The Griswold’s may have set the standard for over-the-top Christmas decorations in the 1989 movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but even Clark Griswold ain’t got nothin’ on Mobile’s Bellingrath Gardens.
HowStuffWorks.com, which is owned by The Learning Channel (TLC), released a list of the “50 Best Places to See Christmas Lights in America,” and Bellingrath Gardens is at the top. Right below them? North Pole, Alaska.
“Stroll through over 3 million sparkling lights and over 950 displays throughout the 65 acre Garden estate,” Britt Reints of HowStuffWorks.com wrote. “Enjoy nightly choral performances on the South Terrace of the Bellingrath Home.”
“This light show is home-grown, being designed, fabricated, lamped, installed and maintained by the Bellingrath staff,” explained a YouTube video highlighting the history of the yearly event. “We use a design process that is highly collaborative between Bellingrath staff and Claire Graham, designer and former Disney imagineer… [She] has transformed Bellingrath’s holiday light show into one of the premier light shows in America.”
The Bellingrath Gardens Christmas lights are set to go on display Nov. 29 and will run through the end of the year. Tickets are $24.00 for adults (13+), $13.00 for kids (5-12) and children under 4 get in free. They can be purchased online HERE or in person at the gate.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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