Winter Dreams Festival beams light into the darkness

We could all use a little more light these days. The Winter Dreams Festival at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens offers lots of lights – one million of them, in fact – in what is billed as the world’s largest light sculpture exhibition.

The exhibition toured New York, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Denmark, the UK, and Italy before making its way to Jerusalem. The large sculptures range from dragons to unicorns to a horse and carriage. They are placed along a one-kilometer path that makes for pleasant strolling in the cool Jerusalem night air. Many change colors as you watch them.

The entire exhibition was created from environmentally friendly materials, which is certainly a plus.

Child-like wonder

There is something about colored lights that makes us all feel like children again. It was lovely to see whole families out for an evening, and I heard at least six languages during my visit. There is even an area with fall leaves where children can jump in the piles.

Like Christmas markets in Europe, there are also stalls with reasonably priced food and drinks. I enjoyed a hot sangria while my husband went for a thick hot chocolate with marshmallows. They also have foods like hot dogs and stuffed potatoes, meaning you can really make a night of it.

The full-price ticket is NIS 139, but there are various discounts, including the Moadon Yerushalmi, which has tickets for NIS 59. The festival runs weekdays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday after Shabbat. Well worth a visit – and dress warmly!