Zoos, Parks, Arboretums Flip the Switch on Holiday Lights Displays

The Chicago area is working to decks its halls, its zoos, its arboretums and more. Holiday lights displays will soon be up and running across the area.

While most exhibits will flip the switch on the thousands of lights in their displays over the Thanksgiving weekend, a couple opened this past week. Among those was Morton Arboretum's Illumination exhibit.

The gorgeous holiday lights display at The Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Route 53 in Lisle, has some new features meant to awe visitors this year. The display, which is in its fourth year, opened on Friday, Nov. 18, and will remain open through Jan. 2, 2017.

Illumination will be closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas and on November 21 and 28 and December 5 and 12.

Visitors to Illumination can stroll a mile-long paved path through a wooded area at the Arboretum where they will encounter a series of “experiences” woven throughout their journey, encouraging them to see trees in a different light, according to arboretum officials. Those who stop out can watch a dazzling light show play in time to classic wintertime music, hug a tree and watch as it reacts or follow beams of light as it dances across the night sky, according to a news release from Morton Arboretum.

“Illumination transports visitors into a whimsical world filled with color and light while also highlighting the value and beauty that trees bring to our world, regardless of the season,” said Sue Wagner, vice president of education and information at The Morton Arboretum. “In just three years, Illumination has delighted more than 350,000 visitors and has become a Chicago-area holiday tradition for many.”

There will be two new "experiences" this year at the popular lights display. Arboretum officials described these features in a recent press release.

This year’s event features two brand-new experiences to dazzle and wow. Visitors can watch as projections of abstract designs splash across the Arboretum’s hemlock trees, creating a captivating experience that highlight the conifers’ elegance. In Illumination’s new dramatic grand finale, slender white rods installed between the Arboretum’s hedges will provide magical and reflective layers for pencil-thin pillars of light. Visitors can watch with delight as these synchronized beams chase over one another and extend skyward.

Some fan favorites that will be returning include:

• Meadow Lake Magic: tendrils of light skip and ripple across the surface of the Arboretum’s Meadow Lake. Several hundred LED fixtures floating in the water offer an ever-changing experience that will be seen through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Arboretum’s Ginkgo Restaurant as well as outdoors.
• Tinsel Harmony: Visitors will have the opportunity to sing to strands of lit “tinsel,” then watch the lights respond in three different ways, an enhancement from last year’s experience. See lights change color, grow brighter and alter in intensity.
• Ornament Hill: This experience will captivate the senses as visitors encounter an expanded and breathtaking vista of hundreds of giant glowing orbs nestled in the grass and surrounded by thousands of LED points of light.

Other highlights include Symphony Woods, which features lights dancing to “The Nutcracker” as recorded by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the 24 luminous chandeliers that shine between the trees in Crystal Promenade. Adding to the winter wonderland experience will be music playing throughout the one-mile path as well as the chance to warm up at one of the crackling fire pits or with a gourmet hot chocolate, one of several refreshments available to walking visitors, according to Arboretum officials.

Tickets to the show are limited and advanced purchase is recommended. Tickets are available for purchase at 5 p.m. and later and 7 p.m. and later. Illumination tickets range from $18 to $22 for adults and $12 to $14 for children and went on October 3, 2016. Discounts apply for Arboretum members.

Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 630-725-2066 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

For more information, visit the Morton Arboretum website

More Holiday Lights Displays for the Chicago Area

• Festival of Lights at the Promenade in Bolingbrook, 631 E. Boughton Road. The lights were switched on Nov. 19 during a village tree lighting ceremony. The Festival of Lights will be on display from 5 to 9 p.m. through Dec. 31. More information vai the Promenade in Bolingbrook website.
• Christmas Around the World and Holiday of Light at the Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. The four-story Grand Tree lighting ceremony was held on Nov. 17, marking the display’s opening for the season, according to the Chicago Tribune. The display will remain open through Jan. 8. More information is available here.
• The Magnificent Mile in Chicago's Light Festival will be lit up for the holiday season starting on Nov. 19 and will run through Jan. 1, 2017. More information on the Lights Festival can be found here.

• Festival of Lights & Christmas Trees at Cosley Zoo, 1356 N. Cosley Ave. in Wheaton. The light display runs from Nov. 25 through Dec. 30. For more information, visit here.
• 7th Annual Holiday Lights at Mooseheart Child City & School, 255 James J. Davis Drive in Mooseheart. The display will run from 5 to 9 p.m. from Nov. 25 through Dec. 31. More information is available here.
• Naper Lights at Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St. in Naperville. The light display will run from Nov. 25 through Dec. 24. For more information, visit here.
• Magical Animated Holiday Light Show at Randhurst Village, 1 Randhurst Village Drive in Mount Prospect. The light show runs from Dec. 3 through Dec. 17. More information is available here.
• Holiday Lights in Rosemont runs from Nov. 25 through Dec. 31. A Light up the Park Celebration will be start at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 25 at MB Financial Park, 5501 Park Place in Rosemont. Check the village of Rosemont website for more information.
• Holiday Lights in Lilacia Park, 150 S. Park Ave. in Lombard. The display runs from Dec. 3 through Jan. 2 from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. daily. More information is available on the Lombard Park District website.

• Wonderland Express at the Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 S. Lake Cook Road in Glencoe. The display runs from Nov. 25 through Jan. 2.More information is available on the Chicago Botanic Garden website.
• Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo, 8400 31st Street in Brookfield. The light display will be on on Saturdays and Sundays in December and Monday, Dec. 26, through Saturday, Dec. 31. More information is available on the Brookfield Zoo website.
• Aurora’s Festival of Lights in Phillips Park, 1000 Ray Moses Drive in Aurora. You can drive through the display from Nov. 25 through Dec. 26. More information via the Aurora Festival of Lights website.
• Lincoln Park Zoolights at Lincoln Park Zoo, 2200 N. Cannon Drive in Chicago. The lights will be on display from 4:30 to 9 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays starting on Nov. 25 and continuring through Dec. 4 and then will be open daily from Dec. 9 through 23. The lights will again be up and running from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, 2017. More information is available here.

Photo via the Morton Arboretum website