Georgia’s Callaway Gardens—a botanical paradise just an hour southwest of the Atlanta airport—is magical at any time of the year, but for more than twenty years the Gardens have been a holiday destination for the spectacular Fantasy in Lights show. Beginning on Friday, November 18, visitors will be treated to more than a dozen lighted scenes—many with music—along the scenic drive through the Gardens. More than eight million lights make up the spectacle, which was originally designed by lighting professionals who formerly worked with Disney’s Imagineering department. This year in honor of the 25th showing of Fantasy in Lights, a new scene entitled “Snow Day” has been added to the show. Other crowd-pleasers, including Fil the Frog, are still wowing spectators.
Today, visitors to the show can also enjoy the Christmas Village, an indoor shopping and hospitality area which offers photos with Santa and a Village Cafe. Other seasonal treats include weekend Story Time with Mrs. Claus, character breakfasts with Yuletide favorites including Frosty and Rudolph, and a holiday dinner show featuring a live-action version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” The Gardens’ woodland Ida Cason Callaway Chapel presents organ concerts Saturdays and Sundays as well as Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. To crown the festivities, a special Christmas Day Buffet will be offered from noon to 4 p.m. in the Gardens’ Lodge and Spa’s Piedmont Restaurant and the Mountain Creek Inn’s Plant Room Restaurant.
Callaway Gardens is located at Pine Mountain, Georgia, southwest of Atlanta on US Highway 27.
Fantasy in Lights runs every night from November 18, 2016 through January 7, 2017. For more information including lodging and dining options, check the website at www.callawaygardens.com.
Photos courtesy of Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, GA
