Nobody strings lights on a branch better than the Chicago Botanic Garden, where clusters of white-lit trees sprout in gorgeous electric detail as part of the garden’s annual Celebrations! A Festival of Flowers, Lights & Music. I dropped in on a frigid night last weekend to take a look, but just as I was admiring the effect, the spirit of Scrooge unrepentant appeared. “Do you think this is good for the trees?” he grumbled. “Forced to endure the heat and light of a thousand bulbs while they’re in a state of dormancy? Humbug!” Then, as quickly as he’d come, he vanished. A little unsettled, I treated myself to dinner in the Garden Cafe, which had been transformed from its utilitarian daytime state by white tablecloths and candlelight, and proceeded through the wreath-decked North Gallery (bathed in a stink apparently rising from a stand of Tazetta daffodils) to a free concert in the auditorium of the Education Building, where the Great Hall–touted as “a snowy carpet of rolling hills”–featured potted plants poking through cotton batting. Topiary animals cavorted among the other plants in the adjacent greenhouses, and three glass cases in the museum offered a view of exquisite little felt characters–Alice in Wonderland, the Three Blind Mice, Peter Rabbit–crafted by a talented, obsessive woman named Olive Waud 50 years ago; in the courtyard, a sculptor transformed a block of ice into an angel. I passed up the carriage ride ($7 for adults, $5 for kids), but sampled wonderful white hot chocolate from a casual dining area set up off the North Gallery. The next morning I was assured by garden officials that the trees are slumbering undisturbed by their bright wrappings. “Celebrations!” continues at 1000 Lake Cook Rd. in Glencoe, through January 5. Hours are 5 to 10 PM Thursday through Sunday. (Santa will be there from 6 to 9 this weekend and next.) Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for kids ages 3 through 12, and parking is $7. Call 847-835-5440.
