Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and the Garden will be open! Enjoy a well-deserved long weekend at NYBG, and catch the Holiday Train Show® in its final few days before it closes after January 19. The wintry fun continues in Ross Hall with the return of All Aboard with Thomas & Friends™ mini-performances, now through January 25!
This weekend is also the time to come admire the finest treasures of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library’s world-class collection in Flora Illustrata: A Celebration of Botanical Masterworks—there will be three tours scheduled to guide visitors through this exhibition highlighting the greatest botanical library in the Western Hemisphere.
Explore the full schedule below for a full three-day weekend of illuminating and entertaining Garden experiences. We hope to see you soon!
The holidays are in full swing! For the next two weeks—through January 4, to be specific—the Holiday Train Show will bring in more visitors than ever to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, with families gathering to take part in this 23-year New York tradition as part of their seasonal celebrations. And there’s no reason you and your loved ones shouldn’t join in the fun and make some magical memories together, too!
We would like to ensure that your Garden visit is as whimsical and worry-free as possible, so continue reading below for some simple tips to help you have the best possible experience at the Holiday Train Show! Follow these handy guidelines, and you’ll be riding First Class.
This weekend marks the beginning of peak season for the Holiday Train Show® as families from around the area come to celebrate this beloved tradition in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Don’t wait another moment to get your tickets! Time slots remain available to come enjoy this beloved tradition this weekend, but the next couple of weeks are sure to sell out.
In fact, Bar Car Nights have already sold out for tonight and tomorrow, so don’t wait to reserve tickets for these special evenings in January—they’re sure to disappear.
Be sure to catch the final performance of our all-new Winter Harmonies Concert Series on Sunday afternoon, as well. An artful selection of classical favorites, inspired by the Holiday Train Show® and performed by Le Train Bleu, will complement your visit. Head below for more information about this unique musical experience, as well as the rest of this weekend’s programs and tours.
Tomorrow is the big day! At long last the Holiday Train Show, a New York Favorite, returns to NYBG. Over 150 plant-based replicas fill the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, including several new and updated landmarks! From dearly departed monuments to familiar favorites, these miniature models are suspended in time, criss-crossed by almost a quarter-mile of tracks. Tickets are reserved in advance, so check out our schedule of programs now and pick a day to enjoy this 23-year tradition with your family.
Tomorrow we kick off the new season of festivities with our Holiday Tree Lighting at 4 p.m., so don’t miss it if you’re planning to be hear toward sundown! And when you’re in the Conservatory, keep an eye out for replicas marked by a red label. These represent the many designated New York City Landmarks represented in this year’s Holiday Train Show as part of an exciting partnership with the NYC Landmarks50 Alliance to commemorate 50 years of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
This weekend also marks the opening of two very unique exhibitions in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library. Flora Illustrata: A Celebration of Botanical Masterworks, in the Art Gallery, highlights many of the treasures from the Mertz Library’s unparalleled Rare Book Collection. Journey through botanical history as you admire books, manuscripts, maps, private letters, and art from around the world—some of which are on public display for the first time! In the Ross Gallery, NYBG is also proud to present Hudson Valley Seed Library: Art of the Heirloom, a display of art commissioned by the Hudson Valley Seed Library for a series of limited edition seed packets.
Continue reading for the full schedule of programs and events this weekend, including all-new children’s programs!
The clock is running down on this year’s Holiday Train Show, meaning there are only a handful of opportunities left for you to experience this most beloved of seasonal traditions! Our trains have made more runs than we can count, zipping about the rails that wind through dozens of iconic New York landmarks, and the season’s cocktail evenings and family events have been a delight to host. But “all good things,” and so forth. This Sunday, January 12, is your very last chance to stroll under the twinkling lights of the Conservatory before we switch gears for 2014!
That’s not to say we’re entirely done with the holidays at the Garden, though. All Aboard with Thomas & Friends is only just getting started, with fun-filled, sing-along performances scheduled through January 26. But tickets go fast! If you’re planning to join us with your kids for an adventure alongside that most famous of tank engines, make a point of registering early to ensure you get the time and date that you want.
