The holidays are in full swing, but if you’re not feeling holly and jolly just yet we have the perfect event to fix that. Holidays at Filoli will surely get you in the spirit.
"(It's) A spectacle like no other, you will be amazed, your breath will be taken away," says Kevin Wisney, Director of Museum Collections and Curation at Filoli.
"The lights are on all day long, all night, and you can come anytime and feel the magic of the season," says Kara Newport, CEO at Filoli.
Nestled in the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains is Filoli, a historic, sprawling estate that’s transformed every year into a winter wonderland.
"’Holidays at Filoli’ is five years old, so we’ve been doing this for a few years," says Newport. "We had a standing tradition of a program called Holiday Traditions, (but) it was only one week, so it wasn’t enough time for all of the Bay Area to come."
Soon they expanded on that idea to transform both the house and garden into a magical 7-week-long event.
Newport continues, "We have hot chocolate and hot cider and mulled wine and Santa comes all the weekends in December. So, it’s a great place to bring the full family."
It takes one year of planning, 28 miles of lights, 7,000 ornaments, and 37 Christmas trees to create Holidays at Filoli.
"We have a saying here at Filoli that the holidays aren’t done until they’re overdone," says Wisney. "We have something called 'all hands on deck,’ everybody drops what they’re doing, computers go silent and everybody comes out of their offices and everybody is down wrapping presents, stringing things together, putting lights up and putting all that stuff together."
Newport says this year’s theme is water, highlighted by ornaments, decorations, and even orbs of blue hues.
"To know that everyone’s heart went into this decor and for the sole purpose, the only purpose to delight our guests that to me is just beautiful," says Wisney.
Filoli employees take trips across the country every year to be inspired by different holiday installations. That inspiration manifested into this year’s brand-new, 210-foot light tunnel.
"It’s behind the house, so it has this beautiful background between the house and the Santa Cruz Mountains, and when the sun’s setting it’s just magnificent," says Newport.
You can reserve your spot today to immerse yourself in the magic.
"We’ve already pre-sold tens of thousands of tickets for this year’s holidays," Newport says. "But we still have a whole bunch of room available. We just want to welcome everyone in the Bay Area to Holidays at Filoli, we think it’s the most magical place of the season."
Holidays at Filoli runs until January 8 you can get your tickets here. filoli.org/
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