Winter Lights at the Garden: Where Tradition Meets Wonder
While the Quad Cities Botanical Center broke records hosting the Alternating Currents finale this summer- record heat, record crowds, and the first birthday of the first-ever Plant Bus in the Midwest (already serving thousands of Quad Cities students), we’ve been quietly setting the stage for the BRIGHTEST winter season yet, one that truly makes the gardens glow.
That dichotomy of Winter Lights has always been my favorite part.
What should be the slowest season, dormant and still, plants at rest, is reinvigorated with lights of all kinds to tell a story of wonder and fun.
Winter Lights at the Quad City Botanical Center doesn’t just appear overnight.
It’s months of planning, design, and the kind of collaboration that makes you proud to be a Quad Citizen.
The truth? Ryan Wille and I started talking about the 2025 Winter Lights as soon as the new year hit. But it had to be a whisper, because everyone was TIIIIREEED. Long, cold nights hosting thousands of visitors left a small and AMAZING staff needing a rest… and oh yeah, also to do other programming, because it’s always about the next thing coming.
By July, we pour the coffee, pull out the map, and lock in plans — because it’s so damn hot we need to dream of those cold winter nights in the garden to cope with the heat.
That’s when you know you’re from the Quad Cities: dreaming of winter in summer.
Because if Festival of Trees is our community’s holly-jolly engine, then Winter Lights is its beacon — drawing families back, night after night, into the heart of the garden.
In this work, each of our Legacy Partners inspires me in a different way.
The gardens ground me, always. I could go every single day of my life and see something totally different… especially during Winter Lights.
A Living Tradition
Winter Lights has become a must-do Quad Cities holiday ritual, with families making it their kickoff to the season
It’s not just lights on trees. It’s immersive design, pathways that transform, and spaces that make kids’ eyes go wide
Attendance has grown year after year, becoming a key anchor for the Botanical Center’s annual impact
It’s proof of why the QCBC ranks at the top of our return-on-investment metrics: they’ve found a way to serve their mission of connecting plants with people, even in the dormant winter season
What’s Different This Year
Thousands more lights on display
An indoor hot chocolate café complete with the most nostalgic holiday movie scenes for selfies
A Culture Bright Neon Forest — total magic
New music collaboration with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra
Why It Matters
Winter Lights is more than seasonal décor.
For the Botanical Center, it’s a revenue stream that fuels year-round education, horticulture, and community access.
It underwrites school programs, plant collections, and the very mission of keeping this garden alive and thriving.
Two months of lights = twelve months of growth.
That’s ROI you can see in every bloom.
How You Can Help
Get your Winter Lights tickets — better yet, get your Lights and Flights tickets and gift one to that tired teacher who needs some light back in life during winter break (because let’s be honest, our kids are nearly feral by then)
Bring your people — family, coworkers, friends who need a dose of wonder
Closing
Winter Lights belongs to all of us.
It’s where tradition meets wonder, and where a garden proves it can carry an entire season on its branches.
This year, we’re raising the bar.
Trust me — you’ll feel it the minute you walk through the gates.
You’ve heard us use the phrase Culture Bright a lot this past year — now see it over six weeks in neon as an exhibit.
Totally epic, just like QCBC and the staff who make it happen.
