getting into the spirit by trading in the checkered flags for 2.5 million twinkly lights during the Gift of Lights presented by Eastern Propane & Oil. The ninth annual event spreads holiday cheer for 35 days with fundraising for the local community from Thursday, November 28 – Sunday, January 5 (full schedule available here).
This year, the 2.5-mile drive-thru light show is bigger and better with 520 displays and 80 different scenes opening at 4 p.m. daily including Thanksgiving and Christmas. The out of car experience includes the s’mores pit and $5 pictures with Santa Claus on Fridays and Saturdays through December 21.
Over 650 hours went into setting up this year’s show including the new Light Co. display with construction working elves, a cowboy Christmas, race cars, a military display plus the popular 12 Days of Christmas and the fan-favorite Tunnel of Lights, 130-foot long infield entrance and exit tunnels made up of over 25,000 lights.
“The holidays are all about traditions, spending time with family and helping those who are less fortunate,” said David McGrath, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “There’s no better way to do all of that than with a visit to the Gift of Lights. We love to see the community come together to help our neighbors while enjoying a festive night out with the family.
Helping the community begins immediately at the front gate. A portion of all admissions proceeds benefit Speedway Children’s Charities, the official charity for New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which has distributed $1.7 million to local non-profits. On December 15, Yule Light Up The Night, a 2.1-mile fun run or walk with Millennium Running, will kick off at 4:30 p.m. and will also support SCC while giving visitors a unique view of the light show (Gift of Lights has a delayed opening).
For a $2 discount, visitors can bring three or more non-perishable canned goods for donation to the Loudon Food Pantry. Since the Gift of Lights first started in 2011, food and monetary donations have allowed New Hampshire Motor Speedway to donate more than 93,000 pounds of food providing more than 88,000 meals to locals during the holiday and winter months.
The Loudon Firefighters Association will fundraise by hosting the s’mores pit on Friday and Saturday nights through December 21. Over the last two years, nearly $6,500 was raised for their off-road utility vehicle fund for the purchase of a UTV for wildland firefighting efforts, off-road rescues, and searches for missing individuals in town.
Coca-Cola night is December 15, after the conclusion of Yule Light Up The Night, and will include the iconic Coca-Cola Santa and caravan. Theme nights allow visitors to get into the holiday spirit and save $2 off admissions at the gate by dressing up for Pajama Night (December 4), Military Night (December 11) and Ugly Sweater Night (December 18).
Admission is $25 per car. The Gift of Lights will be closed on December 2, 3, 9 and 10. Please visit www.NHMS.com/GiftOfLights for event details. A PDF version of the schedule is available: https://www.NHMS.com/
For ticket information for all events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, including the November 28, 2019-January 5, 2020 Gift of Lights presented by Eastern Propane & Oil, the June 13-20, 2020 Motorcycle Week at NHMS, the July 17-19, 2020 Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 race weekend and the September 11-12, 2020 Full Throttle Fall Weekend visit the speedway website at NHMS.com or call Fan Relations at (603) 783-4931.
Sources: Kristen Lestock/NHMS PR