A year-round project If You Go. The lights turn on at 12:00 p.m. daily but are best seen when the sun starts to set. This guide contains photographs and descriptions of what to expect during your visit, helpful tips for finding quiet spaces, and more. The path takes you in a loop through the Arboretum and you walk past and through different "scenes" and light sculptures. Weekend days and the days between Christmas and New Years are the busiest periods, and Evans says if youre open to showing up earlier in the day, youll have a better shot at a reservation. Events, festivals, food and drink, museums, and so much more - read our blog today! The Olde Towne Carolers, who look like they just stepped out of a Victorian storybook, stroll through the outdoor gardens about four days a week, too. Longwood also provides three fire pits throughout the gardens, allowing guests to warm up by the fire on cool evenings. You can find one near the Peirce-du Pont House, one in front of the Italian Water Garden, and one in front of the Main Fountain Garden Light Display. Visit the Christmas trains while sipping hot . Wreaths, topiaries, and poinsettias decorate the windows and spaces within the glass conservatory. Through the years the light shows have become more elaborate and ambitious, and Sellers says thats due in part to advances in technology We can make Christmas lights do amazing things and improvements by LED bulb manufacturers. 2021 Philadelphia holiday events calendar, Green smackdown: Lincoln Financial Field vs. U.S. Bank Stadium, Christmas lights are going up early in this pandemic-darkened year as we look for some joy, California residents do not sell my data request. By all appearances, holiday outdoor lighting has a bright future. No holiday is complete without a visit to A Longwood Christmas at Longwood Gardens, where 500,000 twinkling lights and spectacular fountain shows compose a brilliant holiday wonderland. Field of Light has been exhibited on several continents across landscapes, waterways, forests, and cityscapes, each location offering a different experience. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. From just before Thanksgiving to just after New Year's, the grounds are decked out in over 550,000 lights that glow, dance, shimmer, and even move in time to music. In 2012, Longwood hosted this installation in our Forest Walk and behind our Small Lake. The internationally acclaimed Lightscape returns with stunning new installations along an expanded new trail. The nation was slow to warm to electricity, but President Calvin Coolidge gave the holiday light tradition a mighty plug in 1923 when he fired up what was the first National Christmas Tree with 3,000 lights. On view through Oct. 30, Thursday-Sunday evenings, timed tickets required. KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (WPVI) -- A Longwood Christmas is a stunning display of botanical splendor, which is the theme of this year's show. Other displays include the Large Lake light show set to holiday music classics and the Main Fountain Garden Light Display with dancing lights mimicking the iconic illuminated fountain performances. Each supersized event free with admission adds even more things to do, like on-site talks and floral demos, to the ongoing programming around live music and fountain shows. United States ; Pennsylvania (PA) Kennett Square ; Kennett Square - Things to Do ; Longwood Gardens; Search. A Longwood Christmas is a stunning display of botanical splendor, which is the theme of this year's show. There are concessions around the grounds. Click the button below to read more about Light Nights. The weather can sometimes be a bit brisk during the nearly two months that the lights are up from mid-November through early January. 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348. An exhibit of 34 original works in the Music Room was inspired by a series of 360-degree photographs taken around our Gardens. Longwood Gardens Kennett Square, Pennsylvania Longwood Gardens, just an hour outside of Philadelphia, presents A Longwood Christmas. Longwood Gardens is located at 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, PA. Add to that a tunnel of light, model train display and three fire pits and you have an idea of just how grandiose this event really is. The 90-mile exclusion allows gardens to exclude members of other gardens within 90 miles of them from receiving their reciprocal benefit (s) unless the gardens mutually agree to lift the exclusion. There are three fire pits located around the grounds and lit from 12 to 11 p.m. Longwood Gardens has the best garden holiday lights in the country, says USA Today. Longwood Gardens LED Enchantment Lights. Tickets are available now for the annual "A. Everybody has that neighbor who keeps light up year-round, said Evans. There are 550,000 lights, which public relations officer Patricia Evans says would stretch 39 miles if laid end to end. Not only is it an ideal place to warm up for a few minutes, but the house features information about the history of the du Pont family, the property, and the gardens along with artifacts and a film. If they were stretched end to end, the wires bearing the bulbs for Longwood Gardens' annual holiday light show would extend from the Longwood entrance on Route 1 in Kennett Square to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. There are so many stunning elements to Christmas at Longwood Gardens that I start to run out of superlatives in describing them. Many hands have honored and preserved it throughout its history. November 20, 2022, to January 9, 2023. The entrance to the Conservatory at Longwood Gardens. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. They stay cool to the touch and will be the perfect addition to your holiday lighting. 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM. Wander through dazzling displays of color, light and sound that include show favorite Winter Cathedral and a re-imagined fire garden. Where: Longwood Gardens, 1001 Longwood Road . For over 20 years, the miniature train has been a huge draw for kids and other lovers of locomotives. What could be more enchanting than enjoying the sounds of live music while marveling at the twinkling lights? Visit Philadelphia: Black Greek Edition Golf Outing, Love + Grit On the Road: Survivor Season 44 Watch Party in Toronto. Longwood Gardens is gearing up for the holiday season. Can you please help me with planning. 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania 19348. Timed tickets are required. She has traveled extensively in the United States and Europe and is excited to keep adding to the list, finding special places that are off the beaten path both at home and abroad. It is a phenomenon of opposites, organic and synthetic, familiar and otherworldly, tangible and dreamlike.. Please try again later. Last Update June 30, 2022. Flowers and plants are decorated for the holiday season. Organ sing-alongs are also a huge part of the celebration at Longwood. The three firepits around the property provide the perfect opportunity to get some relief from the cold. Im neutral. The audio descriptions use words to describe the landscape and artwork, as experienced in the summer season. Kids and adults will surely fall in love with blinking Christmas lights . During peak visitation times, free off-site parking and transportation is provided between the off-site parking and the Visitor Center entrance. Translation: Plan ahead to have the absolute best holiday experience. There's live organ music every evening and living works of art throughout. The music room has been transformed into a floral shop with floral couture dresses designed by students from Drexel. For more information about A Longwood Christmas, click the button below. Admission must be purchased in advance for a specific date and time. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Receive the latest articles, features, news, discounts, and more straight to your inbox. Located 3 miles from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Longwood Gardens is 30 miles from Philadelphia and 130 miles from New York City. The horticultural paradise will be hosting its 2020 A Longwood Christmas display starting on Nov. 20. Heres a look at why visiting Longwood Gardens at Christmas is a must. Munro uses these images as building blocks, transforming their colors and lines into hundreds of vinyl dots which he then reassembles in a new composition. The projection sequence is 25-minutes in length and plays on a loop. When you add illuminated presents, thousands of ornaments, and gleaming icicles, the whole effect is mesmerizing. The finale will be Jan. 9, and then the great put-away project begins. More than 500,000 lights will be used to illuminate more than 100 trees and other displays throughout the gardens, with the festivities taking place both inside and outside. The gardens are free to visit for children under the age of 5, however you still need to reserve a timed ticket for them. Join us in The Garden Shop for this whimsical hands-on workshop and create a naturalistic, vegetative floral fairy design woven with a thread of imagination. Longwood Gardens' most famous tradition, A Longwood Christmas, is back for the holidays with spectacular outdoor light displays that feature over 500,000 lights on 100 festively decorated trees, a miniature railway, and a stunning fountain with jets that synchronize to holiday music. Christmas light show - Longwood Gardens. From just before Thanksgiving to just after New Years, the grounds are decked out in over 550,000 lights that glow, dance, shimmer, and even move in time to music. Visit the official site for dining information. Join us the second Friday of each month throughout Light: Installations