Enchanted Forest of Light returns to celebrate the holiday season
Long before the Halloween candy was passed out, holiday lights and decorations began appearing in box stores and local retailers around the region, to the collective groans of many shoppers who had not yet carved up their pumpkins. Now, with the aging jack-o-lanterns on doorsteps forgotten, the holiday season can truly begin with the opening of the Descanso Gardens Enchanted Forest of Light in La Cañada Flintridge.
Visitors pass by the Pixel Grove at the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Visitors walk near the Fantasy Forest at the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Houses of light by artist Tom Fruin are large enough for visitors to enter at the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The new model railroad at the Descanso Gardens also features some miniature versions of the larger light installations at the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
1,000 electric tulips light up the night at the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The Ancient Forest lights up the night for visitors at the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Light creates magic as it passes through sculptural metal installations by HYBYCOZO at the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Visitors walk though the Pixel Grove at the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The Garden of Good Fortune in the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A full moon seems to float on the Mulberry Pond at the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
At the Symphony of the Oaks visitors can create their own music as they walk near the oak trees at the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Visitors check out sculptural metal light installations by HYBYCOZO at the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Visitors begin their journey through the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Visitors pass by the Pixel Grove at the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens in LA Canada Flintridge, CA on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The Enchanted Forest of Light is an annual holiday light show featuring a variety of lighting effects and runs through January 5th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
In its seventh year, the Enchanted Forest of Light brings back all of its most popular light attractions with some new twists. With the addition of the model railroad, miniature light attractions have been placed along the tracks of the G-scale train routes. Miniature villages are lit up for the night as the trains make their way through tiny villages.
Food, hot drinks, and seasonal treats are available at Enchanted. The hot cocoa can be welcoming and Jennifer Errico, marketing manager for Descanso Gardens, advises visitors to dress warmly, “Descanso Gardens sits in a micro-climate and it can get quite chilly at night,” she said.
Return visitors will find some displays in new locations, but the ethereal music, foggy atmosphere and tranquil settings remain the same. A couple of hours at Enchanted will make visitors forget about the assault on their senses by gaudy 12-foot blow-up Santas appearing in stores when the weather was still hot, by bringing a more contemplative and relaxing mood to the holiday season.
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Tickets for the Enchanted Forest of Light must be purchased in advance. Prices are $22-45 for non-members, $15-38 for members; and children ages 2-12, $17-30 for non-members, $10-23 for members. Hours are 5:30-10pm through January 5. It is is closed November 28 and December 24-25. For more information and tickets go to: https://www.descansogardens.org/events-and-activities/enchanted/