And if you’re looking for a little time spent admiring the outdoors, winter is a better time to wander the Garden’s trails and collections than you’d think. Barren branches and the serene quiet of the Forest define winter’s charm—and it’s even better when the trees are dusted with snow. Now is also the ideal time to observe the punchy colors of winter berries painting the Garden, or the deep spectrum of greens showcased in our historic conifer collections.
During the holiday season, to put me in a festive mood, I rely on amaryllis, or wreaths decorated with berried juniper, variegated ivy, and incense cedar. But the other day, while I was walking through the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory for a glimpse at the Holiday Train Show, I found a plant in the aquatic plants gallery that already looks like it is decked out for Christmas.
The sealing wax palm, Cyrtostachys renda, is frightfully festive, decked out in jewel tones of red and green! Indigenous to Malaysia and Sumatra, this palm grows in swampy habitats. It is a slow growing palm that reaches about 30 feet tall in nature, but only to about 10 to 15 feet under glass.
Start your tour at any house, and then hop on a trolley and head to the next destination! Each location will offer special activities, delicious refreshments, and a glimpse at what life was like during the holidays decades, or even centuries ago.
Everything’s that much better under a twinkling glow, and the Holiday Train Show is no exception. On Friday and Saturday nights this week, December 6 and 7, we’re turning down the lights and turning up the festivities with the first of this season’s Bar Car Nights. And if you’ve never been to one, just think of it as a chance to experience our dozens of miniature landmarks and model trains in an entirely new atmosphere—one highlighted by the cocktails and mellow tunes that make for a perfect evening in New York.
We’ll have a professional photographer on hand to capture some memories (because who wants to carry a point-and-shoot when clutch real estate comes so dear?), and new this year, you’re welcome to head outside to the Conservatory Courtyard for a live ice carving demonstration from Okamoto Studios. Their expert artists join us to turn enormous blocks of ice into all manner of holiday art, from trains to Garden landmarks and more.
Across the way in the Holiday Dining Pavilion, Stephen STARR Events will be cooking up a storm from a New York-themed menu celebrating everything delicious about historic NYC street food. Though if you’re looking to make the night last even longer, hold onto your Bar Car Night ticket stub: we’ve got partnerships with a number of gourmet restaurants offering discounts and bonuses for those who join us, all of which you can find listed here.
The lights are glittering, the trains are running, there’s a nip in the air, and we couldn’t be more thrilled about it! After exploring the wonders of the Holiday Train Show, be sure to visit the rest of the Conservatory’s sultry galleries where you’ll find beautiful and fascinating plants aplenty. Our new, limited-run Holiday Dining Pavilion: “Streets of New York” has treats for everyone in your family, and plenty of comfy seating.
Outside, the Thain Family Forest is the epitome of fall, with plenty of leaves to crunch, even if they have fallen to the ground in many places. The Native Plant Garden and Azalea Garden are also worth a visit this time of year!
Alllllllllll aboard! It’s time for the most anticipated event of the year! It’s Holiday Train Show time! This beloved holiday event under the glittering domes of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory opens to the public on Saturday, November 16, for another magical run through January 12.
This year we’re bringing you more trains than ever and a new dining experience, along with all the twinkling lights, magical ambiance, and buildings created entirely from plant materials you have come to know and love. The Holiday Train Showhas become a beloved holiday tradition for New York-area families for a reason; it’s a delightful time for the young and the young at heart!
If you’re visiting the Train Show from the city, why not make a train-filled day of it by taking Metro-North Railroad to Botanical Garden Station from beautiful Grand Central Terminal? Public transportation is one of the easiest ways to visit us at this very busy time of year, and your train-obsessed little ones will love the additional train time!
The Holiday Train Show is one of the hottest tickets in town, especially during holiday weekends. So avoid disappointment and book your ticketsnow. Tickets are for timed entry. Additionally, while stroller parking is available, strollers and tripods are not allowed in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, so if you’re bringing along a wee one, be sure to pack your favorite baby carrier.
Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and the Garden will be open! Enjoy a well-deserved long weekend at NYBG, and catch the Holiday Train Show® in its final few days before it closes after January 19. The wintry fun continues in Ross Hall with the return of All Aboard with Thomas & Friends™ mini-performances, now through January 25!
