GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Tickets are now on sale for the Green Bay Botanical Garden's Garden of Lights display. The display is celebrating it's 25th anniversary this year and will open on November 26th.
“This is an annual holiday tradition that we have here in Northeast Wisconsin,” said Eileen Metzler, the garden's director of events.
It's a tradition that's as old as the garden itself. The garden's director of horticulture first brought the light show to the garden the same year that it opened. The display features over 325,000 LED lights and the setup takes about two months from start to finish.
“Starting at the end of September we start setting up the light display," Metzler said. "All the way right until right before the WPS Garden of Lights opens on November 26th we’re still setting up that last week.”
From a 60-foot walk-through caterpillar to a 45-foot tree complete with a 5-foot 18-point star, it’s a community effort to get the display up and running each year. Metzler says anywhere from 5 to 25 volunteers a day come to the garden to help set up the light show.
She estimates the display attracts anywhere from 40,000 to 75,000 visitors each year. This year, the garden with have several COVID protocols in place to avoid large crowds. There will be dated and timed tickets which must be purchased in advance, face coverings are strongly recommended inside garden buildings, and social distancing will be enforced. The garden will also bring back photos with Santa this year.
Metzler says the Garden of Lights has become a staple of the holiday season in Northeast Wisconsin and one of the most exciting times of the year for the botanical garden.
“I think the thing that we enjoy here at Green Bay Botanical Garden as well as our volunteers and community is just an opportunity for families to come out and create memories," Metzler said. "It’s so wonderful to see families coming together and just enjoying nature and walking outside and the light show.”
The Garden of Lights will be open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays before Christmas Eve and again from December 26th to January 1st. The Green Bay Botanical Garden is still looking for volunteers to help set up and oversee the display. Those interested in volunteering can visit gbbg.org.
