Louisiana Lights takes place Thursday through Sunday, November 29 through December 29. The first session starts at 17:30 and the last one starts at 20:30 each evening. Tickets start at $20 and parking starts at $10. Special events include Poinsettias & Prosecco on December 4th, A Rural Life Christmas on December 8th and Barks & Bright on December 12th. Ticket prices vary. Find more information here.
Stunning Holiday Movies. Singing corny Christmas carols. And tree trimming. There are many deep-rooted traditions surrounding the holidays. But one historic local attraction is hoping to establish itself as a new vacation must-see.
The multimillion-dollar Louisiana Lights: Where the Holidays Shine, sponsored by Visit Baton Rouge, took years to develop. It finally shines this month with custom lighting fixtures that enhance the outdoor space at the Burden Museum & Gardens. Expect hanging, light-up birds, a 30-foot light-up tree and an illuminated tunnel. Some of the more than 360,000 flashing bulbs will be synchronized to music created for the show.
“Holiday light shows are a huge draw for museums and gardens across the United States,” said Jeff Queney, director of the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens. “They’ve probably been for the last 20 years.”
The team imagined what the 25 acres of land and 32 historic buildings in the museum’s Windrush Gardens might look like, decorated with the kind of dazzling, large-scale light show seen in cities like Dallas. Kuehny, Museum of Country Life Director Bill Stark and their staff felt the more than century-old property would be the perfect place for such a display. The land already has wide paths that take about an hour to an hour and a half to traverse, which they say is the right pace for a large section.
Plus, the show should shine a much-needed spotlight on Windrush Gardens, Stark says.
“When people visit the property as a whole, a lot of the time Windrush will be the last place they really see and experience,” Stark says. “People who know (Windrush) love it and consider it a hidden gem in Baton Rouge.”
But after the debut of the new display, the hope is that Windrush will no longer be hidden.
Because of Windrush’s historical significance and natural beauty, it was important to create a light show that enhanced the space rather than detracting from it. Landscape architect, 3. Fromme Design, was commissioned to design a one-of-a-kind experience. Electricity was coordinated to be readily available around the gardens. The original fixtures and activations were produced by The Memoir Agency, an Orlando company responsible for similar light shows across the country.
Stark says Louisiana Lights doesn’t follow a central theme or plot, but rather has different immersive zones or activations for attendees to go through. At the end of the trail, there will be a s’mores-making experience, games and live musical performances by LSU students.
There’s a lot more that went into the show than stringing lights, Keuhny says.
“It’s not something you can pick up and just throw into your local park,” Stark adds. “It depends on the growth of the trees, the structures we have and the features in the gardens. One of the things I think we’re all quite adamant about is that it reflects the gardens and enhances them.’
And on November 29, the switches will finally flip, illuminating years of planning and casting multi-coloured floodlights on Windrush Gardens. Stark and Keowny hope the show will attract locals looking for a new experience while also bringing new visitors to Baton Rouge. All they have to do is follow the glow coming out of Autumn Lane.
This article was originally published in the November 2024 issue 225 Magazine.
By james art 
