The Chicago Botanic Garden’s smash hit holiday light show returns to illuminate the North Shore once more.
Over the course of his decadeslong career, iconic Chicago producer Arny Granat has pulled off several lifetimes’ worth of events (100,000, he estimates), from tours by U2 and The Rolling Stones to Tony-winning Broadway shows like Fun Home and The Band’s Visit. So, back in 2019, when the Jam Productions co-founder said he had a hit on his hands, it’s safe to say something big was in the works. That high-profile project? The U.S. premiere of Lightscape, produced by Chicago Botanic Garden in partnership with Granat’s WAD Entertainment and Sony. Sure enough, the immersive after-dark installation that surrounds attendees in tunnels, waterfalls and ribbons of light was a massive hit, and now it’s back for a third year.
“It’s a light show on steroids,” noted the downtown Chicago resident before Lightscape’s 2019 debut. “I have five words in my business,” explained Granat. “No matter what it is, there are five words you want to hear: ‘You’ve got to see it.’ That’s all any producer wants. And then the word just spreads and spreads and spreads. It speaks for itself.” It certainly does, and now Lightscape—which also premieres this year at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, with other cities to follow in the years to come—has become as beloved a holiday tradition as any on the North Shore. Nov. 12-Jan. 2, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, chicagobotanic.org
Photography by: BY RIKARD ÖSTERLUND/COURTESY OF CULTURE CREATIVE; BY JONATHAN BRADY/PA WIRE VIA ZUMA PRESS; COURTESY OF CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN
