100,000 Lights Go Up For An Unforgetable Christmas

Source: Hunter Valley Wine Country

More than 100,000 lights with names like “Aeroplane Santa”, “Inflatable Snowdome” and “Flying Fairies”, as well as over 3.5 km of cabling will be going up at Hunter Valley Gardens to launch the inaugural “Christmas Lights Spectacular” this festive season.

The display, which will be officially lit on Friday, November 30, will be on every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night through until December 30 (including Christmas Eve), from 7.30pm to 10.00pm and is expected to attract thousands of people as they mark this special time of year.

Will Creedon, General Manager, Hunter Valley Gardens says, “We were so excited to purchase this magical display from the famous Lake Macquarie “Gracelands” property to ensure that the long standing tradition is continued.

This spectacular sight will capture what the Christmas Spirit is all about, and we know that the activities we have planned will be a joy for the whole family.”

Alan and Margaret Spencer, who previously owned the display, would spend months stringing up the lights on their Belmont North house, and in the weeks before Christmas, thousands of people used to flock to the street to donate money to charity and enjoy the display. Due to ill health, the Spencer’s are sadly no longer able to put up their display.

The Hunter Valley Gardens will be doing their best to continue the giving tradition by collecting gold coin donations from visitors through out the month for the Salvation Army.

In the lead up to the opening night, Hunter Valley Gardens will be running a competition to find the official “switch family” who will have the honour of flicking the lights at Hunter Valley Gardens for the first time with Alan and Margaret Spencer who will be “handing over the reins” that evening.

The winning family will not only have the thrill of lighting up the display, but will also win a night’s stay at Harrigan’s Irish Pub & Accommodation on the opening night, with dinner and a bottle of wine included. To enter, each family will need to email the Hunter Valley Gardens at competition@hvg.com.au and in 25 words or less write in to tell them their Story of Christmas or what Christmas means to them. The winning family will be notified a few days before the big event.

Other activities planned for the special month include the Australian Youth Choir to perform on Opening night, a Santa’s Cave, where kids will be able to have their photo taken with Santa, which parents will be able to purchase from Image World professional photographers who will be on site. There will be a combination of fun Christmas music, local school choral groups, string quartets, choirs and solo artists singing with a different performance on every night. There will be a large train set display, street performers, face painters, clowns and much more.

The Garden Terrace café will serve coffee, ice cream, and savoury favourites such as steak sandwiches, sausage sandwiches and gourmet pies.

Entry into the Gardens at night is $10 per adult and $5 for those between the age of six and 15. Children that are five and under enter free. If guests have visited the Gardens during the day they are entitled to enter in the evening for free.

To find out more about the Christmas Lights Spectacular and other activities at the Hunter Valley Gardens during the festive season, visit www.hvg.com.au or call 02 4998 4000.

Posted by Admin on November 28th, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Posted under: Hunter Valley News