TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Luminarias line the pathways of Tucson Botanical Gardens in Midtown Tucson, lighting the way for guests at the gardens' holiday light show, LightsUp! A Festival of illumination.
The lights show is made up of six zones, each with different aesthetics and attractions, connected by luminarias throughout.
The luminarias are a reminder of Tucson Botanical Gardens' decades-long holiday tradition: Luminaria Nights, where they decorated the gardens with the holiday paper lanterns.
That tradition stopped, along with much of the world, in 2020 and was reborn after as LightsUp!
2024 marks the third year Tucson Botanical Gardens is putting on its re-imagined holiday lights show. The first version of LightsUp! was in 2021 as the gardens were encouraging neighbors to celebrate the holidays outdoors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We hired a nationally-renowned landscape architect Tres Fromme to come in and help us create a design that was uniquely Tucson and reflected this city," said Caitlin Hill, the membership and development manager for Tucson Botanical Gardens.
The team brought in local artists with whom they had worked in the past to create sculptures for the exhibit.
“We brought them all together to make a show that reflected the nature here, reflected the many different cultures here, and just generally made a place for people to come and have a heartwarming time with their families,” said Hill.
For families like Ryan Stamer's, it is that place. Stamer came with his extended family who were in town for Thanksgiving.
“Honestly," Stamer started when asked why they chose the gardens over the many things to do in Tucson, "at first, I was like 'why are we going to the botanical gardens?' I thought the same thing, but, now, once I got here, I saw the beautiful lights and the plants. Yeah, I love it.”
Though this was his first time at the gardens, Stamer says this won't be his last, and he'd like to come back to see the butterfly exhibit.
Hill says that LightsUp! A Festival of Illumination is growing each year and will continue to do so. She says in the future they may add new zones or pieces to the show.
If you want to walk the trail of lights at the botanical gardens, tickets are available six days a week through January 12 on the Tucson Botanical Gardens website, tucsonbotanical.org.
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Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com, or connecting on Instagram or X.
