UPDATE, Dec. 29: The Missouri Botanical Garden has extended Garden Glow for another week. See the event’s one million lights nightly through January 9. And yes, the garden will be open on New Year’s Eve. Check out MoBot’s website for more details. Our original story continues below.
For the third year in a row, the Missouri Botanical Garden is pulling out all the stops for its Garden Glow. This year, the display is bigger than ever before. “We are at a million lights,” says spokesperson Katie O’Sullivan. “It’s an additional 400,000 or so from last year.”
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Tower Grove House, the Climatron, and the Shoenberg Fountain all play host to the festivities. There are 28 installations for oohing and aahing, including new spaces like the Lehmann Rose Garden. “We’ve increased the footprint,” says O’Sulivan. “It goes into different spots that were previously not lit.” An expanded Family Fun Area includes a reindeer ring toss and an activity where visitors can decorate “glowmen.” There will be plenty of photo opportunities, from lit-up trees to life-size picture frames for your family snapshot. And the Gardenland Express Holiday Flower and Train show will run during evenings.
The Central Axis will have fire pits and goodies on hand for toasting s’mores. And if you’re planning to work up an appetite that won’t be tamed by elf-sized treats, opt for the Dine and Glow ticket, which comes with featured items from Sassafras Café. There will also be plenty of opportunities for food and drinks throughout the garden.
There’s a lot going on, but the folks at the garden studied how crowds moved in previous years and they’ve done some tweaking to keep things moving. “We’re reversing the path this year,” says O’Sullivan. “The snow globe where people get their pictures taken had a long line. Now, it’ll be one of the first stops.”
A lengthy process with wristbands has been abolished, too. “Now, we scan tickets right at the door,” says O’Sullivan.
Again this year, tickets will have a specific start time to prevent a crush at the end of the night. The first three Wednesdays are Family Nights, with $3 admission for kids.
The Glow runs Wednesday through Sunday evenings, November 21 through December 17, and nightly from December 18 to January 2. It will be closed December 24, 25 and 31.
Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for members, $10 for children, and $6 for member children.
Visit mobot.org for more information.
