We are frequent visitors to the Whitewater Center but had never seen their winter lights display before. Our normal holiday lights tradition is to go to Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens. We had read that the Holidays at the Garden was going to be smaller this year and many of their usual displays and activities were not going to be offered so we decided to forgo the drive to Belmont and try something new this year.
The Whitewater Center charges a parking fee ($6) and activity fees if you want to go rafting, zip lining, etc. But the trails and grounds are free, as is the light display.
I have to admit that I am a sucker for the Whitewater Center’s advertising. I love the style and simplicity of their ads. Covering everything from events to festivals, their imagery just grabs me. So when the simple “LIGHTS” postcard arrived in the mail, I was immediately intrigued.
Although this was a completely outdoor event, we knew there would be a lot of people. We also knew that because it would be outdoors, masks would not necessarily be required. In order to avoid a potentially large, maskless crowd, we got there before dark so we could be one of the first ones through. We grabbed some food and sat at an outdoor picnic table, watching the ice skating rink and waiting for it to be dark enough for the lights to open. (We passed on ice skating because it seemed too crowded and not especially covid-safe to us.)
The lights opened at 6pm and we headed towards the trail right around that time. We grabbed some hot chocolate from the little shack at the start of the trail, read about the artist, checked out the map, and headed out.
The lights display is the work of local artist Meredith Connelly. Using nature as her inspiration, her work features fiber optics and manufactured materials like fiberglass and plastic, creating natural elements out of manmade materials. This is the second year displaying her work, with some new additions from the 2019-20 exhibit.
The first and probably most impressive display was the large chandelier hanging over the start of the trail. The light was visible from afar and the closer we got the more impressive it was. Meant to be “moss”, the display is made of LED lighting and 126,000 strands of fiber optic cable.
With some of the installations, it was obvious what natural element they were representing. A field of mushrooms, tree roots, vines. All of these were immediately identifiable and really cool looking.
Others I had to read about afterwards before I understood the depiction. “Turkey tails” clung to the base of trees and wasp nests hung from the branches.
The last section of the exhibit was interwoven into one of the ropes courses. It was really neat for the kids to connect their summer camp experiences to this exhibit. They loved reminiscing about camp while they pointed out different features incorporated into the course.
Some sections of the exhibit lit up the trail more than others so you had to be careful with your footing. The display is on the regular trails and so roots and bumps in the trail are common. We were also there when it was really muddy and slippery in some areas. On some of the darker sections I had to use my cellphone flashlight to make sure we didn’t slip or trip.
We had talked to several friends who had been to the exhibit before us and hated it. I’ll be honest… this was not a great holiday lights experience. But that isn’t what it was meant to be. It is an artistic installation that just happens to feature lights during the holidays. And it was really cool. But you have to manage your expectations. If you are expecting to see colorful Christmas lights and Santa and his reindeer hanging from the trees, you will be disappointed for sure. If you are expecting a unique, artistic display built into natural surroundings, I think you will find this a cool experience.
I really enjoyed the Whitewater Center Lights and thought it was a worthwhile experience. But it definitely didn’t check the holiday lights box for me and I wish we had also visited Daniel Stowe. Maybe next year we’ll do both!
