Hickory Corners, Mich. – Winter Wonderland at the Gilmore Car Museum is back for its second year, with an expanded drive-through and walk-through nighttime holiday lights experience on the museum’s beautiful 90-acre campus, just outside of Kalamazoo. Tickets are on sale now at GilmoreCarMuseum.org.
Presented by Hagerty, Winter Wonderland is unlike any other holiday lights show attraction you can imagine. Guests can enjoy a driving tour through the lighted grounds, surrounded by festive music and decorations, then head indoors to meet Santa Claus and explore the Festival of Trees throughout galleries filled with hundreds of classic cars.
Josh Russell, Executive Director of the Gilmore Car Museum, reports that the museum staff has been working with nationally-renowned lighting specialists to create exciting new outdoor lighting installations, which include dynamic programming, motion, animation, and sound.
In addition to the twinkling lights and delightful decorations, Winter Wonderland offers a variety of memorable experiences for Gilmore guests to enjoy this winter:
- Gourmet hot chocolate, adult drinks, holiday-themed food & sweets, and holiday gift shopping
- A giant, one-of-a-kind maze of holiday inflatables
- A nostalgic 1960s fresh Christmas tree and wreath lot, complete with vintage Shasta camper trailer
- Dashing Through the Snow family rides through the lights in Ford Model A’s, a Checker Taxi Cab, a ‘63 Cadillac convertible, and several other vintage cars from our collection
- A stop inside Santa’s Garage, the big man’s hot rod workshop, located inside our 1930s Shell Station
- Classic cars from the museum’s collection dramatically displayed inside Gilmore Snow Globes
- Featured outdoor artwork exhibits from legendary automotive illustrators, including Art Fitzpatrick, Van Kaufman, and Jeff Norwell
“The Gilmore Car Museum celebrates both cars and history on an exceptionally beautiful 90-acre campus in the Michigan countryside, so it’s truly the perfect place to host a drive-through and walk-through holiday lights experience for our community,” Russell said.
Upon arriving at the Gilmore Car Museum grounds, guests will be directed to follow winding roadways through the museum’s historic campus to view the thousands of lights within dozens of dazzling themed displays, lighted barns, and vintage-era car dealerships. After your twinkling tour, head inside the museum to explore our Festival of Trees as you make your way through our decorated galleries, take a walk down memory lane through our popular Christmas Through the Decades exhibits, then finish your evening by visiting with Santa and enjoying special holiday treats & beverages.
“This spectacular Christmas and holiday lights show will bring our Michigan Winter Wonderland to life, and create lasting holiday memories for our guests in the museum, in their family car, or perhaps taking a ride through the lights in one of our classic automobiles,” added Russell.”
Winter Wonderland at the Gilmore Car Museum will run throughout the holiday season, on select nights from Friday, November 25, 2022 through Friday, December 30th, 2022.
- Open weekly Thursday through Sunday from 5pm – 9pm ET
- Vehicle entry gates close one hour before end of night
- Tickets are now available for purchase at GilmoreCarMuseum.org
- Tickets are sold per person, and include access to the museum during that same evening: Adults 18+: $20 at door/ $17.50 online in advance, Children ages 5-17: $12 at door/ $9.50 online in advance, Children ages 4 & under: FREE
- Dashing Through the Snow family rides in vintage cars (up to 4 guests) are FREE with donations highly encouraged, first come first served
For questions or more information, visit www.GilmoreCarMuseum.org, call (269) 671-5089 or email [email protected].
About Gilmore Car Museum – The world-renowned Gilmore Car Museum – North America’s largest auto museum with more than 400 vehicles on display — is located midway between Chicago and Detroit, just 20 minutes north of Kalamazoo, or 45 minutes south of Grand Rapids. The museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, whose mission is to tell the history of America through the automobile. Learn more at GilmoreCarMuseum.org
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