Thanks to a new $5 admission fee, Bellevue’s Garden d’Lights display was even more delightful this winter.
The new fee was proposed as a way to control crowds after city officials approached Sharon Graham, chairman for the garden display, with concerns about the large crowds and congested roadways caused by the annual event. In addition to the new $5 tickets, that could be bought online or in person, the display was offered for nine nights free.
Featuring half a million lights that transform Bellevue Botanical Garden into a glowing winter wonderland from late November to around New Year’s Day, Garden d’Lights is a favorite among Bellevue residents. In fact, its popularity was so great that it was often difficult to see the displays year after year, and the roads coming into the park were frequently jammed.
The people Graham spoke with out of the more than 95,000 people who attended were pleased, she said.
“[Attendees] were appreciative of the fact that they could come in and enjoy the display without battling crowds on the roads or in the park,” she said.” They reported we should have used this new system years ago.”
Organizers anticipated that they would need to keep their numbers around 6,000 per night in order to not exceed capacity. Even on nights that spilled over the 5,000 mark, the actual number of visitors in the park was evenly spaced, Graham said.
The $5 admission fee covered the expenses and the overage is being used to fund other botanical garden programs, like the Living Labs, and other improvement projects.
Now that it’s February, Graham and her group have already started working on next year’s Garden d’Lights display. Next month, they’ll offer a spring class session where participants will learn how to make new items for the winter light garden, which will be followed by monthly classes and weekly work parties.
“There is a tremendous turnover when you are working with lights, always something to repair, and something that needs to be replaced,” said Graham, who added that the display will be using more LED lights because they last about 50 percent longer than the incandescent lights, which go dead after five years.
By the end of October, Graham and her team will be ready to transfer their inventory into the park. They will spend the month of November placing the displays in their areas. The 2011 show will run from the Saturday after Thanksgiving until Dec. 31. The organizers then spend two weeks taking down the displays and moving them back into storage.
From installation to cleanup, the whole event is totally volunteer-powered. It can take anywhere from one and a half to seven hours just to make a single flower head.
“Garden d’ Lights is so popular because it is so unique,” Graham said. “We design and create all of the items in our display. Our goal is to create a gorgeous flower garden in the winter using lights.”
For more information about the Garden D’Lights classes and work parties go to bellevuebotanical.org.
Gabrielle Nomura be reached at 425-453-4602.
