If you’re not quite ready for the holiday vibes to end this year, you can still take one more walk through Central Florida’s version of a winter wonderland.
Dazzling Nights at Harry P. Leu Gardens is a garden-wide outdoor event featuring holiday-inspired art and light installations, live music, and a 50-foot tree, as well as interactive experiences like dancing in the “snow” or romping on a massive inflatable chimney-shaped slide.
Cole NeSmith is the founder and artistic director of Creative City Project, the organization behind Dazzling Nights.
NeSmith said that, especially in tumultuous times, holidays offer an opportunity to find a little magic in our surroundings.
And NeSmith found a little moment of that magic early on in this year’s event, he said.
“Just the other night, I was standing under that giant tree…listening to the live music, and there was this couple who came into that area, and just started dancing together,” he said. “You know, they took each other in each other's arms and were swaying back and forth as the live musicians played a romantic holiday song. And so for me, those are the moments that really are the reason we do what we do.”
NeSmith’s brainchild organization Creative City Project is known for ambitious projects aimed at “bringing our community together to make lifelong memories around creative experiences,” as he described it. He believes art has an ability to help build bridges and find commonality between people who fear they have very little in common.
He pointed to the people who played together in the “snow” area of the gardens – “foamy Florida snow,” he was quick to clarify – saying, “it's amazing seeing people come in and do a spin or a little dance as the ‘Florida foamy snow’ falls from the sky.”
“In all, there are 15 large-scale experiences,” NeSmith said, which could be described as 15 themed interactive areas. “One of my favorites this year is a series of 530-foot-tall, 30-foot-wide, luminary walls inspired by some of the holiday celebrations and traditions across Europe.
“[One part] really is reminiscent of an old French street in Paris, with Royal holiday music ascending into the sky. It really is a sight to behold.”
“One of the things that we love about doing Dazzling Nights at Leu Gardens is our opportunity to collaborate with the horticulture staff there,” added NeSmith.
A special touch he mentioned was a sculpture of a pair of beloved Orlando swans … built by horticulture staff out of debris from Hurricane Milton, which caused significant damage throughout Leu Gardens back in October.
“And then our team came, and we have hundreds of thousands of these beautiful, bright white lights that dangle from the large oak trees around these swans” creating a poignant piece of art, NeSmith said. “And those kinds of collaborations with the horticulture team are, I think, another special experience.”
