A Longwood Gardens Christmas

October 26, 2009

Contact: Patricia Evans 
610-388-1000, ext. 442 
pevans@longwoodgardens.org   

PRESS RELEASE AND PHOTOS AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY UPON REQUEST

Brief: Enjoy A Longwood Gardens Christmas November 26, 2009-January 10, 2010.

KENNETT SQUARE, PA – Come to wonder and be amazed during a Longwood Gardens Christmas November 26, 2009 through January 10, 2010.  The horticulture showplace near Kennett Square, PA dazzles guests with spectacular floral displays, stunning trees, holiday music, 500,000 outdoor lights, dancing fountains and ice skating under the stars to delight the entire family. Admission to the display is by Timed Ticket only, with tickets issued for specific dates and times. Timed tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.longwoodgardens.org, by calling 610-388-1000 ext. 100, or in person at Longwood.

A Dazzling Dinner Dance, Floral Carpet and More
This year, Longwood’s Music Room is transformed into a holiday dinner dance with festively adorned tables featuring hand-painted china and vases from Portland, ME-based artist Scott Potter. Potter is known for redefining the traditional art of découpage, learning the ancient craft of gilding on glass along the way. For Longwood, he is producing lush glass masterpieces with bold fruits, flowers and pollinators as part of Longwood’s 2009 celebration The Bees & The Bees: Pollination & the Secret Lives of Plants. Guests can purchase the one-of-a-kind signed creations in the display.
 The tables throughout the grand room are elegantly dressed with rich, jewel-tone linens in luxurious fabrics from Special Occasions & Queen Street Linens (www.specialo.com) of Lancaster, PA. Each of the 12 intimate tables for two feature unique linen combinations specially selected to accent and enhance the table finery.
 The festive holiday scene includes custom lighting from Sunlighting, Ltd. of Wilmington, DE (www.Sunlightingltd.com). Custom lamps featuring hand-crafted, decorative shades softly illuminate the room creating a delightful holiday ambiance at every turn.
Steps away in the 4.5-acre heated Conservatory, thousands of poinsettias accented with amaryllis, narcissus, begonias, cyclamen, and tulips flourish. Elegantly decorated trees shimmer and sparkle with festive flair. In Longwood’s Exhibition Hall, dazzling icicles fashioned from lights hang from the vaulted glass ceiling over an ornate 85-foot-long carpet fashioned from more than 1,000 living plants. The red, green and creamy white creation features ivy, begonias, poinsettias and more as it flows across the Exhibition Hall leading the eye to a dazzling tree resplendent in begonias accented with red and gold ornaments and ribbons. The East Conservatory boasts Longwood’s largest indoor tree, a 28 foot-tall Douglas Fir decorated with 800 cobalt blue butterflies that gently flutter accompanied by blue, silver and white holiday ornaments. More horticultural finery, including swags of exotic plants, living wreaths, and decorated trees flourish throughout the Conservatory.

Dancing Fountains, Outdoor Lights and Ice Skating Under the Stars
Longwood works its holiday magic outdoors, too. More than 500,000 outdoor lights adorning 74 trees in classical and free-style form enchant both young and old. New additions to the lighting extravaganza include the illumination of two of Longwood’s Nature’s Castles treehouses! Experience the treehouses decked out for the holidays as they glitter and glow in woodland settings.
Fountains dance day and night to holiday music in the Open Air Theatre (weather permitting) beneath glimmering starry snowflakes.
Ice skating performances grace Longwood’s picturesque Chimes Tower as past, present and future Olympians join professional skaters in shows throughout the day and evening. Special guests 2009 Bronze Medalist ice dancers Kim Navarro and Brent Bommentre perform Nov 27-29, while returning favorites Olympians Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn perform throughout the season. (To ensure seating, special tickets are required to view the skating. Tickets can be purchased in advance online at www.longwoodgardens.org and are $5 for individuals and $4 for Garden Pass members.)
Natural edible ornaments adorn Wildlife Trees created especially for Longwood’s feathered and furry friends. The Gardener’s Tree features ornaments crafted from garden findings, including gourds, seedpods, and cones, while topiary reindeer frolic in the geometric beauty of the nearby Topiary Garden. 

