Here’s how to see Desert Botanical Gardens luminarias
The annual Southwest holiday tradition of flickering luminarias will illuminate Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix throughout December.
Las Noches de las Luminarias 2022, during which thousands of paper bag lanterns light the garden’s trails as musicians perform, starts Dec. 1 for members and Dec. 9 for the general public.
Playing With Stars: Rotraut will be on show at the same time, and visitors will find colorful large-scale sculptures by Arizona-based German-French visual artist Rotraut along the trails. Her small sculptures and paintings are inside the Ottosen Gallery.
There also will be a kid-friendly enchanted winter village where guests can take part in a community project inside Webster Auditorium. La Posada, a Mexican procession, will return on Dec. 18 for the first time since 2019. La Posada includes singing processions through the garden, piñatas and traditional food
and drinks.
Tickets are on sale now at 480941-1225 and https://dbg.org; reservations are required.
For those who want to honor a loved one or share a personalized message on a luminaria bag that will be placed at the Jan and Tom Lewis Desert Portal, call 480-941-3517 or purchase a tribute bag on the garden’s website. The minimum donation is $125.
What to expect at Las Noches de las Luminarias 2022
Live entertainment, including mariachi bands, choirs, hand-bell performers and instrumental bands, varies by day. Here are the 2022 performers:
The King’s Carolers.
Mariachi Pasion.
Gustavo Angeles Trio.
Sahnas Brothers.
Phoenix Boys Choir.
Daystar Handbells.
Red Rock Bass.
Traveler.
Simply Three.
Vinyl Station.
Jaleo and Rasapetatiando Dance Company.
Harpsynergy.
Mountain View Lutheran Bells of Praise.
Mountain View Presbyterian Church hand bells.
Reach the reporter at kimi.robinson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin and Instagram @ReporterKiMi.