Dixie Stampede: Christmas fun for all

Tom O'Dare

During most of the year, customers of the Dixie Stampede in Myrtle Beach enjoy a huge feast while good-naturedly reliving the competition of the Civil War.
But come November, the arena is magically transformed into a Christmas wonderland. The competition is still there but now it’s between the North Pole and the South Pole. The Blue and the Gray become the Green and the Red.
With one of the most unique Christmas shows in the Myrtle Beach area, the Dixie Stampede is celebrating 17 years of food, fun, music and some of the finest horsemanship displays you’ll find anywhere.
For customers who have visited the Stampede over the last almost two decades, the show still features the delectable meal, sans silverware, outstanding feats on horseback and the competition between the visitors from the North and South.
But the Christmas show offers much more. With dazzling lighting and special effects, the arena is transformed into one of the most exciting and memorable venues to be found anywhere. It evens snows several times during the evening.
The show begins with a down-home, old fashioned Christmas scene featuring a family of yesteryear enjoying the holiday season via horse and carriage, while a host of singers provide traditional Christmas carols.
Then from the ceiling, an ice skating floor descends with a couple offering a virtuoso performance on skates to holiday music.
Later, a Nativity scene descends from above amid a parade of live animals including sheep and Three Wise Men riding camels.
The usual fun competitions featuring audience members and also the horse riders still are a major part of the presentation.
Of course, no Christmas show is complete without ol’ St. Nick who makes a grand appearance in the back of a horse-drawn wagon.
If you’ve never been to the Dixie Stampede, or you’ve enjoyed the fun there many times, anyone looking for the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit should make it a point to visit between now and Christmas.