What to know before hitting the ‘Lightscape’ trails
Right before the pandemic, Sabina Carr was invited to Chicago to check out “Lightscape,” the immersive light installation, with an eye toward bringing it to the San Antonio Botanical Garden.
Carr, the garden’s chief executive officer, said she was blown away by the show and knew she wanted to bring it here. She also knew it would need one tweak.
“I said, it’s going to have to have a Texas twist,” she said.
That’s why the “Lightscape” that San Antonians have been exploring includes a field of light designed to look like an expanse of bluebonnets.
The installation, which has delighted visitors at gardens and other sites around the world, includes a sea of light and a winter cathedral.
Carr had planned to
open the San Antonio edition last year, but the pandemic put the kibosh on that. Now that “Lightscape” is here, a lot of people have taken advantage of the chance to walk illuminated trails
through the garden. If attendance stays on track, about 95,000 to 105,000 people are expected to have checked it out by the time it closes just after the first of the year.
And folks will have a
chance to see it again. The garden is contracted to present it annually for five years.
Those who go should wear comfy shoes and plan to spend between an hour and an hour and a half walking through. It’s also a good idea to buy tickets in advance, since “Lightscape” has often sold out in other markets and is selling briskly here.
Parking reservations are required for those who are driving to the garden. There is limited VIP parking available for $15. Free parking is available at the Founders Hall parking lots and garage at the University of the Incarnate Word; shuttles will ferry ticket holders to the garden every five to 10 minutes.
Another thing to note: Holiday treats, including s’mores and hot chocolate, will be available for purchase.
Carr has spent a lot of evenings at the garden to get a sense of how visitors are responding. Her favorite assessment came from
a little girl who seemed to sum up the experience for a lot of people: “She came running out — she couldn’t have been more than 4 — and said ‘Hey, Mama, that was the funnest thing every in the whole world!’ ”