The millionth people were Micki and Randy Baldwin, first time visitors from Northern California. They had been visiting their sons and new grandchild in Oklahoma City, and when they travel, the couple visits botanical garden and arboretums since Randy is a gardener.
Named by Southern Living in 2015 as one of “The South’s Best Holiday Experiences,” The 12 Days of Christmas exhibit features 12 elaborate, 25-foot-tall Victorian gazebos displayed in the 66-acre garden. Each gazebo is filled with the charming costumed characters, whimsical animals and winter scenes made famous by the beloved Christmas carol. The gazebos are encased in glass and extravagantly decorated on all sides to provide a dramatic, three-dimensional experience that adds to its “music box” quality, depicting the old English carol from the Victorian era.
Dallas Arboretum Board Chairman Mark Wolf said, “First, we are grateful for the support of our 37,000 members and donors. Second, there were several factors that helped us reach a million visitors. In addition to our popular Dallas Blooms in the spring and Autumn at the Arboretum, the garden finally added a blockbuster holiday display-The 12 Days of Christmas-that attracted our local community and many out of town visitors.The 12 Days of Christmas is spectacular during the day, and it’s dazzling in the evenings with half a million lights illuminating the garden.”
The 12 Days of Christmas, made possible by IBERIABANK, is open daily and runs through January 8, 2017. The 12 Days of Christmas at night exhibit is open every Wednesday through Sunday and other select evenings, and runs through December 30. For more information, check the website at
www.dallasarboretum.org.
Mary Brinegar, Dallas Arboretum president and CEO, said, “As stewards of this amazing garden, we want to thank those who visited, joined or renewed as members, attended a concert or another event, or took an Adult Education class for contributing to our record-breaking year. We also want to thank our more than 2,300 volunteers who contributed in excess of 80,000 hours in ensuring that every visitor’s experience is remarkable.”
Since the Dallas Arboretum opened to the public in 1984, the 66-acre garden has received many accolades from publications including Architectural Digest, USA Today, Fodor’s Travel, Trip Advisor, The Travel Channel and many others. The Arboretum includes many formal and informal garden spaces, world-recognized trial gardens, a concert lawn, picnic areas, food service areas, a gift shop, orientation theater, classrooms and the historic DeGolyer House. In 2013, the eight-acre scientific and interactive Rory Meyer’s Children Adventure Garden opened. In 2014, the Arboretum opened a 1,150-space parking garage, thereby doubling the amount of parking spaces. In 2016, the garden broke ground on A Tasteful Place, a food and herb garden set to open in late 2017.
