Yeah, it’s August … but it’s time to buy tickets for Brookgreen’s holiday spectacular

Yeah, it’s August … but it’s time to buy tickets for Brookgreen’s holiday spectacular

Well, the weather outside is … well, hot, humid and delightful. It’s summertime on South Carolina’s Hammock Coast, after all.

But, for just a moment, let’s think cool, blissful and Christmasy, shall we?

Tickets are now on sale for Brookgreen Gardens’ award-winning, much-loved Nights of a Thousand Candles. If you can set aside that it seems more like a day for the beach rather than time for Christmas lights, hot cocoa and some favorite carols, you may want to grab your tickets now as they are first-come, first-served. The annual event, which stretches on select nights from Nov. 26, 2022, through Jan. 1, 2023, quickly sells out.

Brookgreen Gardens’ Nights of a Thousand Candles has been a shining example of holiday merriment for years. It is the most popular event held at the world-renown sculpture garden and is recognized by many as South Carolina’s premier Christmas attraction. Hours for the event are from 4-9 p.m. on each of the select nights. A ticket to Nights of a Thousand Candles is not part of a regular admission ticket to Brookgreen and must be purchased separately.

Tickets are: for members, $30 each for adults and $14 each for children; and for non-members, $35 each for adults and $17 for children.

Nearly 3,000 hand-lit candles and millions of twinkling lights envelop the gardens during Nights of a Thousand Candles. A regular stream of people stroll through the gardens every season sipping hot cocoa or apple cider and marveling at the light spectacular. In 2021, Nights of a Thousand Candles ranked at No. 3 in a national online contest by USA Today and 10Best to name America’s Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights event.

It’s not the first time Nights of a Thousand Candles had been in the running for the coveted award. In 2018, Murrells Inlet-based Brookgreen finished in 10^th place. In 2019, Brookgreen broke the Top 5, finishing at No. 4.

“Coming off last year’s nationwide voting, we know that this year’s Nights of a Thousand Candles will be more popular than ever,” said Mark A. Stevens, director of tourism development for the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce and South Carolina’s Hammock Coast®. “It’s just not Christmas without a visit to Brookgreen Gardens and finding yourself immersed among thousands upon thousands twinkling lights.”

Each year, it takes months — and a dedicated group of staff and volunteers — to make Brookgreen come alive with its dizzying display of lights. Read more about how it all happens by clicking here.

Brookgreen Gardens celebrated its 90^th anniversary in 2021. Founded in 1931 by Anna Hyatt Huntington and Archer Huntington, Brookgreen is home to the largest and most significant  collection of American figurative sculpture in the country and is a leader in sculpture conservation, environmental conservation, and the protection of the plants, animals, and history of the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Tickets for Nights of a Thousand Candles must be purchased in advance and you must also choose the night you’d like to attend. Tickets are date specific.

In November, tickets may be purchased for Nov. 26 and Nov. 27.

In December, tickets are available for Dec. 1, Dec. 2, Dec. 3, Dec. 4, Dec. 8, Dec. 9, Dec. 10, Dec. 11, Dec. 15, Dec. 16, Dec. 17, Dec. 18, Dec. 28, Dec. 29 and Dec. 30.

The lone January date is New Year’s Day — Jan. 1.

Brookgreen Gardens is located in Murrells Inlet, an iconic community of the Hammock Coast. It’s located across Ocean Highway from Huntington Beach State Park.

Located between Charleston to the south and Myrtle Beach to the north, the Hammock Coast® features the best the Palmetto State has to offer, providing vacationers with pristine Atlantic Ocean beaches, stunning natural beauty and abundant eco-activities. The beach communities of Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield, and southern Garden City and the historic towns of Georgetown and Andrews make up the Hammock Coast and collectively deliver an unforgettable vacation experience.