‘Glow’ is back to fill Botanical Garden with festive holiday fun

Cleveland Botanical Garden getting all spruced-up again for the holidays

That certain “Glow” is back at Cleveland Botanical Garden.

“Glow,” which aims to transfer the attraction at 11030 East Blvd. in Cleveland’s University Circle into a festive holiday-season hot spot, runs Nov. 24 through Dec. 31.

A 20-foot-tall decorated fir tree surrounded by whimsical gingerbread houses and colorful winter plants will greet visitors as they enter “Glow,” a news release from the Botanical Garden states.

Children can climb aboard the Garden Express train for a ride through the gardens, make crafts at Evergreen Adventures or create their own gingerbread house for an additional fee in Glow Village.

Adults and children alike may marvel at the new model train display featuring 220 feet of brass G-gauge tracks that, the release states, will wind through a miniature tropical forest and a Cleveland neighborhood.

Nighttime visitors to “Glow” will experience an entirely new outdoor lighting display along with new colorful lighting in the Glasshouse.

Other “Glow” highlights include:

• Dozens of creative trees decorated by Affiliate Garden Clubs

• More than 100 gingerbread houses created by children, families and professionals

• More than 1,000 holiday plants, including amaryllis, white hydrangeas and poinsettias • Live holiday music • Seasonal refreshments for purchase in the Garden Café, including adult and children’s beverages

• Holiday gifts for purchase in the Garden Store.

“Glow” hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays; noon to 6 p.m. Sundays — but 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 24 and 31; closed Mondays.

Glow admission is free for members of the Cleveland Botanical Garden and its sister attraction, the Holden Arboretum in Kirtland.

Nonmember admission is $16 per adult, $12 per child age 3 to 12, and free for children 2 and younger.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CLEVELAND BOTANICAL GARDEN Children can climb aboard the Garden Express train for a ride through the gardens during “Glow” at the Cleveland Botanical Garden.

Gingerbread houses are part of the fun at “Glow.”