Luminarias to Glow, at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

The traditional paper-bag'd lanterns'll light up the Claremont destination.

What to Know

  • Dec. 7, 8, 14, 15
  • $12 adult, $8 senior, student, child
  • Claremont

If you're a devotee of decorations, and you go fully gaga for anything that glows, you know that you'll assuredly come across a host of amazing holiday lights, in several places around the region, during the month of December.

But some categories of holiday lights are a bit rarer, and harder to find, when compared to strings of bulbs and big LED figures, which can be seen in so many places at the close of the year.

Take, for example, the luminaria, which is seen in profusion, come Christmas Eve, in places like Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and points beyond.

The small brown bags, which include flickering candles (real or simulated), line park paths, sidewalks, and adobe rooftops. And when there are a lot of them, all together? "Magical" is a word that springs to many a mind.

Finding a luminaria-type experience beyond New Mexico can be a bit tricky, unless, of course, you happen to be at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden on the right December night.

And, as it has done in the past, the Claremont destination will place "... over 1,000 illuminated lights along Garden trails," all to present to visitors a more meditative and quiet expression of the season.

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The official name, "Luminaria Nights at Origami in the Garden," reveals that the "larger-than-life origami sculptures" on view will also play a beautiful part of the nights. As will live music, which will complement the feel presented by both the sculptures and the paper lanterns.

The dazzling dates? Be there on Dec. 7, 8, 14, or 15, from 6 to 8:30 in the evening. (And, indeed, dress warmly, as this is outside).

A ticket? It's $12, with seniors, students, and children 3-12 entering for $8.

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