Christmas Glow Barrie opened up Saturday night and attracted thousands of visitors to Bradford Greenhouses Garden Gallery just outside the city for a unique festive experience.
The highly anticipated 'Glow Around the World' event took over part of the County Road 90 business to put on a light and music display that had kids of all ages smiling as they walked around structures like the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, London Bridge, the Taj Mahal and a colourful Chinese dragon.
Crystal Koskinen, the creative director and designer for Christmas Glow Barrie, said although she oversaw the building of the layout and structures, she is still amazed at how alive it looks now that it's completed.
“As we have been going along the last couple of weeks it has been very spacious, but it’s very interesting to see it so festive and lively in here,” said Koskinen. “It is so fun to watch people interact with the installations.”
Koskinen has a chance to go out to the Langley, B.C., displays and was able to get an idea of what they were looking for at the Barrie location.
Barrie joined Langley and Edmonton as the only three cities in the country to get a Christmas Glow location and Koskinen is happy that it did, because it feels like a perfect fit.
“Bradford Greenhouses Garden Gallery is stunning this time of year, so you have to really get here to see what all the hype is about,” said Koskinen. "It truly doesn’t do it justice through pictures, being here and looking at the over one million lights and structures will have you in awe no matter how old you are.”
Christmas Glow Barrie’s opening night was expected to draw approximately 3,000 people and is open until Jan. 6, giving everyone lots of time to bring the family in for dinner from one of the food trucks, drinks in a light-up glass, shop at the Christmas market and a visit with Santa Claus.
Tickets are $22.99 for adults, $69.99 for a family (two adults and three children), $16.99 for children and seniors, while kids three years old and under are free.
For more information, visit the Christmas Glow Barrie website.
