Winter Lights is back with more whimsy, outdoor focus
By: Lee Stevens
The Winter Lights show at NC Arboretum is heavy on wildlife this year.
Photo by Camilla Calnan
Featuring 1 million lights shining throughout the gardens and at the woodland edge, Winter Lights at the North Carolina Arboretum returns in person this season. The theme is “Forest and Garden Whimsy,” and that element of fairytale and natural lore “elevates what we want people to feel about visiting the Arboretum year round,” explains Brian Postelle, the Arboretum’s marketing and public-relations manager. “It’s always a magical place to explore.”
This year’s exhibit includes illuminated magical creatures (such as gnomes) placed among giant mushrooms, a unicorn, a giant walk-through caterpillar tunnel, the popular 50-foot tree, and the return of the “magical maples.” In addition to the vibrant displays, guests can enjoy live music by local musicians, hot cocoa from the Cocoa Shack, and treats from Bent Creek Bistro, including s’mores kits meant to be taken to one of the several firepits and prepared on site.
This year, in the interest of public health, the firepits are smaller, and more of them are available for guests to warm up and make s’mores in a way that allows for social distancing. Public safety is also built into the design of the kid-centric “Story Time at Woodland Cove,” which will utilize projected images. Other distancing measures include fewer indoor gathering spots, outdoor starting points instead of an indoor queue, and an expanded holiday gift-shop space. (Face coverings are required for everyone age five and older while indoors, and are encouraged outside when social distancing is not possible, in accordance with Buncombe County mandates.)
The popular holiday event is the 434-acre garden and educational facility’s biggest annual fundraiser. Planning begins about 14 months in advance — with involvement from every Arboretum staff member as they analyze the last Winter Lights, decide on changes, and determine the theme for the next year. “We observe which displays or themes resonate with our guests,” comments Mary Rose Ridderbusch-Shearer, guest-experience manager, “[and] we then think about how to incorporate or expand those themes in the next year’s designs.”
While staff works on the logistics and planning year round, once Winter Lights is underway, operations staff members and guest-services staff keep it going day to day. (In addition, the Arboretum hires seasonal staff to assist with all aspects of the event.)
Last year, because it was a drive-through experience, tickets were sold per vehicle instead of per individual, as in past years. This year, even though the event has returned in its regular format, tickets will again be sold per vehicle. This makes for a smoother check-in process at the gate, as opposed to inside the Arboretum, when people arrive. It also adds to the comfort of guests during the ongoing pandemic.
“The Winter Lights display has always been unique in its connection to the natural world, and we have continued that tradition for 2021,” says Ridderbusch-Shearer. “This year, because we could all use some escape and wonder, guests can expect displays that incorporate the natural world with a touch of magic, or even the fantastical.”
Winter Lights at The North Carolina Arboretum (100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville) starts Friday, Nov. 19, and goes through New Year’s Day. Tickets will be sold per vehicle, starting at $25 for advance registration for members and going up for peak days and larger vehicles. For information and tickets, visit ncwinterlights.com or call 828-665-2492.