By K.D. Norris
Things were already going to be a little different this year with Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s annual Metro Health Christmas & Holiday Traditions exhibition, but the latest round of pandemic-related large-group and inside-building capacity restrictions will not dim the lights at the event.
The Christmas & Holiday Traditions exhibition will be on display from Nov. 24 through Jan. 3, 2021, during which guests will experience 46 trees and displays representing countries and cultures from across the globe, the always enchanting Railway Garden and its “holiday wonderland” surroundings, including the Grace Jarecki Seasonal Display Greenhouse.
And, as always, just a stroll around the sculpture gardens, even in winter, can be an enchanting experience — especially with the nearly 300,000 lights on display throughout the grounds.
“We were planning on being able to have 50 percent of our normal capacity for the upcoming Metro Health Christmas & Holiday Traditions exhibition, now we are allowed 30 percent.” a Meijer Gardens spokesperson said to WKTV this week. “We have already adjusted the layout of the trees and displays to allow for maximum physical distancing, and moved our Santa visits to be virtual.”
This year, as every year, Meijer Gardens “celebrates handcrafted traditions and explores the care that goes into creating these treasured traditions by hand,” according to supplied material.
Inside there will be fresh poinsettias, orchids and amaryllis, the smell of evergreens in the decorated trees and displays, and the unique horticultural artistry of the Railway Garden complements the trolleys, trains and handcrafted buildings replicating 37 Grand Rapids landmarks.
“For this year’s exhibition, Meijer Gardens is showcasing handmade elements of traditions from all over the world,” Steve LaWarre, director of horticulture at Meijer Gardens, said in supplied material. “Guests will encounter the work of hundreds of skilled and caring hands and experience the details and attention that goes into creating these traditions.”
As usual, there will be extended holiday hours, with the gardens open until 9 p.m. on Nov. 24 and Dec. 1, 8, 14–19, 21–23, 26, 28–30. (The gardens will be closed on Nov. 26, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, 2021.
Some other traditions remain but have changed, however.
Virtual Santa visits will be offered on the Tuesday nights starting Nov. 24 until Christmas Day from 5-8 p.m. The interactive visits with Santa will occur in the Hauenstein and Pfeiffer event rooms. “While your children will not be able to sit on Santa’s lap this year, we have a virtual connection with Santa and he will interact with guests live from the North Pole,” it states in supplied material.
The Original Dickens Carolers will be also be performing virtually on Tuesday evenings until Christmas Day, from 6-8 p.m., with guests able to enjoy these live performances on monitors located throughout the facility.
And what about those “Rooftop Reindeer” photos? The Rooftop Reindeer will be present from 1-4 p.m. on the Saturdays leading until Christmas Day. Visitors will be able to get close to the reindeer for photos, they will not be able to pet or touch the reindeer this year.
For complete information on what is, and is not, happening at Meijer Gardens this holiday — and most traditional things are happening — visit the Meijer Gardens webpage here.
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