This Weekend: Holiday Cheer
Posted in Around the Garden on December 20 2013, by Ann Rafalko
It’s time for family and friends! Bring them all to the Garden this weekend, and then give them the gift that keeps giving, Garden Membership! Garden Membership grants free admission, Shop in the Garden discounts, Adult Education course discounts, and allows you to support this vital institution and our local, national, and international education and research initiatives! It’s a gift that does good and brings untold happiness. I would call that a surefire win!
This weekend is chock full of holiday cheer, featuring spirited singalongs, holiday film screenings, architectural tours, and of course, the Holiday Train Show and our very last Bar Car Nights. The weather is set to be anything but frightful (and in fact quite delightful) so strap on your boots and celebrate the Winter Solstice with a stroll through our stunning grounds!
And should you need to do a wee bit more Christmas shopping, Shop in the Garden is having a fabulous ornament sale. Combine a year’s Membership with one of our exclusive Enid A. Haupt Conservatory ornaments as a perfect gift for your very favorite Garden connoisseur.
Saturday, December 21
Bird Walk – 11 a.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
The diverse habitats of the Botanical Garden offer visitors a chance to see dozens of species of birds throughout the year. Bring your binoculars and walk the Garden grounds with an expert to learn about bird-friendly habitats, migrating species, and birds that make a permanent home at the Garden.
Landmarks of New York: Library Building Architectural Tour – 12:30 p.m. & 2:30 p.m.
Meet in the Orchid Rotunda of the Library Building
Learn how this historically significant structure complements our magnificent landscape and discover the ways this space is used to promote and advocate for the plant kingdom.
Seasonal Serenades – 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.
In the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Celebrate the holiday spirit and enjoy live a cappella music, mixing classic and contemporary holiday favorites with current popular and alternative songs. After the performance, don’t miss the Holiday Tree Lighting at 4 p.m.! Performance times are subject to change; please consult the daily program during your visit..
Holiday Film Screening – 2:30 p.m.
In the Ross Hall
Cap off your Holiday Train Show visit with a trip to the movies. Enjoy some of the most cherished holiday film classics as they were meant to be seen–on the big screen. And it’s included in the price your Garden admission!
It’s a Wonderful Life (1954) Not Rated
A true holiday classic, It’s a Wonderful Life tells the story of an angel who helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed. (Run time: 130 minutes)
Bar Car Nights – 7 – 10 p.m.
On these special nights for grown-ups at the Holiday Train Show, leisurely view the wondrous exhibition while sipping a complimentary cocktail. Get into the holiday spirit under the magical glow of thousands of twinkling lights–a perfect holiday date night! A professional photographer will be on hand to capture this special holiday memory, and the images will be available for download or purchase after your visit. And new this year, head outside to the Conservatory Courtyard to watch expert ice carvers from Okamoto Studios take giant blocks of ice and transform them into holiday works of art–trains, Garden landmarks, and more.
Add dinner to your perfect holiday outing at the limited-run Holiday Dining Pavilion: The Streets of New York, and enjoy Stephen STARR Events’ inventive New York-themed menu options. Or take your Bar Car Nights ticket to one of our restaurant partners offering exclusive discounts to Bar Car Night attendees.
Non-Member $30/Member $20 (Adults 21 and over) Advance tickets recommended; includes one free cocktail
Start the night off with a champagne pre-party at Shop in the Garden each night from 6 to 7 p.m.
Sunday, December 22
Landmarks of The New York Botanical Garden – 12:30 & 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Learn about some of the featured landmarks on the grounds of the Botanical Garden, and about other New York City landmarks seen as replicas in the beloved Holiday Train Show®. Begin at the Reflecting Pool to hear about the founding of the Garden and its importance as a vital New York City cultural destination since 1891. Head to the Library Building to hear the history of this classic structure, the Tulip Tree Allee, and the Fountain of Life, then end the tour at the Haupt Conservatory where you can see the replicas of the landmark buildings mentioned along the tour
Seasonal Serenades – 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.
In the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Celebrate the holiday spirit and enjoy live a cappella music, mixing classic and contemporary holiday favorites with current popular and alternative songs. After the performance, don’t miss the Holiday Tree Lighting at 4 p.m.! Performance times are subject to change; please consult the daily program during your visit..
Holiday Film Screening – 2:30 p.m.
In the Ross Hall
Cap off your Holiday Train Show visit with a trip to the movies. Enjoy some of the most cherished holiday film classics as they were meant to be seen–on the big screen. And it’s included in the price your Garden admission!
Christmas in Connecticut (1945) Not Rated
In this classic romantic comedy, a food writer, who has lied about being the perfect housewife, must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas. (Run time: 102 minutes)
Ongoing Children’s Programs
Holiday Adventures
In the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
The Holiday Train Show® continues in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, where kids can embark on a journey through a variety of activity train station stops, including an artist’s station, an engineer’s station, and a builder’s station, as well as an educational display of Holiday Train Show® houses. Each weekend brings even more fun with Holiday Parades and Ralph Lee’s Artist Station, a craft studio for families featuring train landscapes and materials kids can use to create their own trains, people, and animals to inhabit the scene!
