A DeLIGHTful Tradition: Brookgreen Garden's Nights of a Thousand Candles

How long does it take you to set up your Christmas lights each year from start to finish? A couple of hours? Perhaps a few days, between the inside and out. And maybe, if you’re decking the entire house out in a light extravaganza, it could take a week.

But what if it took five whole months to set up and another two months to take down?

That’s precisely the case for the 12 full-time employees and 130+ volunteers responsible for the incredible success of Nights of a Thousand Candles at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. Starting every year in early August with their “infrastructure” planning, miles and miles of extension cords and lighting structures are put into place before the actual exhibits and displays are set up.

And then, it’s off to the holiday decorating races.

From August on, staff members and volunteers plan and execute the light arrangements, tweaking the decorations to best enhance the beauty of the gardens and sculptures they are so well known for. In September, lights are installed in the trees. Once everything is in place, the candles all 2,700+ of them are positioned just before opening day. Every day for 11 days (December 5-8; December 12-15; December 19-21), the almost 3,000 candles are lit by hand, and then distinguished at the end of each night.

Now in their 20th year, Nights of a Thousand Candles has grown from a 2-day event in 1999 with approximately 5,000 people in attendance to an 11-day event, hosting over 53,000 visitors in 2018 alone. This year, along with a special display in the Noble gallery celebrating their 20th year, there will be an exciting mix of past displays guests have come to anticipate, with a few new surprises they are sure to love. Attendees should keep an eye out for a new train exhibit in the Jenniwein Gallery, the changing themes from garden room to garden room, and a possible sighting of a red-nosed reindeer.

If you happen to miss the initial event, the lights and candles will be re-lit for their Light Up the New Year event December 27th, 28th and 31st. There is also a special VIP benefit on November 30th that allows guests to preview the spectacular displays, while enjoying appetizers, non-alcoholic beverages, beer and wine. This event is $100 a ticket with all proceeds earmarked for the year-round educational programs at Brookgreen Gardens.

By the time Nights of a Thousand Candles is complete, over 30,000 candles have been used and 50,000+ guests have been enchanted but none of that holds a single candle to the countless memories that have been made.