Published August 27 2020
Garden d’Lights, one of Bellevue’s signature events, will be canceled this year due to COVID-19. The annual event draws more than 90,000 people to the Bellevue Botanical Garden for a festival of lights lasting just over a month during the holiday season.
For the past 25 years, the event has run from the Saturday after Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve.
“This was a very difficult decision for us, since we know how much this event means to our community,” said Cleo Raulerson, co-chair of the event and incoming co-chair of the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society board of directors. “We look forward to returning, better than ever, in 2021.”
Traditionally about 130 volunteers donate 6,400 hours of labor over an 11-month period to gather, repair and place half a million string lights with zip ties and rebar to create a variety of animals and nature scenes throughout a large portion of the garden.
The event was made possible through a partnership between the Parks & Community Services Department and the nonprofit Bellevue Botanical Garden Society.
For more information, go to GardendLights.org.