Events & Exhibits
Calendar: Event Details
Event Dates |
|---|
| November 27; 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm |
| November 28; 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm |
| November 29; 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm |
View the Calendar for more dates and events 
Event Sponsors:
GardenFest of Lights 2009
November 27, 2009 - January 11, 2010
Details:
Nightly 5 - 10 p.m. (except December 24 & 25)
TICKET INFORMATION
From now til the end of GardenFest, mention the BOGO offer and when you buy a GardenFest ticket, you get the second admission ticket (at equal or lesser value) FREE
- General Admission: $10 adults; $9 seniors age 55+; $6 children (ages 3 - 12); free for children under age 3. Garden Members: $5 adults; $4 child on membership (ages 3 - 18); FREE for Members on Member Nights. We have one remaining member night on Monday, January 11. Learn more.
- Purchase GardenFest tickets 1) at admissions desks in the Visitors Center (daily 9 a.m. - 10 p.m. til Jan. 11; closed Dec. 24 & 25); 2) online; or 3) by calling 1-800-594-TIXX. Membership information required for member pricing. Tickets ordered online and by phone incur nominal service charge with pick up at "Will Call" in the Visitors Center.
GARDENFEST OVERVIEW
A holiday tradition! The walk-through show features more than a half million lights arranged in botanical themes throughout the Garden. Visitors can also marvel at displays in the Garden’s
TOP 3 TIPS TO HELP PLAN YOUR VISIT
1. Come early! Purchase GardenFest tickets and enter as early as 4 p.m. (Please be aware the model trains don't start running til 5 p.m.)
2. Dress warmly and wear good walking shoes. The forecast is calling for chilly temps and this is a walk-through show.
3. Bring strollers and wheelchairs if you need them. We have some, but they are only on a first-come, first-serve basis.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS; TIPS TO HELP YOU PLAN YOUR VISIT; DISCOUNTS AND MORE
LIGHTS & DISPLAYS
"Wings of Wonder" theme, light displays & botanicals; plus more energy-efficient LEDs than ever before!
EVENTS
HISTORY & FACTS
History and Facts about GardenFest (including what it takes to prepare!)
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES!
We enjoy your comments and photos and they may help others plan their visits. Share through our Guest Photos and Comments page or Connect With Us Online page with Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and more (there's even a great YouTube video about GardenFest!) We're encouraging guests to tweet about GardenFest using #GardenFest.
SHOPPING
Great shopping in the Garden Shop!
DINING
Click here to see all of our Holiday Dining options.
GARDEN CAFE
Open during GardenFest nightly from 5 - 9 p.m. (Closed Dec. 24 & 25). See menu and pricing.
TEA HOUSE GARDENFEST DINNERS
PLEASE NOTE: HOLIDAY DINNERS IN THE TEA HOUSE ENDED JAN. 2
Nov. 27 - Jan. 2 (Closed Dec. 24 & 25)
5 - 9 p.m.
For groups of up to 12 people. GardenFest admission is required.
Enjoy an elegant dinner overlooking the lights. Delicious gourmet fare with an outstanding wine selection. Reservations strongly suggested: (804) 262-9887, ext. 329. A credit card is required to secure reservation. See menu and pricing.
GARDENFEST DINNERS (Group Dining 15+)
Nov. 29 - Jan. 11
Due to high demand, now offering seatings Sunday - Thursday!
Robins Room Seatings, 5:30 & 7:30 PM
Delightful holiday dining option for groups of 15 people or more. Reservations required, (804) 262-9887, ext. 224 or 345. Learn more.
GARDENFEST DINNERS WITH SANTA (Group Dining 15+)
Dec. 20, 21 & 22
Robins Room Seatings, 5:30 PM
New this year, this family friendly dining option is open for groups of 15 people or more. Reservations required, (804) 262-9887, ext. 224 or 345. Learn more.
PLEASE NOTE: SANTA BRUNCHES ARE SOLD OUT. Santa Brunches are the Saturdays in December before Christmas. Reservations for Santa Brunches start on October 1 each year.
The Tea House is typically open daily for lunch 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. but will be closed for lunch on Dec. 5, 12 & 19 (Saturdays) due to other activities.
HOLIDAY PARTIES
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden offers four delightful venues for a private facility rental and a memorable evening of holiday fun during GardenFest.
Click here for a printer-friendly holiday party pdf.
To learn more about a facility rental, call an Event Coordinator at (804) 262-9887, ext. 224 or 345, or email Facility Rental.
GROUP VISITS
EARLY BIRD TOURS
Reserve a time for your private group of 15 to 40 people and enjoy an early-evening walk through GardenFest of Lights with a knowledgeable Garden Guide. Admire diverse botanical decorations hand crafted on-site. Explore enchanting holiday, train and orchid exhibitions. You will already be on-site to enjoy the magical lights as darkness falls. The Early Bird Tour begins at 4:30 pm in the Robins Visitors Center and must be reserved in advance.
To learn more about the Early Bird Tour of GardenFest of Lights, contact the registrar at (804) 262-9887, ext. 322, or email the Registrar.
