WPS Garden of Lights Fun Facts | Green Bay Botanical Garden

Garden of Lights

Fun Facts

History

Started from an article read by Executive Director Glenn Spevacek about a similar event at Callaway Gardens in Georgia. Jerry Landwehr (Director of Horticulture) visited and brought their event to life at the Garden in 1997
Started with a few displays and less than 100,000 lights as the Garden didn’t have many open areas at the time
All displays are nature-inspired.
Today, 350,000 lights (Between 325,000-350,000 LED lights and less than 1,000 incandescent) are used
18–20 loads of mulch is put down on the groomed paths during the event
Average increase in the electrical bill for the month of December is $450

Maintenance & Set Up Schedule

January

Take down, store,
and repair lights.

May

Build and weld the steel frames, both old and new. Spray paint them black and prep for light attachment.

July

String and restring lights on frames.

October

Set up light show from the start of October through Thanksgiving.

Volunteers

Estimated hours on display creation and repair = 500 hours throughout the year
Set up Volunteers: 10–15 for 6 weeks/3 days a week at 4 hours = 720 hours to 1,080 hours
Event Volunteers: 53 per night for 19 nights; 1,007 total volunteers or 3,021 hours
More than 4,601 total hours

Light Displays

Less fading over the years

Built to last – less replacement cost

Energy efficient – less heat

The Garden uses both commercial grade (58 strings together) and residential grade (45 strings together)
We use 15,000–20,000 zip ties both 4” and 8”
We use regular household extension cords throughout the entire display
Each display is created, built, and set up by Garden staff, volunteers, or NWTC students – they are not purchased from a big box store!

On/off switches: 1 used for the upper garden and 2 used for the lower gardens
2 miles of path lighting is used throughout the Garden
14 computer controllers are used to make the lights flash/move and are encased in tote boxes for protection
RGB Technology is used in some of the displays

Our Lights Glow Green

The light structures glow almost exclusively using energy-efficient LED lights which not only consume up to 80% less electricity than traditional incandescent lights, but also have a lifespan of five years or more.

Garden of Lights

Fun Facts

History

Maintenance & Set Up Schedule

January

May

July

October

Volunteers

Light Displays

Our Lights Glow Green

50' Tree Set Up Time Lapse

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