Kids can meet Bluey and Bingo, the Snow Queen and Olaf and Santa and Mrs. Claus at Lightscape, Dec. 16, 17, 18. (Botanic Garden photo)
As the holiday season begins to cast its spell, the Chicago Botanic Garden invites guests to an exclusive evening of shimmer and warmth, a first look at the 2025 edition of Lightscape, one of the city’s most anticipated winter traditions, on Thursday, Nov. 13.
“Feast of Light” at Botanic Garden’s Lightscape experience. (Botanic Garden photo)
The annual Lightscape Preview, hosted by the Garden’s Board of Directors and the Woman’s Board of the Chicago Horticultural Society, offers an early chance to wander the illuminated trail before it opens to the public. Guests will stroll through a new, artist-designed route filled with glowing installations, music-driven displays and imaginative scenes that feel equal parts dreamlike and festive. Along the path, they can enjoy cocktails, snacks, and later a buffet dinner, making the evening not only visually enchanting but deliciously social.
Botanic Garden’s Lightscape preview is Nov. 13. (Botanic Garden photo)
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This year brings new international works to the landscape, including the returning favorite Singing Trees, a choir of lights that dances in time with music, as well as swirling light vortexes, sculptural floating wishes, and imaginative features that turn nature into a canvas of color and motion.
Lightscape’s seasonal trail continues to evolve in scale and creativity, building on past years that have featured illuminated lily ponds, massive archways of twinkling LEDs, and the now-iconic Winter Cathedral tunnel of lights. The preview offers a more intimate version of the experience, before the full crowds arrive, making it a memorable night out for friends, families or colleagues eager to kick off the holiday season in luminous style.
Though the evening serves as a fundraiser, the atmosphere is festive and relaxed rather than formal, encouraging guests to wander, mingle and soak in the spectacle at their own pace. The date is Thursday, November 13, one night before the trail officially opens to the public.
Lightscape then runs from Nov. 14 through Jan. 4, offering weeks of nighttime wonder for all ages. Tickets and donation opportunities for the preview are available through the event site. Since the experience unfolds entirely outdoors, warm layers are recommended.
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