Music & Special Events
Music is a perennial gift at Longwood Gardens. Holiday concerts in the ornate Ballroom include organ sing-alongs on Longwood’s newly renovated 10,010-pipe Aeolian organ, and evening choral and bell choir performances by area groups. In Longwood’s historic Chimes Tower, the carillon with 62 bells plays holiday music every half hour. Strolling performances on weekends fill the gardens with holiday music at every turn.
On New Year’s Eve, Longwood will remain open until 10 pm with special festive activities for the entire family. Find fun around every corner with strolling performances by carolers, and a barbershop quartet. Families will enjoy face painting, a balloon artist, a kids’ craft station and more!  A spectacular 5-minute fireworks display tops off the fun at 9:15 pm. 

Dining Delights
Enjoy sumptuous dinners, fun Breakfasts with Santa and the popular Yuletide Buffet throughout the holiday season. Families are invited to enjoy Breakfast with Santa December 12, 13, 19 & 20 at 8:00 and 9:30 am. Enjoy an array of breakfast items that are sure to please the entire family. Reservations are required and prices include Gardens admission. Ages 12 & over $40, ages 5-11 $22; Ages 4 and under, free. Pricing for Garden Passholders are ages 12 and older: $28; ages 5-11: $16.
Enjoy the holiday in style with the festive Yuletide Buffet featuring a carving station, a variety of side dishes, soups, delicious desserts and more. Reservations are required. The Buffet is open to the public December 19-23, 26-31; 3:00–8:00 pm. Prices include Gardens admission: Ages 12 & older: $52 ages 5-11: $31; ages 4 and under: free. Passholder pricing is $40 for ages 12 and older and $25 for ages 5-11.
Groups are welcome at our Yuletide Buffet! Call 610-388-1000 ext. 512 for special dates and hours, pricing information and reservations. Reservations are being accepted beginning October 1.

Children’s Trees
Longwood invites area schools to share in the joy of the season by making ornaments for a Children’s Tree Display.  This year, Longwood expanded the program to also include natural ornaments for its wildlife trees. Participating schools include:

Percipio Group	Hockessin DE
Conestoga Valley Homeschoolers	New Providence PA
Upattinas School	Glenmoore PA
Caln Elementary	Thorndale PA
Friendship Elementary	Coatesville PA
Kindle School	Pitman NJ
Mary S. Shoemaker School	Woodstown NJ
Leasure Elementary	Newark DE
Upland Country Day School	Kennett Square PA
West Chester Friends School	West Chester PA
Assumption B.V.M. School	West Grove PA
Maclary Elementary	Newark DE
Nottingham Elementary School	Oxford PA
North Star Elementary	Hockessin DE
St. Peter and Paul	West Chester PA
Children's House Montessori School	Wilmington DE

Admission & Ticketing
A Longwood Gardens Christmas runs November 26 – January 10, 9 am to 9 pm. Timed Tickets allow entry during half-hour intervals throughout the day, from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Longwood will remain open until 10 pm on Saturdays and December 26-31. Timed Tickets are on sale online at www.longwoodgardens.org or in person at Longwood.
Please note Longwood will host special Garden Pass Member-only Holiday Evenings on Monday, December 7 and Monday, December 14 from 6-10 pm. Only Garden Pass Members will be admitted on these exclusive evenings. 

General Admission prices are $16 for adults; $14 for seniors (age 62+), $6 for students (ages 5-22) free age 4 and under. Tickets to view the ice skating performances are an additional fee of $5 ($4 for Garden Passholders.) and are available now.  Complete information is available online at www.longwoodgardens.org.

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