Five shows were scheduled for three days. When by mid-November those shows were sold out, Gilmore added a second weekend of five shows. When those were gone, he added the weekdays between the weekends. Every performance sold out. The rest, as they say, is history. The Carolina Opry has remained the most attended and most loved Christmas Special in the Southeast.

The Carolina Opry Christmas Special offers an unparalleled celebration of America's most loved holiday, a heart-warming, funny, and dazzling family tradition that just gets better and better. Now in its 16th year, the Christmas Special (which has been featured on NBC and in USA Today) combines the traditional music of the season with Yuletide comedy for an evening of holiday entertainment you'll long remember. Performed November and December by a cast of 34, in the palatial 2,200-seat Carolina Opry theater.

While The Carolina Opry breaks new ground each Christmas, there are some things that audiences count on enjoying year after year. Among these is Gilmore's 'Beautiful Star of Bethlehem', which has been a fixture in the show since 1986, and 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', a full-cast free-for-all which features Bogie acting out all the parts for twelve consecutive verses. And never to be forgotten is the emotional impact of the shows finale: Rita Gumm performing 'He's Alive'.

Featured on NBC and in USA Today:

'It's music, it's laughter, it's dance - it's Christmas!'

'Fabulous costuming and dazzling lighting'.

This show is seasonal and only operates from November through to early January.