LET THERE BE LIGHTS
Magical: This year’s spectacle at VanDusen Botanical Garden is sure to bring out the child in you
This is the 19th year that James Warkentin has orchestrated the immensely popular Festival of Lights at VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver.
Warkentin is in charge of the style and content of the show, which now attracts more than 100,000 people during its run from Dec. 1 to 31.
He supervises the placement of about two million twinkling Christmas lights into trees and shrubs, creating a dazzling treat for the eyes and senses.
Some of the lights are synchronized to music at Livingstone Lake to deliver a Dancing Lights extravaganza, one of the show’s main attractions.
Most of the year, Warkentin works as VanDusen’s superintendent, making sure plants are looked after and the garden is kept neat and tidy and all the plants are healthy and thriving.
But in November, he doffs his horticulturist’s hat and takes on the role of entertainment impresario.
“This show is 100 per cent showbiz,” he says. “But we also need to know how to put up and take down lights without damaging plants. Good garden knowledge is essential.”
People go to the show to see the lavish and extensive light displays.
But there are other highlights: choirs singing carols, elves pulling pranks and leading spontaneous singalongs, a shimmering fairy tale Ginger Bread Wood, hot chocolate and festival treats to consume and a chance for children to meet Santa Claus.
This year, the show has virtually doubled in size — expanding from 3.2 hectares (eight acres) to six hectares (15 acres) to create a more circuitous strolling route that eliminates dead ends and adds a new walk along Heron Lake where an additional fountain feature has been installed.
More locations have also been designed to give people opportunities for selfie photos.
As well, there is a new light feature that allows children to play with light patterns in the landscape by simply waving their hand through an invisible beam.
Warkentin works closely with the garden’s nursery propagator Bruce Macdonald to design the show. Together, they scheme out the basic layout, colour combinations and special design accents and then finesse the details during setup, which takes all of November.
However, before a single string of lights is put in place, all bulbs are tested by a squad of volunteers who patiently check all of the tens of thousands of Christmas lights. It’s a hugely labourintensive job that takes at least a month.
But the biggest headache is not faulty lights or crowd control or the challenge of making sure paths are not slippery, but the frustrating challenge of combating pesky coyotes and squirrels that chew into cables or steal lights.
“We have a special ecosystem here that includes wildlife,” says Warkentin. “Coyotes and squirrels literally feed off this show: biting into cords and trying to eat lights. It’s a problem for us.”
“We often see a squirrel running around with a Christmas light in its mouth. It can be quite comical, but also very frustrating.
“Coyotes bite into the thick cables and the squirrels have even learned to unscrew bulbs. They can shut down the show. Whatever is downstream from where they chew into a string will totally black out.”
Warkentin says he and his crew of 24 are forever repairing damage.
Bill Manning, VanDusen’s director, says they have captured squirrels and marked their tails to see if they are repeat offenders. “We have quite a bit of recidivism it seems,” laughs Manning. “Many of the squirrels come back and do it again.”
Theft and vandalism can also be problems. Cables have been stolen and lights smashed.
“We always increase security not just during the show but also during setup and takedown. This is a big show and we have to do a lot behind the scenes to pull it off,” he says. “For instance, we have security walking around incognito at the show. You wouldn’t recognize them as security but we need to keep an eye on things and make sure everyone is safe.”
Bad weather has shut down the show a few times over the years. Heavy snowfalls and high winds have been the main culprits.
Warkentin says while it can be a crushing disappointment after all the hard work to see the show closed because of bad weather, there are always more positives than negatives. “For me, I love to hear the children’s choirs. I also love to see people dancing together and skipping along the paths like kids,” he says.
“Clearly, this show inspires people to feel young at heart and act younger and find that youthful person inside.
“People are always writing to tell us how the show made them feel like a kid again. That’s the big payback for me.”
Price of admission also gives admission to the Enchanted Nights Show at the Bloedel Conservatory.
Festivals of Lights tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for seniors and youth (13 to 18), $9 for children (3 to 12), free for children two and younger, and $36 for a family (two adults and children 18 and younger).
Show times are 4:30 to 9 p.m. (Dec. 11-17, 24, and 26-31), 4:30 to 10 p.m. Dec. 18-23, and closed Christmas Day. For more information, go to vandusengarden. org