GWCCA is the Authority on Last-Minute Gift Ideas for Holiday Shoppers

ATLANTA – (Dec. 20, 2016) With holiday shopping entering the frenzied home stretch for 2016, we’ve got you covered here at the Georgia World Congress Center Authority with distinctive and exciting last-minute gift options from the No. 1 convention, sports and entertainment destination in the world.

And the best part – all of these items are available online.

HOLIDAY CHEER

Give the gift of holiday merriment as Centennial Olympic Park hosts two winter wonderland delights through January.

• The annual Ice Rink is a family-friendly affair underneath a big-top tent, featuring 90-minute skating sessions, and on-site concession stand with carnival fare such as funnel cakes, fried PB&J, and corndogs, as well as holiday treats including hot chocolate and apple cider. The rink is open through Jan. 8, but hours vary, so check www.gwcca.org/ice-rink-holiday-in-lights/ for details. Advance tickets are $12 at freshtix.com.
• The inaugural Chinese Lantern Festival in South Park, including the Southern Company Amphitheater, is illuminated nightly with 25 decorative hand-crafted lanterns, a three-story pagoda and a 200-foot-long Chinese dragon, along with craftsmen stationed at booths creating keepsake items, as well as nightly entertainment including dancers, theater productions and acrobats. Chinese cuisine is also available for purchase. The festival runs 6-10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 6-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Jan. 15. Advance tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for ages 4-12 available at freshtix.com.
  You can save by purchasing combined tickets to the Ice Rink and Chinese Lantern Festival, which are $21 in advance at freshtix.com.

MAKE IT PERSONAL
Did you miss out on the original Adopt-A-Brick program surrounding the 1996 Summer Olympics? Or maybe you’ve experienced significant life events since then that you’d like to honor? Take heart as you can once again mark your celebratory milestones – birthdays, new arrivals, nuptials, anniversaries, graduations, promotions – with personally-inscribed bricks at Centennial Olympic Park. The relaunched Adopt-A-Brick program is offered for a limited time and the commemorative bricks will be used to make a new pedestrian plaza in the Park, which is undergoing a series of upgrades.

• There are two brick options: 4-inch-by-8-inch bricks (two lines of text) for $65; and 8-inch-by-8-inch slabs (four lines of text) for $125.
• To order, and for more details and options, go to https://brickorder.com/olympicpark/index.html
  or call 1-844-496-2742.

GRIDIRON ACTION

Time is running out to catch football fever at the Georgia Dome, which will be replaced by Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017.

• The Peach Bowl, which is also a semi-final of the College Football Playoff, featuring Alabama vs. Washington on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31) at the Dome, is sold out of individual tickets but tickets remain for the kid-friendly Fan Fest at the Georgia World Congress Center’s Building C from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on game day. It’s basically a big pep rally, with marching bands, cheerleaders, interactive games, food and beverages, team merchandise, and both teams hold their official pre-game walks during the rally. Tickets are $15 without a game ticket, $10 with, available at www.xorbia.com.
•  Tickets remain for the Atlanta Falcons’ regular season swan song at the Dome on New Year’s Day (Jan. 1), and fittingly it’s against the arch-rival New Orleans Saints. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 1 and tickets are available via www.ticketmaster.com.

MUSIC MANIA
 Get a jump on the Spring 2017 music festival scene with the gift of live music at Centennial Olympic Park.

• SweetWater 420 Festival merges the worlds of craft beer, jam bands and environmental awareness April 21-23 at the Park, featuring headliners Widespread Panic, Phish frontman Trey Anastasio, Ween, Slightly Stoopid, and Dirty Heads, with 40-plus more acts. The best deal is a three-day pass for $123, available via Ticketfly.com.
• One of the Southeast’s most eclectic indie rock gatherings, Shaky Knees Music Festival, returns May 12-14 at Centennial Olympic Park. Whereas the lineup – featuring more than 60 acts – will be revealed in January, advance three-day general admission wristbands are already on sale for $185 on www.shakykneesfestival.com.

MOTOR SPORTS

Bruising and cruising monster trucks and off-road motorcycle racing make their final laps at the Georgia Dome in 2017, and are sure to please the adrenaline junkies – young and old – on your gift list.

• The first of two Monster Jam monster truck events is set for Jan. 14 at the Georgia Dome, with an encore scheduled for March 4. Tickets start at $19, available at Ticketmaster.com.
• For fans of two-wheels, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, kicks up dirt at the Dome on Feb. 25 and tickets start at $27, also available from Ticketmaster.

About the GWCCA
Located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA) now includes Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the 3.9 million- square-foot convention center, the 71,250-seat Georgia Dome, and 21-acre Centennial Olympic Park. Additionally, GWCCA manages operations of the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center. These public facilities represent the largest combined convention, sports, and entertainment destination in the world.