Category Archives: Things to do and see:

Huntsville Botanical Garden showcases their annual Galaxy of Lights tour. Santa Claus stops by The Arbor for the children visiting the Galaxy tour. (Sarah Cole/al.com)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – This year’s Galaxy of Lights at the Huntsville Botanical Garden will include several new features as well as a new entrance garden officials hope will keep traffic flowing smoothly. The annual display of lights opens to the public with walking nights on Nov. 16, 17 and 18. Visitors can bring their dogs for Dog Night on Nov. 19, and a children’s art party is planned for Family Night on Nov. 20. Hours each night are 5:30 to 7:30.

During the walking nights, visitors can stroll through the two and a half miles of lighted displays. In keeping with the Rocket City theme, this year’s light show includes a Mars Curiosity rover and space ship beaming an Elf up into a flying saucer “until he returns to next year’s Galaxy,” said Carol Casey, the garden’s marketing director.

Two new themed areas include “Sweet Home Alabama” and a “Happy New Year” section on the exit road. Each year, the crews rearrange the existing displays, which include nursery rhyme characters and traditional holiday scenes, so the experience is different for return visitors.

The 2012 galaxy show includes 180 displays this year which took more than 1,000 volunteers eight weeks to set up. More than 40 “Galaxy Guys and Gals,” however, work on the display all year.

“They research and work with the lighting companies to improve on the lighting and design and build and install these displays,” Casey said. One improvement this year is LED lighting in the Icicle Forest to increase the reliability of the lights and save energy.

One special feature for walking nights only this year will be snow in the Icicle Forest. Children’s activities are also planned in the garden’s Arbor building during the walking nights.

Driving tours of the Galaxy of Lights begin on Thanksgiving night and will continue through Dec. 31. Hours are 5:30 to 9 p.m., except for Dec. 6. An already sold out 5k run will take place at 6 p.m. that night, and driving tours will be suspended during the duration of the run.

The entrance this year will be west of the garden’s Bob Wallace Avenue entrance and across the road from the Landry’s seafood restaurant. Garden officials moved the entrance to better manage traffic into the show, Casey said.

Last year’s entrance took drivers through the same road that provides access to the Huntsville Marriott and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, which caused some entry problems for those locations, Casey said.

“This will keep cars from blocking the hotel and rocket center,” she said. Drivers will go by the center’s Aviation Challenge, which will become Santa’s Rocket Workshop for the holiday season. Santa’s reindeer will be there as well as his propulsion crew who will be adding rocket engines to his sleigh — only in Huntsville.

“People can stop there and enjoy those activities before going into the galaxy,” Casey said.

Admission to the walking nights is $6 for adults and $3 for children, with an extra $1 per dog on Dog Night. Driving nights admission is $20 per passenger cars with up to 10 people. Van admission is $20 for 10 people, with an additional $3 for each additional person.

Discounted tickets are $15 for garden members, if bought in advance. Donations of toys, warm coats, canned goods, paper products or dog or cat food clothing earns $1 off admission. For more information about the garden or the Galaxy of Lights, visit hsvbg.org.

via Huntsville Botanical Garden’s Galaxy of Lights opens to public on Nov. 16 | al.com.