Experience the magic of A Longwood Christmas! During this festive season, prepare to be amazed as our OLLI group is extended an invitation to ‘virtually’ explore the wondrous spaces of Longwood Gardens at its holiday best. Our group will experience many decorated spaces… marvel at ‘select’ how-didthey-do-that displays … and enjoy spectacular beauty at every turn.
A living & expanding expression of its 1920’s founder, Pierre S. du Pont, Longwood Gardens covers 200 plus acres located about an hour west of Philadelphia. At its’ beginning in the early 1960s, the holiday display included a modest 1,000 poinsettias indoors and a small Christmas Tree Lane in the parking lot. Nothing compares to the growth of Longwood’s Christmas display. On site attendance soared as more features were added and by 1984 there were 81 trees outdoors with 60,000 lights. Today, as many as 300,000 guests enjoy an extravaganza of 400,000 lights, 200 concerts, dancing fountains, and superb floral displays – just the sort of spectacle that Mr. du Pont loved.
Our virtual stroll will be led by Jim Sutton, Associate Director, Display Design as our group is guided through paths outside decorated with hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights and the historic Main Conservatory, where magnificently decorated trees, thousands of poinsettias, and fragrant flowers transform Pierre S. du Pont’s fabled glass house into a holiday wonderland. Our discussion will be facilitated by Timothy Gould, Director of Continuing Education, Longwood Gardens.
