By Linda Badger

This winter, the San Francisco Botanical Garden will open after dark to host a new event called “Lightscape.”

Now through Jan. 4, the Garden’s trees, plants and ponds will serve as a backdrop for more than a million lights, creative art installations and musical accompaniment. Visitors will walk a one-mile trail of lights carpeting the meadows and strung from the branches of trees, highlighting the beauty of nature in winter. Hot cocoa and other seasonal fare will be available to set the holiday mood.

Botanical gardens in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, have hosted Lightscape events, but this will be the first time it is offered in San Francisco.

“We are thrilled to work with the team at the Gardens of Golden Gate Park to bring this magical holiday event to San Francisco,” said San Francisco Recreation and Park Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg. “This is exactly what our City and what our world needs right now – opportunities to come together to celebrate the season in this beautiful garden. I’m excited for visitors to enjoy the Botanical Garden after hours at night.”

Lightscape is the brainchild of a UK company, Culture Creative. The company first used lights, light sculptures and music to create “Christmas at Kew,” at the famous Kew Gardens in London in 2013. The event was so popular that it became an annual tradition and has continued as such for over a decade. Since its debut at Kew, Lightscape has lit up winter skies in Melbourne, Brooklyn, San Diego and Los Angeles.

Today, Custom Creative, in partnership with Sony Music, has amassed a large library of Lightscape installations used around the world. They customize the art and music to suit a particular venue’s environment and demographics.

Gregg Curtis, the producer of Lightscape in San Francisco, said that given the multicultural nature of the City, the event will not be focused on Christmas, but rather on a celebration of the winter season.

“We want everyone, all people, to feel welcome,” Curtis said.

Lightscape at the Botanical Garden highlights some of its most prized features and plants. According to Brendan Lange, director of advancement for the Gardens of Golden Gate Park, an art installation titled the “Neon Strawberry Tree” is “expected to be one of the most iconic installations in the show.” The installation crew, with the help of a large crane, wrapped ropes of colored neon lights around the towering Canary Island Strawberry Tree (Arbutus Canariensis) located in the South Africa Garden. Given the size of the tree, its dramatic lighting can be seen from numerous vantage points in the Garden. This legacy tree is rumored to have been planted around 1890. Listed as vulnerable to extinction in 1998, the species is now stable, thanks to the work of botanical gardens, including San Francisco’s.

Lightscape has also created a unique “Moon and Stars” installation for the Botanical Garden’s “Moon Viewing Garden.” This part of the garden, featuring a pond, wooden deck and Japanese plants, was inspired by the Japanese practice of “tsukimi,” or moon viewing. As a whimsical play on this theme, Lightscape staff hung a huge, light-filled inflatable moon from a tree and surrounded it with hundreds of twinkling stars.

In the Garden’s famed Redwood Grove, a light show is projected from the base of the towering trees, some of which are more than 100 years old. The main Waterfowl Pond is filled with lighted sculptures of giant lilies and towering bouquets of glowing peonies can be seen from its banks. Lightscape projects music as well as light throughout the Garden.

“This is magic. Just stunning,” Ginsberg said after walking the Lightscape trail for the first time. “This is what great cities do.”

Installation of Lightscape’s sculptures and technical equipment involved weeks of work by Culture Creative, Sony Music and the Botanical Garden staff. They were present throughout the installation to protect the Garden’s plants, infrastructure and wildlife.

According to Culture Creative’s website, the company engages in “full ecology surveys before we begin work on any of our outdoor trails in sensitive landscapes. This is to check for any wildlife activity, understand patterns of hibernation, and understand the impact that we could potentially have on the flora and fauna at the venue.”

To protect wildlife in the garden, all lights are turned off by 10:30 p.m. each night, allowing for approximately seven hours of normal urban darkness. In addition, Lightscape does not use any bird-unfriendly lasers or light rays pointing into the sky. Visitors to Lightscape will also be asked to help by staying on the designated path, not picking or stepping on the plants and by properly disposing of any garbage.

No outside food or drink is allowed during Lightscape, but food trucks in the Celebration Garden offer an array of dining choices from chicken and waffles to tacos, dim sum, smashburgers, churros, s’mores and kettle corn. Beverages range from hot cocoa and Gingerbread lattes to craft cocktails. The full menu can be found on the garden’s website.

Organizers hope the event establishes a new holiday tradition in San Francisco, as well as to attract more visitors to the Botanical Garden.

“We are excited to bring this world-renowned show to shine a new light on our beloved Botanical Garden,” said Gardens of Golden Gate Park CEO, Stephanie Linder. “Visitors to the Garden will thoroughly enjoy this immersive experience, unlike anything San Francisco venues have offered before. Following sold-out shows in cities around the world, we look forward to transforming the Garden into an enchanting, festive, after-dark spectacle where family and friends celebrate and make memories. We are thrilled to launch, and welcome locals and visitors to experience the wonder of Lightscape.”

Lightscape is appropriate for children of all ages, and the paths are stroller-friendly.

According to GGGP’s Brendan Lange, “Any net proceeds we earn will be reinvested back into the Gardens and our programs.”

Tickets can be purchased at gggp.org/lightscape. Prices range from $32 to $42 for adults and $20 to $24 for children aged 5-17 (children under 4 are free), depending on whether you are visiting on a “peak” date. “Museum for All” (EBT ticket holders) can get tickets for $10 on Dec. 4, 7, 11, 17, 18 and Jan. 4. Members of the Gardens of Golden Gate Park receive a 20% discount.