Enchant, the world’s largest Christmas Light Maze and Market, officially became Arlington’s newest holiday tradition with its opening during Thanksgiving weekend. This month – all of this month – the figurative light will continue to shine on the literal lights beaming from Lot F of Globe Life Park, as Enchant takes the local Christmas scene to a new level.
How much so? Consider these features, which will be part of the Enchant experience from 5 p.m. – 11 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday until Dec. 31:
Millions of Dazzling Lights – Enchant won’t be hard to find off of I-30 – just look for the lights glowing just north of Globe Life Park, and you’ll know you’ve found Enchant.
The Maze – Visitors can experience the largest light maze in the world as they help Santa find his nine-missing reindeer and save Christmas.
VIP Event Lounge – The VIP experience provides exclusive access to Enchant and the world’s largest light maze, along with fine dining with festive foods and sweets from John Coleman, Executive Chef of the Dallas restaurant Savor.
Santa’s Palace – Kids of all ages can visit Santa Claus in his one-of-a-kind golden palace.
Enchant Christmas Market – Here’s where the new local tradition incorporates a time-honored one. Enchant’s market huts feature Texas Christkindl Market Lane and will be home to an elite group of vendors selling all manner of gifts, including home decor, jewelry, gourmet foods, holiday specialty items and more.
Food and Drinks – Enchant has 21 local food trucks lined up to provide snacks, dinner, beverages and sweets.
Skating Pond – Visitors can rent ice skates and glide around a magical pond, making for an excellent date or family experience.
Kid Zone – The name says it all. Parents can sit back, enjoy a beverage and let their children run free in this secure kid-specific play area.
Main Stage – Each night of Enchant will feature live music and entertainment.
In addition to all of this, parking is free, and visitors can find ample space for their vehicles in various Globe Life Park lots.
Enchant is presented by the Vancouver-based Shine Lighting Group, Inc., which introduced light-themed holiday entertainment to local audiences in Canada before teaming with the Texas Rangers to bring the extravaganza to Arlington this winter.
The Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB), through its partnership with the Rangers, became partners with Enchant.
Decima Mullen, senior director of marketing and public relations for the ACVB, says the buzz about the event has grown from the moment Shine Lighting Group and the Rangers finalized the deal to bring Enchant to the city.
“It has been tremendous!” she says. “Overwhelmingly, the response has been positive to Enchant, from all over DFW.”
Mullen notes several factors that make the event an easy sell. “First, the location of Enchant in Arlington is a plus,” she says. “Enchant will bring a magical element to the American Dream City for the holidays. The buzz in DFW is already so strong, and the amazing experience that visitors will have at the newest, biggest Christmas event in North Texas will be the difference – real snow, real ice skating pond, and the world’s largest Christmas light maze!”
Making Texas Christkindl Market a part of Enchant was deemed an ideal way to help tie the past to the present – and to give the historical event a more prominent place in local holiday tradition, Mullen says. “They had already planned on having a very large market in their event, so incorporating Texas Christkindl Market into it as Texas Christkindl Market Lane made sense from all directions we looked at,” she says. “Christkindl Lane makes up about 20 percent of the overall market they had planned. It’s important to remember that change is one thing that is constant in a great city, in order for things to evolve and keep up. Events like our Christkindl Market have to be nimble and open to growth. Incorporating Texas Christkindl Market into Enchant makes it a different experience by making it an even more magical one!”
Mullen says the ACVB compiled over six years of questionnaires, surveys, vendor feedback, guest feedback, social media feedback – and everything pointed to the need to try something different. “By incorporating and partnering our event into theirs, we could expose our smaller market to a larger audience, which is what any event needs to survive,” she says. “So, that’s what we did, and we couldn’t have found greater partners than the Rangers and Enchant group!”
Enchant organizers suggest that visitors plan to allow for at least two hours to take in all the sights and activities – and even more if they want to shop the Market. A ticket to Enchant includes full access to the Christmas light maze, to the Market with 85 unique vendors, to Santa’s Palace, and to entertainment at the music stage. For more: enchantchristmas.com.
