Calling all Shutterbugs!

As we end 2009 with a wonderful year of events, exhibits and amazing members and guests, it's nice to recap it all with our annual photography contest, Shutterbug! The contest deadline is Dec. 31 and it's just enough time to take pictures of Holiday Lights. It is so exciting to get an envelope marked Shutterbug entry and to open to see what magical moment was captured here at the Garden. We have 7 categories: Plants, Wildlife, Water, Architecture & Artwork in the Garden, Orchids & Tropical Plants, Events/Celebrations and People. Contestants may enter one photo in each of the categories if they like. Another exciting aspect of this contest is that we have an adult amateur and youth amateur category. To see some of the youth entries and then look at their age is incredible to think being that young and taking such a great shot. I remember using the Kodak disposables as a kid and that was either a hit or miss...most of the time for me a complete miss! The picture that accompanies this blog was taken by one of our youth contestants, Stephanie Aliano, and won 1st place in our Youth/Wildlife category. I think I'll be signing up for one of the many photography classes we offer here at the Garden to see how it's done. Good luck to all of our 2010 Shutterbug contestants and if you would like further details just visit www.DSBG.org.

600,000 Holiday Lights...anyone want to assist with putting them up?

At the beginning of October we usually start planning what we're going to dress up as for Halloween, start buying Halloween decorations...here at the Garden, we start preparing for Christmas! In saying that it may sound like visiting a store and having Christmas decorations being put out on the shelves when Halloween hasn't even passed yet...but with 600,000 lights it takes us pretty much the whole time until Holiday Lights opens the day after Thanksgiving!

If we actually were to lay those 600,000 lights out they would reach from the Garden to Concord Mills Mall! Here are some additional behind the scenes facts for Holiday Lights at the Garden:

• It will take about 2,500 man hours to complete the installation.
• The Orchid Tree inside the Visitor Pavilion is composed of 300 live orchids on a frame that makes the tree 16 feet tall.
• We use about 2,000 drop cords to run lights from existing power supplies.
• Schneider Tree Care will assist us with hanging 50 ornaments, 2-3 feet in diameter, in a tree as high as 75 feet. (Thank you Schneider Tree Care!)
• About 540,000 of the lights we use are LED lights which burn cooler and used 90% less electricity.
  

And the great thing about it, we absolutely love doing it and putting on a spectacular light display for all of our guests, and to create some wonderful holiday memories with family and friends! We'll have live entertainment and visits from Santa! For an additional fee we'll have baked treats, hot cocoa, coffee at our Garden Coffee Shop by Caravan coffee and carriage rides from Southern Breezes Carriages. Be sure to check our event calendar on the Garden's website at www.DSBG.org to see who will be performing the night you are looking to attend.

It is a wonderful time of the year and we look forward to having all of our Garden guests come and see our lights display! Holiday Lights at the Garden is sponsored by CaroMont Health and Lite 102.9.