Categories: Lifestyle

A dreamy Alberta botanic garden will feature a lantern-lit trail this winter

Photo via University of Alberta

The holidays are making a comeback and so is Luminaria—a beloved festival that celebrates lights and warmth at The U of A Botanic Garden in Edmonton, Alberta.

After a brief pause, this magical experience has returned and they’ve taken some notes!

What to expect in 2024

According to their website, this year, Luminaria will be keeping things simple—focusing on the fundamental reason people fell in love with it in the first place.

“We’re unplugging (most) of the electric lights and celebrating the elemental – candlelight, starlight and firelight – during the darkest nights of the year,” they explain.

“You can slow down and share a moment of serenity with the people you love in a stroll along the candlelit pathways of the Kurimoto Japanese Garden. Warmed by fires and hot apple cider, take in the sounds of acapella singers, light a candle in memory of a loved one and mark the essence of the season in a ritual of peace and beauty.”

The catch?

You’ll only have three weekends to check it out. December 13th to 15th, the 20th to the 22nd, and the 27th to the 29th.

In addition, they will also be scaling back ticket sales.

Tickets

“To maintain a peaceful and unrushed atmosphere and to ensure adequate free parking at the Garden, we are offering a limited number of tickets,” they write on their website.

“By comparison, in previous years we offered up to 30,000 tickets – this year we are limiting capacity to 8,100 guests over the course of nine evenings.”

If you’d still like to check it out, don’t hesitate to get your tickets.

This November, Garden Year-Round Members will get priority access to passes. This pre-sale is on now and will be followed by a general sale on November 25th – but only if there is space left.

As you can imagine, they’ll go quickly, and you won’t want to miss it!

It’s going to be enchanting, Edmonton!

There’s nothing like it.