Last Weekend of Rail Trail Lights! - Charlotte On The Cheap

Visit the Rail Trail in Charlotte’s South End, from February 7 to 23, 2025 and experience Rail Trail Lights. The Rail Trail is lit with interactive light installations created by local artist Meredith Connelly and her team of artists.

Make sure to visit before the experience ends!

Fairy Lights by Meredith Connelly. Photo: Rico Marcelo Photography

This year, there’s a theme throughout the installations, Rail Trail: Golden Threads.

Rail Trail: Golden Threads “celebrates the constant and adaptive power of nature as it winds through South End’s history and contemporary rhythm. Each installation honors the deep wisdom woven into natural designs: the way patterns, structures, and resilience in nature guide and inspire us, shaping everything from textile traditions to technological breakthroughs.”

There are nine installations at Rail Trail: Golden Threads.

This is the fifth year that the Rail Trail will be lit. Rail Trail Lights is part of the I Heart Rail Trail initiative, a partnership between the Charlotte Rail Trail, Charlotte Center City Partners and U.S. Bank.

Keep reading for the list of artists and installations, an interactive map, info on parking and more.

Entertainment at Rail Trail Lights

Check out live music at the stage at Atherton Plaza on Thursday through Saturday, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Golden Threads Soundscape

Listen to the Golden Threads Soundscape, by Emily Sage, for an immersive experience as you explore the installations.

Rail Trail 2025 Interactive Map

Consult this map to help you get around! The locations of the installations are approximate. Check back soon for the complete 2025 map!

Rail Trail 2025 Installations

The descriptions, below, are from Southendclt.org/events/i-heart-rail-trail-lights. Also, we’ve included the official addresses, but in some cases, added some more specific locations, because the actual installations are sometimes on the other side of the building. They’re almost all right along the Rail Trail.

Weavers

Atherton Mill Plaza
2000-2140 South Blvd, Charlotte, NC (Near Trolley Barn Fermentory)

Inspired by the writing spider’s intricate zig-zag webs, this installation honors nature’s resilient designs. Celebrating weaving as craft and structure, it reflects how patterns in nature inspire textile and tech innovation, showcasing their enduring influence on modern advancements.

Fairy Ring

Atherton Mill Lawn
2000-2140 South Blvd, Charlotte, NC (Along Tremont Avenue)

Inspired by natural arcs of mushrooms, this installation reflects the myth and lore of fairy rings across cultures. Seen as portals, omens, or spaces for dancing, they evoke mystery and wonder. Step inside to create your own story.

Honey

110 East
110 East Blvd, Charlotte, NC
On Camden Road, north of East Blvd

Symbolizing community, wisdom, and abundance, honeycombs reflect the structure of a bee’s world and their vital role in pollination. Inspired by their beauty and efficiency, this installation celebrates how nature’s patterns influence sustainable design, robotics, and innovation, blending organic precision with modern creativity.

Cup Nests

Kingston Beds
1728 South Blvd, Charlotte, NC
Camden Road (next to Canopy Cocktails & Garden)

Inspired by native NC birds, this installation honors nature’s adaptability and artistry. Illuminated nests demonstrate how early weavers mirrored birds’ techniques, crafting hidden shelters from twigs and leaves. Look up and explore how organic patterns continue to shape art, technology, and design.

Chrysalis

Canopy Cocktails
118 E Kingston Avenue, Charlotte, NC
Camden Road, back patio of Canopy Cocktails

Symbolizing transformation and resilience, this installation invites contemplation of South End’s evolution from industrial beginnings to a flourishing creative community. It reflects the layers of history shaping our environment and serves as a reminder of the potential for renewal just below the surface.

Scales

Kingston Connection
108 E Kingston Avenue, Charlotte, NC
Along Rail Trail, where Kingston Avenue ends

This serpentine sculpture, embedded in the earth, honors nature’s intricate patterns and the transformative symbolism of serpents as agents of change and rebirth. Crafted from sustainable materials mimicking snakeskin, it merges organic design with eco-conscious technology, demonstrating how nature influences advancements in fashion and textiles.

Water

Miller Services Building
100 E Park Avenue, Charlotte, NC
On Rail Trail, south of Park Avenue

This installation of rippling light captures the fluidity and vital essence of water. Gentle waves of illumination highlight its role in sustaining ecosystems, shaping natural landscapes, and inspiring creative processes, encouraging deeper awareness of its life-giving properties and cultural significance.

Snails

Park Avenue 115 Condos
115 E Park Avenue, Charlotte, NC
On Rail Trail, north of Park Avenue

The snail’s geometric spiral, one of the world’s oldest symbols, reflects life’s rhythm, birth, and the soul’s evolution across cultures. This installation reimagines its transcendental connectivity through photogrammetry, blending ancient symbolism with nature’s forms in a contemporary context.

Cairns

The Pavillion
222 East Bland Street, Charlotte, NC
On Rail Trail, very close to Bland Station

These illuminated sculptures, inspired by the tradition of stacked stones, symbolize exploration, connection, and a sense of place. Their warm glow honors the journeys of early settlers while reflecting on the impact of settlement on Indigenous communities and their deep connection to the land.

Meredith Connelly and team

Meredith Connelly is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, best known for her grand-scale installations that emphasize the interplay of light, science, and technology. Connelly’s illuminated, site-specific displays connect and submerge viewers into glowing, other worldly environments.

Her team includes:

Nadia Meadows
Autumn Payne
Victoria Singleton
Trish Boyles
Hirmani Brown
Nada Esmaeel
Chloe Kaylor
Junior Gomez
Erin Peacock
Denise Sanchez
Marquia Humphries
McKenzie Canaday
Emily Sage
Kennedy Barrett

Learn about each member of the team.

Entertainment During Rail Trail Lights

Check back soon for information on entertainment.

Getting to Rail Trail Lights

The following light rail stops will get you along this stretch of the Rail Trail:

Bland Street Station to be closest to The Pavilion
East/West Blvd Station to be closest to Atherton

There is some free parking at Atherton, and some paid parking throughout the South End. If you’re driving, use this parking map, and may fortune be on your side.

Here are some garages with paid parking:

100 West Worthington Garage, 100 West Worthington Avenue
1616 Camden Road Garage, 1616 Camden Road
The Design Center, 240 Doggett Street
The Square, 212 W Boulevard

Installations from Past Years’ Rail Trail Lights

The Lighted Cube by Sir Will. Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC
Moment by G. Scott McQueen. Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC
Kaleidoscope by Studio Cultivate. Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC
High Beams by Matthew Steele. Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC
Gold Rush by Studio Dickey. Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC
Cheeks’ Laboratory by Cheeks McGee, the collector of techniques. Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC
Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC
Seating ReArrangements by Ellie Richards. Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC
Light Beams by Luvly Moon. Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC
COVID Confessionals by Rachel Dickey. Picture is from a previous year of Rail Trial Lights. Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC
Fairy Ring by Meredith Connelly. Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC
Threads by Kit Kube. Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC
Up-Next by Oliver Lewis. Photo by Mace Publishing, LLC
Oyster Corner by HNin Nie. Photo by Mace Publishing, LLC
Fractal Energy by Anna G. Dean. Photo by Mace Publishing, LLC
Leave the Lights on by J. Stacy Utley. Photo by Mace Publishing, LLC