Botanical Garden lights up for season

GREEN BAY - The 16th Annual WPS Garden of Lights at the Green Bay Botanical Garden will officially kick-off on Friday.

However Monday night, members and volunteers got a sneak peak at this year's Garden of Lights display.

A 45-foot tree is home to 20,000 twinkling lights in the Botanical Garden. And its lighting marks the official kick-off to the holiday season.

"It's absolutely stunning," said volunteer Louise Hansen.

"I like the lights," explained 5-year-old Caroline Broberg.

But the thousands of lights on the tree are just a fraction of what will light up the 16th Annual WPS Garden of Lights.                         

The event features 200 displays, totaling nearly 250,000 twinkling lights.

• Photos: 16th Annual WPS Garden of Lights

This is the Garden's largest fundraiser.    

In fact it raises about a quarter of the Garden's $1 million budget each year.

"Funds raised through this special event really help support and help meet our mission everyday here at he garden and support all the educational programs, adult programs and really everything we do here at the garden," explained Director of Development Cindy Berton.

Work on the displays started last month. But Garden officials say they'll need even more help once people start rolling through.

"We actually need a total of 1,200 volunteers," Berton said. "That's about 60 per night for the Garden of Lights from concessions to admissions, to meeting and greeting the visitors."

Last year, the event attracted more than 38,000 visitors.

Garden officials hope to top that this season, since the Garden of Lights will be open four additional days.