Popular Wichita holiday attraction recognized as one of the best of its kind in the US

A popular Wichita holiday light show was named the fifth best botanical garden holiday light show by USA Today.

Botanica’s Illuminations, a Wichita holiday staple, was nominated by a panel of experts then voted on by readers to get its fifth-place win.

Illuminations started in the 1990s and has since grown into an annual holiday tradition that takes almost 2 million lights and four months to set up.

“What makes Illuminations so unique is it’s custom. It’s not a traveling exhibition, it’s not a rental,” Botanica’s executive director Lynette Zimmerman told The Eagle in November. “This is unique to Wichita, unique to Botanica, which is so cool for the community to experience.”

There are returning favorite installations this year as well as some new additions — including the transformation of candy cane lane to recreate the butterfly garden with Christmas lights.

Illuminations opened the day after Thanksgiving and runs through Jan. 4. Tickets must be purchased in advance on Botanica’s website.

There are four time slots available every night — 5:30, 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30. Tickets are $16 for nonmember adults, $13 for member adults, $10 for children ages 3 to 11, and free for children under 3.

USA Today’s best botanical holiday light shows

Here are USA Today’s winners of the 10 best botanical light shows:

1. Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden (Richmond, Virginia)
2. Galaxy of Lights at Huntsville Botanical Garden (Huntsville, Alabama)
3. Luminary Walk at Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens (Overland Park)
4. Garden Glow at Missouri Botanical Garden (St. Louis)
5. Illuminations at Botanica
6. Gardens Aglow at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (Boothbay, Maine)
7. Redding Garden of Lights at Turtle Bay Exploration Park (Redding, California)
8. Nights of a Thousand Candles at Brookgreen Gardens (Murrells Inlet, South Carolina)
9. Holiday Lights at Garvan Woodland Gardens (Hot Springs, Arkansas)
10. Illumination: Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum (Lisle, Illinois)

Lindsay Smith

The Wichita Eagle

Lindsay Smith is a suburban news reporter for the Wichita Eagle, covering the communities of Andover, Bel Aire, Derby, Haysville and Kechi. She has been on The Eagle staff since 2022 and was the service journalism reporter for three years. She has a degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism from Wichita State, where she was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Sunflower, for two years. You can reach her via email at lsmith@wichitaeagle.com.