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Garden Glow History

2015

McCrory Gardens twinkled by the lights of 11 fresh-cut evergreen trees, wrapped in 1,000 incandescent colorful strings of light. Viewing took place over 7 nights, Santa came to visit as did 51 visitors. Music and Mistletoe, McCrory's annual event to kick-off the season, became the night when the lights were lit for the very first time for the public.

Horse by McCrory Gardens

2016

The "glow" began to grow, as did the number of visitors. We welcomed 800 visitors over the twenty-seven nights we were open, including six Santa visits and one Sunday afternoon of trolley rides. Individuals, local business and service providers supplying funds to sponsor our now 20 fresh-cut evergreen trees was thrilling. To bring attention to other areas of the gardens, we installed a display called "The Journey", projected lights on structures such as the fountain in the Perennial Garden and the Hummingbird Trellis, wrapped trunks of trees in nets of lights, glitzed up the Cottage (Santa's Summer Home) and filled the Strawbale House with the elves' workshop.

garden glow lights

2017

With the Vaudrey Family's earlier gift of an endowment to McCrory, electricity was installed in the Perennial Garden. More than 1600 Garden Glow visitors got to experience the brand new, life-sized light display of the "Candy Land" game board. The generosity of the prop making class of our SDSU Theatre department really brought the theme together.

A lone standing buck held its place in the lawn of the Pharmaceutical Garden, serving as a talking point for the dream of an entire herd of reindeer to dwell there the following year. We were open twenty-eight nights, with Santa visiting six times, and one Sunday afternoon's worth of trolley rides.

lighted deers at Garden Glow

2018

With the goal of consistently enhancing existing displays, King Kandy got a castle. A sound and lights display was added to the Cottage, made possible through funds granted through the Brookings Chamber Tourism Enhancement program.