Pittsburgh Botanic Garden hosts 'Dazzling Nights' holiday light show

A million glittering lights will illuminate the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden during “Dazzling Nights,” an immersive pop-up light installation running Nov. 27 to Jan. 1.

Features of the night-time, winter wonderland display will include an interactive lighted walkway, a forest of light and fog evoking the aurora borealis and a 65-foot tunnel of white lights, all enhanced with holiday music.

Pittsburgh will be the third city to experience Dazzling Nights, said event creator Cole NeSmith, chief creative officer of The Memoir Agency, an event production company based in Orlando, Fla.

“In 2020, when everybody was in the thick of the drudgery with covid, we partnered with the Harry P. Leu Gardens in Orlando to create the first ‘Dazzling Nights’ experience,” NeSmith said. “We added Jacksonville Arboretum in 2021.

“Botanic gardens are a niche community, and we ended up meeting the fine folks from Pittsburgh Botanic Garden,” he said. “We’ve been working over the last nine months to bring this special holiday experience to Pittsburgh.”

In addition to features common to all locations, such as the walkway and tunnel, each “Dazzling Nights” display has others that are location-specific.

“We create a brand new show every year, and then we shift some of the elements around in each city to create elements that are specific to the city,” NeSmith said.

Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens’ meadow and Lotus Pond will be getting the special treatment.

“One of the things we love doing with ‘Dazzling Nights’ is integrating and highlighting the natural beauty of a place,” NeSmith said. “One of the things I’m most excited that we’re doing there is a light show with 10-foot light tubes surrounding the pond. They reflect into it, they’re all synced to music, and the light moves around with beautiful colors.”

The meadow will flicker with about 1,000 kinetic firefly lights hovering above the ground, with the surrounding dogwoods back-lighted in a deep red.

“It’s interesting features like that that make it fun to create a show that highlights the beauty of the natural space,” NeSmith said.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald agrees.

“Allegheny County is home to some of the world’s most beautiful outdoor spaces, and I’m not surprised that planners chose our region as the second place to expand,” he said.

Visitors will be able to enjoy hot chocolate, sweet treats and adult beverages from local purveyors amid about 30 lighted and decorated white trees in the welcome center. Photo opportunities will be available around a 30-foot tree.

“A winter visit through our gardens and woodlands is a unique experience, and the addition of this immersive, night-time display will delight visitors of all ages,” said Keith S. Kaiser, executive director of Pittsburgh Botanic Garden. “This innovative program is one more way that the community can connect with nature.”

The inspiration for “Dazzling Nights” came from another festival NeSmith created in Orlando.

“In 2012, I started IMMERSE in Orlando, a performing arts festival that now platforms about 1,000 artists for 75,000 guests in October,” he said. “As a result, I started working with collaborators to bring more special experiences to people for the holidays.”

Flyspace Productions, an event planning and production company based in Downtown Pittsburgh, is collaborating on the installation and operation of “Dazzling Lights” at the botanic garden.

Timed entry will be available from 5:30 to 9 p.m. nightly during the run of the display; tickets are not available on-site. “Dazzling Nights” will be closed on Christmas.

Limited, on-site parking can be reserved in advance for a fee. Free parking and a shuttle will be provided at CCAC West Hills Center, 1000 McKee Road, Oakdale.

Tickets are $25, or $22 for children, plus fees, at dazzlingpittsburgh.com.