The Grand Opera House’s holiday light show is far exceeding expectations.
Because of huge sales, the light show on the Wilmington Riverfront is adding another six nights to bring in even more people.
Over 4,700 tickets were sold for the show through the end of last week, and the show saw 1,000 cars alone on Saturday.
The Grand’s executive director Mark Fields says he’s overjoyed by the response.
“As we have messaged this to the community we’ve let people know that not only is this something good to do for your family, to celebrate the holidays but it's also a way to help an important Wilmington institution, the Grand Opera House," said Fields. "So you kind of get two for one on the deal.”
He adds the overwhelming support almost certainly means the light show will return next year.
Fields says the goal was never to make a profit off the show, but the excitement surrounding the show is making a difference.
“We think there’s a possibility that this will be able to help the Grand meet its budget obligations until we’re able to do performances again,” said Fields.
The Grand also held its annual Gala event last weekend, with the goal of preserving the tradition of holding the gala without a venue to perform in.
Due to weather conditions, the light show portion had to be rescheduled, but, Fields says, it was overall successful with over 400 households tuning into the live concert on Saturday night.
The six additional light show dates the Grand added are Monday through Wednesday nights in the last two weeks of December. Fields encourages buying tickets in advance, since only so many cars can be accommodated each night.
Tickets can be purchased online at the Grand’s website.
