Morton Arboretum’s “Illumination: Tree Lights” exhibit is one of the best festive botanical displays you’ll see this holiday season, according to a recent ranking by USA TODAY.
The publication’s Top 10 Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights for 2024, highlighting the top botanical light shows across the country this year, put the arboretum’s Lisle display at No. 10. It’s the third time “Illumination” has been honored by USA TODAY as a top-tier holiday spectacle.
“’Illumination’ continues to be a standout holiday experience, drawing national recognition for its fresh take on holiday light displays, where trees themselves are the main attraction, not just the lights,” Amy Scott, Morton Arboretum’s head of exhibitions, said in a news release.
Now in its 12th year, the display takes visitors through an exhibition of color, light and sound, stretching across some 50 acres of the arboretum’s trees. The festive experience is mapped out along a one-mile, fully ADA-compliant route.
Since its inception in 2013, it has attracted more than two million visitors, arboretum officials estimate.
“Illumination” 2024 features 17 immersive light displays, each designed to highlight the beauty of trees in the winter. The exhibit is updated every season. New this year is Celebration Circle, an interactive light display at the Gerard T. Donnelly Grand Garden that features four sets of illuminated tree-shaped installations, each synced to the music of a different instrument, according to the arboretum.
“What sets the arboretum apart is our focus on the natural beauty of trees in the winter, creating a unique, family-friendly experience that celebrates the season in a way no other light show does,” Scott said. “It’s an outdoor holiday tradition that families look forward to every year.”
In honoring “Illumination,” USA TODAY underscored the show’s “acres of dazzling lights and music.”
The botanical display ranking is part of its annual “10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards,” which combine both expert and reader opinions to laud the crème de la crème across a range of categories, from food and destinations to travel gear and lodging.
“Illumination” was the only botanical display in Illinois highlighted in the Choice Awards this year. Other displays that made the cut include light shows in Arkansas, South Carolina and Missouri. The No. 1 slot went to “Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden” in Richmond, Virginia.
In addition to the USA TODAY ranking, “Illumination” also was featured on U.S. News & World Report’s list of the “28 Best Christmas Light Displays + Tours for 2024.”
The exhibit is open from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 4, 2025. More information and ticket details can be found at https://bit.ly/3Vy0QGL.
