Published November 25 2015
Half a million lights transform the Bellevue Botanical Garden
Garden d'Lights, one of Bellevue's signature events, opens on Saturday at the Bellevue Botanical Garden and will run nightly through Jan. 2, 4:30 to 9:30 p.m., including holidays.
Advanced registration tickets are $5 for adults; children 10 and under are free, with space limited to 5,000 visitors per night. The event is free the following nights: Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 and 10, with advanced reservations recommended.
Parking in the garden's lot is available for $5 per car (cash only), or free with a disability parking permit. Free parking is available at Wilburton Hill Park, east of the Botanical Garden.
Approximately 130 volunteers donate 6,400 hours over an 11-month period to create the Northwest garden, using incandescent and energy-saving LED lights, zip ties and rebar.
Last year, more than 100,000 visitors enjoyed the array of plants and animals fashioned out of colored lights -- including waterfalls, ponds and a fire-breathing dragon.
"These installations replicate a fantasy Northwest garden made of lights where every flower blooms when you want as big as you want," said Garden d'Lights Co-Chair Cleo Raulerson.
New features this year include poultry, day lilies, brussels sprouts and purple-leaf canna.
Garden d'Lights, a botanically correct garden made with lights, started in 1994 as a way to entice visitors to the garden during the winter. Read "From humble beginnings, Garden d'Lights blossoms" in the current issue of It's Your City.
The event is made possible through a partnership of the Parks and Community Services Department and the nonprofit Bellevue Botanical Garden Society.