BOOTHBAY, Maine — For its eighth year of Gardens Aglow, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens announced that the light show would return as a walk-through experience.
The event was only visible from a vehicle, since the start of the pandemic.
According to spokesperson Lauren Healy, organizers expect around 120,000 visitors for the 2022 season. In their first year, there were around 36,000 guests.
Healy revealed there would be a "new reimagined design" using more than 750,000 LED lights, which is equal to 66 miles when laid end to end, woven over 14 acres of the central gardens.
It's an all-hands-on-deck labor of love for staff that takes 12 weeks to string up the lights. However, it takes 10 weeks to pull them down and pack away starting Jan. 2, Healy explained.
Tickets are on sale now at GardensAglow.org and must be purchased in advance. No tickets will be sold onsite during the event.
Gardens Aglow runs Thursdays through Sundays, plus select dates, from 4-9 p.m. Nov. 19 to Dec. 31.
The event is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.
Tickets are timed for four separate arrivals each night at 4, 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors, $10 for children 3-17 (children under three are free), and $45 per family of four.
For more information, visit GardensAglow.org.
Shuttles will be available Saturdays during the event, 3:45-9:15 p.m., from the municipal lot in Boothbay Harbor to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.
Complimentary wheelchairs and scooters are available on a first-come, first-served basis, weather permitting.