NASHVILLE, TENN.—Next year, many healthcare professionals around the South will convene at Gaylord Opryland Resort for a medical meeting. The Nashville-based convention hot-spot is offering holiday deals to families and friends for a year-end travel treat.

 

"Medical meetings are a priority at Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center," said Randy Miller, vice president of sales for Gaylord Opryland. "We have a targeted effort to book them because they produce higher than average ADR, catering opportunities and total outside the room spend in our outlets and attractions such as the General Jackson Showboat. We're fortunate to host numerous medical meetings every year, both large and small."

 

Considered one of USA Today's "10 Great Places to Catch Up with Santa" and The Travel Channel's "Most Christmassy Hotel in the Nation," Gaylord Opryland provides an unparalleled yuletide experience to its guests through A Country Christmas, now entering its 26^th year. It runs through Jan. 2.

 

In addition to showcasing more than 2 million lights, the event provides guest with more than a dozen shows and attractions, including an all-new interactive ice sculpture world, ICE! A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles Schulz, and The Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the Radio City Rockettes, Louise Mandrell's 'Joy to the World' Christmas Dinner and Show, and A Country Christmas on the Cumberland.

 

The colorful, interactive ICE! exhibition tells the story of Charlie Brown and his friends discovering what Christmas is all about. Artisans brought to the resort from Harbin, China—home to the internationally famous Harbin Ice—transformed 2 million pounds of ice into Peanuts characters' sculptures, slides and rooms, from the first scene on the ice-skating pond to the transformation of Charlie Brown's tree. Fans of the 1965-created Charles Schultze comic strip will have another opportunity to indulge their love of Peanuts characters via Breakfast with Charlie Brown in the Garden Conservatory Atrium.

 

The Radio City Rockettes return from the stage in New York City to their home away from home for their eighth season performing a full-scale spectacle featuring dazzling scenery and costumes, dancing teddy bears and a living nativity. Nearly 100 cast and crew produce this evening event, which runs through Dec. 27.

 

County music artist Louise Mandrell made such a hit at the 2008 event with sold-out shows and glowing reviews that she returned this year with her band to entertain with singing and dancing, comedy and drumming at her Joy to the World Christmas and Dinner Show, which runs through Dec. 25. 

 

"I've seen my share of entertainers, but I don't believe I've seen anyone with as much energy and spunk as Louise Mandrell," said Whitney Self of CMT.com. "I'd even say Louise Mandrell gives the Rockettes a run for their money."

 

To complement the event, Gaylord Opryland's award-winning chefs created a menu of hearty comfort food served family style.

 

Few memories will stand out like those created on the General Jackson, as friends and family gather around the table for a holiday lunch served family style in bottomless bowls onboard the famous showboat's midday cruises. After lunch, the real treat begins as Tim Watson and his band put on a Christmas show of holiday songs in a style that entices even the shyest singers to join in. The show runs through Christmas Day.

 

The General Jackson provides a similar dining experience at night. Some of Nashville's most talented performers and musicians produce a heart-warming show imbued with country holiday classics and contemporary songs of the season. It takes place in a glittering two-story, Victorian-style theater and begins with a three-course holiday dinner served family-style. The show runs through Dec. 23.

 

The Four Greatest Nativities cap Gaylord Opryland's signature holiday event. An outdoor nativity on the resort's iconic Magnolia Lawn consists of 50 white statues—some are eight-feet tall—that depict the story of the legendary trip to Bethlehem. A second glistening nativity represents the grand finale of ICE! A 9-degree Fahrenheit room features a larger-than-life scene displayed with special theatrical lighting. All figures were hand-carved from massive blocks of sparkling clear ice. Gaylord Opryland's Delta Atrium gardens is the setting for the third nativity featuring 15-foot tall characters that mimic stained-glass but are actually cloth-like puppets. The fourth display—the world-famous Living Nativity—is performed by the crowd-rousing Radio City Rockettes and cast in the last scene of their show.

 

The holiday season comes after Gaylord Opryland wrapped up a $45 million room re-do, transforming all 2,881 guestrooms and suites into more modern and comfortable getaways, and a $30 million food and beverage upgrade.