by Bruce Munro for our fantastically fun themed Light Nights. The performances are included with your entrance ticket and occur from 5 to 8 p.m. (weather permitting). There are more than half a million lights in Longwood Garden's Christmas displays. Theres even more fun to be had afterward, as we remain openand Light remains on viewuntil 11:00 pm. Longwood Gardens most famous tradition, A Longwood Christmas, is back for the holidays with spectacular outdoor light displays that feature over 500,000 lights on 100 festively decorated trees, a miniature railway, and a stunning fountain with jets that synchronize to holiday music. Inspired by long days spent fishing in quiet streams and deep lakes, Munro invites us to pause for a moment and experience the unique joy of being still. Nodding to the letter C, the universal symbol for the speed of light, Munro thinks about how water might absorb and reflect light to tell a story. If you want to make a special day or evening out of your visit to Longwood Garden, make a reservation at 1906. But, for me, the East Conservatory and its adjoining rooms are where the brilliance of Longwood is the clearest. The 4" lead, 4" bulb spacing, and 4" tail allow you to make an impressive display with a 17 foot strand. Its what makes seeing the Longwood Gardens Christmas lights one of the best things to do near Philadelphia at Christmas. The Longwood light brigades, involving up to 300 employees, have been at it since mid-August, Troy Sellers, the Gardens' outdoor landscape manager, said Thursday as workers put the finishing . The land that was once an arboretum in 1758 was always blessed. The lights are sorted by color and by year, said Sellers, because after six years, they tend to fade. Audio files with audio descriptions of each location are available for Light: Installations by Bruce Munro. In 2014 NASA noted that satellites detected as much as a 50% increase in coverage in some areas during the six-week holiday period, compared with the rest of the year. The two-acre conservatory at Longwood Gardens, with its ample light and climate-controlled environment, can support most anything. Keep an eye out for signs indicating one way paths as well. All those visiting must wear a face mask in indoor and outdoor spaces, unless you are outside and able to maintain a distance fo six feet or more from others. I am excited to return to this remarkable place and to share with guests new works that I hope will inspire them through the interplay of nature, landscape, and light. What: "A Longwood Christmas." Explore the contrast of fire and ice, through plants and lights indoors and outdoors. TheVisit Philly Overnight Package booked more than 190,000 times since 2001 comes with free hotel parking (worth up to $100 in Center City Philadelphia), overnight hotel accommodations and choose-your-own-adventure perks. It would take about 3 to 4 hours to see everything, including the Conservatory. The three-course prix fixe lunch or dinner menus have locally sourced, seasonal ingredients to ensure fresh, flavorful dishes. One thousand white flamingos wade in the shallows of the Chimes Tower basin, a waterfall cascading behind them. For the past 20 years, Horticultural, Facilities, and Guest Services and local artisans team up to create a replica of Longwood Gardens, but in miniature form. For AHS members, the exclusion is based on their home address. The 4-acre Conservatory is divided into halls that have different themes that change from year to year. And while dark-sky advocates may weep, NASA satellites have documented that what is happening at Longwood is part of an international movement, as outdoor decorative lighting for the holidays has grown immensely in popularity, particularly in suburban areas. Many nights throughout the holiday season, singers and musicians lend their talents to make the Longwood experience even more joyful. Christmastime is also the perfect time for a trip to the farm, isn't it? Day would be the best. I would suggest contacting Longwood directly because the Christmas tickets do sell out, especially on weekends. % Tickets for popular times and days sell out fast so purchase now to get your preferred date. When time allows, I write about where we all live the atmosphere. From live music to light shows. This heated greenhouse is not only beautiful on the inside, but is a nice respite from the cold temperatures outside. Required fields are marked *. Longwood Gardens invites its army of plant lovers to warm up to the holiday season with a display of 500,500 LED lights, beginning Friday. Nicole Sardella voices the audio descriptions. It's so beautifully decorated, it's hard not to get into the spirit! Hello my name is Amy Brown, I am a Sunday School teacher. Longwood Gardens is located at 1001 Longwood Road in East Malborough Township in Chester County. 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