Holidays at the Garden: A newcomer's experience

BELMONT, NC - Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden hosts a wonderful Christmas display and fun activities each year. The garden is 380 acres of beautiful plants and trees that are transformed during the holiday season into a spectacular display of lights. The garden is complete with fountains, s‘mores by the campfire, and food trucks. Open from 5 pm to 10 pm through December 29th. Tickets are available for purchase from their website: https://dsbg.org/visit/holidays-at-the-garden/

On Fridays, children and adults can enjoy a short trackless train ride. During the ride, they can see several wooden Christmas trees, all decorated by different people, schools, and organizations. On the opposite side of the train, they can see the lights of the garden.

Walking around the garden everyone can see the display of lights on trees, around fountains, and can even interact with some of the lights. The first display portrayed music and sounds, creating a surreal effect of lights dancing to the music and creating a story. The main light for this display was a huge reindeer. During the ongoing show, the deer would change colors and be the main light of the garden. The interactive lights would change color by the push of a button. Another interactive set of circular lights was placed on the ground where children and adults could step on them and new lights and designs would shine.

Several fountains are scattered throughout the Garden. Some are as small as a few feet long, while others are 20 or 30 feet long. Each fountain reflects the lights around the garden, adding to the wonderful display.

On one side of the park, there are multiple food trucks. These trucks make sweets to share with family and friends, along with chicken and other savory foods. At the back of the garden, a little shack sells hot chocolate to enjoy on a cold stroll through the park. Also, at the shack, they sell boxes of supplies to make s’mores. This is fun to do with family and friends around one of the many campfires around the park. The main building in the park also provides a bar for adults.

Every Saturday and Sunday in December, Santa visits the garden. Children can meet Santa in the beautiful garden before or after wandering around the grounds. Visitors can also walk through small indoor gardens full of thriving tropical plants and trees.

According to a newcomer:
The botanical garden was a spectacular display of lights that allowed me to have an enjoyable time. I was constantly in awe at the pretty lights. My favorite part was the giant water lilies that were placed on the water. The reflection from the purple and pink lights was amazing. I would definitely recommend visiting the botanical garden to any newcomers!