Brookgreen Gardens’ Nights of a Thousand Candles again named one of America’s best holiday displays

Brookgreen Gardens’ Nights of a Thousand Candles again named one of America’s best holiday displays

It’s been a shining example of holiday merriment for years, and, once again, Brookgreen Gardens’ Nights of a Thousand Candles has officially been named one of America’s Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights events.

Nights of a Thousand Candles, which comes to life under the glow of more than 2,800 hand-lit candles and countless twinkling lights throughout several acres, has been named as one of the Top 10 Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights in America.

Announced on Dec. 6, the annual awards competition, voted on by the public, has Brookgreen’s signature holiday event at No. 8.

Nights has already been regarded as South Carolina’s premier Christmas attraction. The public voted for several weeks for 19 nominees.

While the competition was strong, Nights of a Thousand Candles’ finish in the Top 10 is hardly a surprise. This is not the first time Nights of a Thousand Candles has been in the running for the coveted award. In 2023, the Murrells Inlet-based Brookgreen finished fifth in the contest, while claiming fourth place in 2022. In 2021, it took third place, its highest-ever placement. In  2019, Brookgreen broke the Top 5, finishing at No. 4, and in the inaugural year of the contest, in 2018, Murrells Inlet-based Brookgreen finished in 10^th place.

The event, open to the public for multiple nights in November, December and January, is one of the most popular events on South Carolina’s Hammock Coast®. For those looking for things to do during the holiday season in South Carolina, the Nights of a Thousand Candles event rings every holiday bell!

“I am so proud of our Nights of a Thousand Candles team for creating such a marvelous event, and so thankful for our members and fans voting for us in the Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights,” said Page Kiniry, Brookgreens’ president and CEO. “We … are honored to share the accolades with … the entire USAToday top 10 list.”

Nights of a Thousand Candles has been featured on NBC’s Today Show as one of the must-see holiday events in the USA.

With holiday music playing and live performances nightly, Brookgreen comes to life under the glow of more than 2,800 hand-lit candles and countless twinkling lights throughout several acres. Guests enjoy a serene evening at one of America’s best public gardens while enjoying warm cider or hot cocoa and spending time with family and friends.

“We are all so thrilled that Brookgreen Gardens and Nights of a Thousand Candles once again is considered by the voting public as one of the best holiday light displays in America,” 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. Locals and visitors to Georgetown County all love this annual event, and now America has weighed in, as well.”

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

Brookgreen’s win is one of many the Hammock Coast has picked up in recent years. Historic Georgetown, one of the Hammock Coast’s most popular communities and South Carolina’s third-oldest town, was named Best Coastal Small Town in 2018 by the USA Today/10Best contest.

And, earlier this year, USA Today/10Best held a contest to name the Best Beach In South Carolina. Pawleys Island, the oldest seaside resort in America and a signature Hammock Coast beach community, placed at No. 1. Two other beach communities finished in the Top 5: Litchfield Beach at No. 4 and Huntington Beach at No. 5.

Brookgreen Gardens was 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.

Located between Charleston to the south and Myrtle Beach to the north, the Hammock Coast® features the best Palmetto State has to offer, providing vacationers 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.