GardenFest of Lights is presented by: Dominion
Supporting sponsors:Altria Group Inc. and McGuireWoods
THIS YEAR'S THEME AND DISPLAYS
This year's theme "Wings of Wonder (WOW!)" features lights and decorations related to butterflies, dragonflies, bees and other insects.
Central Garden
Forms include a giant coneflower made of lights stretching across the Sunken Garden in front of the Conservatory. Each petal of the coneflower will be 20 feet in length and it will be surrounded by butterfly and bee forms.
Conservatory
The Display Wing will feature playful bugs and spiders inspired by the Little Miss Spider children's book series.
The Dome House will have forms of giant bears with beehives and bee ornaments.
The North Wing will house the massive 19-foot tall holiday tree bejeweled in silver and gold ornaments, It is also the location for a train display with a frozen landscape of crystal-encrusted hand-crafted cars winding through a glistening miniature village of snow- and ice-coverd cottages.
Children’s Garden
A bonfire with the chance to make s’mores (S’more “fixings” available for purchase in the Children’s Garden).
Mazes of lights!
Spectacular views of the lights from the CWDKid’s Tree House 13 feet above the ground.
Hot drinks, cookies and more available for purchase.
USE OF LED LIGHTS
This year we're using more LEDs than ever before. This year's show has about 18 - 20 miles of LED lights (~45,000 linear feet).
In 2007, Garden staff began replacing GardenFest lights with LEDs. LED holiday lights are slightly more expensive than incandescent, yet pay for themselves in the first year through electricity savings (13 - 17 cents to light a holiday tree per season with LEDs compared to $6 - $10 for incandescents).
To help determining the amount of energy and money that can be saved by switching to LED holiday lights, visit Dominion's web page www.dom.com and search for keywords "holiday calculator."
HISTORY & FACTS
The first GardenFest was 1995; Dominion became a sponsor in 1998 and it has grown ever since. (Attendance in 1998 was 8,499; the show ran Dec. 10 - 30.) Dominion is presenting sponsor of GardenFest of Lights.
ATTENDANCE
In 2008, 59,379 people attended GardenFest of Lights.
LIGHTS PREPARATION
The show uses more than half a million lights (~600,000)
GardenFest Light displays are set up by Operations staff with some volunteer support. GardenFest of Lights is designed by Garden staff.
Approximately 1/5 of all scheduled annual hours for the Garden’s small operations staff (8 FT with a couple seasonal workers) goes into the 12-week outdoor set-up and 6-8 week breakdown/storage of show.
GardenFest is a year-round project. Executive director Frank Robinson and Garden Shop staff go to market in January and put in their orders – so we establish a theme early.
With some of the lights (for instance, groundcover lights) we do have to wait for leaves to come down and be cleared.
We start putting up the lights in August (good task when it is really hot outside); after the show we take down lights til the end of February.
There’s a storage basement in the Education and Library Complex – half is botanicals, the other half is lights.
VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers are invaluable to GardenFest – both in preparation for and during the event. Volunteers log more than 1,700 volunteer hours during GardenFest.
Volunteers help out every night of GardenFest. Approximately 22 people volunteer each night; approximately 990 volunteer slots are filled during GardenFest.
BOTANICAL DECORATIONS
Garden staff and volunteers create exquisite hand-made decorations for GardenFest. Volunteers collect items from the Garden throughout the entire year and dry them. Garden staff then fashion them into decorations and the village for the model trains in the Conservatory. (A second train display in the Education and Library Complex is decorated by the Virginia Train Collectors.)
Beautiful ribbons are used with the botanical decorations. One room, the Robins Room in the Visitors Center, uses about 300 yards of ribbon alone.
GARDENFEST EVENTS
Member Nights
Nov. 30, Dec. 1 & 2 & Jan. 11
Free admission for members with historic Bloemendaal House open for viewing (these nights only) & live music (Nov. & Dec. dates only 6 - 8 p.m.) Members may buy up to 4 extra tickets at member pricing (valid that Member Night only). Garden members receive a 15% discount in the Garden Cafe (member nights only).
Merry Mondays
Mondays; Nov. 30, Dec. 7, 14, 21, 28 & Jan. 4 & 11; 5 – 8 p.m.
Garden Keeper leads story time fireside (Monday evenings at 5:30, 6:30 & 7:30 p.m.) with Santa “sightings” in the Conservatory (Monday evenings through Dec. 21). Visitor's receive a free s'more kit to enjoy at the fire pit on Merry Mondays (while supplies last) Presented By Ukrop's.
Musical Thursdays
Thursdays; Dec. 3, 10, 17, 31 & Jan. 7
Acoustic music for GardenFest guests on Thursday evenings.
New Year’s Eve Family Frolic
Thursday, Dec. 31; 2 – 5 p.m.
Family activities with live entertainment by the "Ululating Mummies," crafts, and make-and-take home a noise-maker. The highlight of the event will be the drawing for the 25th Anniversary Silver Subaru. New Year's Eve Family Frolic is free with regular Garden admission; free for members. GardenFest of Lights (5 - 10 p.m.) requires GardenFest admission.
GardenFest for Fidos
Thursday, January 7; 5 – 10 p.m.
Leashed pets allowed at GardenFest of Lights. A $2 suggested pet admission benefits the Richmond SPCA.
