Following on the heels of a successful inaugural event in 2013, The Oregon Garden chose to expand its Christmas in the Garden holiday lights display and traditional Christmas market this year, adding more dates, doubling the number of lights and increasing the number of vendors. The investment paid off, as exactly 22,587 visitors took part in the second annual event, nearly doubling last year’s attendance numbers. The event occurred from 4 to 9pm each Thursday through Sunday this past November 28 to December 21.
Christmas in the Garden took place in The Oregon Garden’s Rediscovery Forest and featured 300,000 lights, an 80-foot-long candy cane light tunnel, a nine-foot-tall leg lamp and a number of 20-foot-tall flowers; it took more than 1,100 volunteer hours to set up and put on the event. The event also featured 35 artisan vendors selling handcrafted goods alongside German foods, roasted nuts and holiday beverages, while roaming carolers and school choirs provided holiday entertainment. More than 1,000 of the attendees made the event an overnight affair, taking advantage of packages at The Oregon Garden Resort.
Special weekend events included a Civil War Football Game Showing projected on a big screen, visits with Santa and his live reindeer, pony rides provided by Canyonview Camp, story time by the Silver Falls Public Library, and renditions of A Christmas Carol by the Traveling Lantern Theatre Co. This year’s event even featured a marriage proposal: Oregon Garden event volunteer Kris Kuenzi got down on one knee in the candy cane light tunnel and asked fellow volunteer Ashley Lively for her hand in marriage — she said yes!
Christmas in the Garden was generously sponsored by Linn Benton Tractor, Wave Broadband, Pepsi, Withers Lumber, Dallwig Brothers Building Supply, Oregon Garden Foundation and The Oregon Garden Resort. The event will return for its third year in 2015. For more information, visit www.OregonGarden.org.
About The Oregon Garden
The Oregon Garden offers more than 80 acres that showcase the natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest with more than 20 individual themed gardens and related attractions. The mission of The Oregon Garden is to welcome and inspire all visitors with an appreciation for the extraordinary ecology of the Pacific Northwest, and to provide a meaningful educational experience for gardeners of all skill levels and ages. The Oregon Garden offers memberships that help support new improvements and visitor programs. Visit www.OregonGarden.org or call (503) 874-8100 for more information.
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