The annual drive through the High Point University (HPU) campus to see the spectacular Christmas sights and hear the holiday sounds was as popular as ever.
This year, nearly 30,000 people enjoyed the leisurely drive through the Christmas-adorned campus during the university’s annual Christmas Drive Celebration.
The free event was held over 10 consecutive nights, from Monday, Dec. 18 to Wednesday, Dec. 27.
Drivers and passengers enjoyed a show of Christmas light displays on the campus famous worldwide for its various attractions and student benefits – and, as they passed through, many tuned their car radios to 89.7 FM to listen to Christmas carols performed by students and faculty from HPU’s Department of Music
HPU President Nido Qubein, who makes it his business each year to try to spread Christmas joy as far and wide as possible, stated after the 2023 event, “Every year, we look forward to welcoming thousands of families and friends to our campus for the Christmas Drive. This is one of many ways we celebrate the Christmas season and bring people together for joy and fellowship.”
The school also hosts a very popular prayer breakfast each December.
HPU has now put on a dozen of these Christmas Drives in consecutive years.
An expanded, better-than-ever 2023 version featured more than 100,000 Christmas lights, 235 large nutcrackers, a life-size Nativity scene and North Carolina’s tallest Christmas tree – a 70-footer.
Those who drove through the wonderland-like campus also saw a 58-foot Christmas tree on the lawn outside the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center at the end of the route.
As cars exited, they received a special gift that included a Christmas card and information about certain HPU basketball games that fans can attend for free.
