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The dazzling display at the GardenFest of Lights at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden will only be up for a few more days Date published: 1/4/2007
By COLLETTE CAPRARA For THE FREE LANCE-STAR Just an hour from Fredericksburg lies an enchanted land, sparkling with more than half a million lights, and glowing with larger-than-life flowers, woodland creatures, majestic peacocks and even an illuminated green giant. It's the annual GardenFest of Lights at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond. And the event, which attracts more than 50,000 visitors each season, is larger than ever. Designed and produced during a yearlong effort of the garden's horticulture and operations staff, the festival features displays that appeal to every member of the family. The north wing of the conservatory houses a 20-foot Christmas tree and a model train display, where rail cars rumble through a handcrafted gingerbread village. In addition, the conservatory features a life-sized cottage with a thatched roof that depicts a scene from "The Gingerbread Mouse," a favorite children's tale about a mouse who finds the perfect habitat in a dollhouse just his size. Parents will enjoy hundreds of colorful poinsettias, white orchids, red Christmas cacti, drifts of amaryllis, snow-white narcissus and red cyclamen. Displays in the education building echo the gingerbread theme of the conservatory and feature handcrafted dollhouses and a train collection. Members of the Virginia Train Collectors will be on hand to talk about their hobby and answer questions. Merry Mondays are celebrated in the education building's library, from 5 to 8 p.m., with storytelling sessions near a glowing fire. Outside, the Children's Garden features lustrous topiary structures and a maze of lights. Families can view the dazzling display from a 13-foot-high tree house. Hot drinks, including gourmet coffees and hot chocolate, are available for purchase, and families can make s'mores with marshmallows they roast over a warming pit. (S'mores ingredients cost $3 for a two-serving pack, and $5 for packs that serve four). "Time and again, people have said that they have been looking for something that would create a family memory," said Lewis Ginter spokesperson Beth Monroe. "This event seems to capture the quality they are looking for." Collette Caprara is a freelance writer who lives with her family in Spotsylvania.
Date published: 1/4/2007
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