October 3, 2014

A plethora of peacocks and a cotillion of cardinals will be among the displays greeting visitors who flock to Longwood Gardens during its popular Christmas season.

This year’s theme is “Birds – Christmas Takes Flight,” said Jim Sutton, Longwood’s display designer. Sutton offered a preview of the exhibit during a meeting on Thursday with members of the regional business community.

For the fourth year in a row, Longwood is inviting area businesses to join a free partnership that boosts the Brandywine Valley.  The goal is “to get the entire region elevated,” explained Marnie Conley, who heads the gardens’ marketing department. She said Longwood’s holiday guests – typically 300,000 strong during the 46-day exhibit – often request information on restaurants, hotels, and shopping options.

Conley said Christmas Club participants are included in an on-site brochure, promotional emails to single-ticket buyers, and a Longwood web page touting area offerings. In return, companies receive a desktop easel sign or brochures advertising the Christmas display, weekly emails on anticipated capacity and activities, and four Dec. 1 tickets to the exhibit.

“We are leveraging what we already do,” Conley said. Having the staff at Longwood as well as area businesses knowledgeable about cross-promotional options benefits everyone, she said.

For example, Conley said she learned about a waiter at Kennett Square’s Portabellos restaurant who was serving a couple before their planned visit to Longwood. During a brief chat, the couple learned that they needed to purchase the tickets in advance and quickly pulled out their cellphone to do so.

Conley said businesses also help stagger the crowds. Encouraging visitors to purchase tickets for 8 p.m., rather than the more popular 4 p.m. slot, gives everyone a better experience, she said. Some businesses that join the Christmas Club elect to offer special discounts to Longwood ticket-holders, but Conley stressed that such a choice is optional.

The success of the Christmas Club has prompted the debut this year of the 2015 Community Club, said Nick D’Addezio, the latest addition to Longwood’s marketing team. He said the Community Club would operate in a similar fashion but encompass all five of Longwood’s seasons. Besides the Christmas display, they include the Orchid Extravaganza, which will run this year from Jan. 24 to March 29; Spring Blooms; Summer Spectacular; and Autumn Colors.

Conley said Longwood would be working aggressively to offset the fact that the Main Fountain Garden will soon be closing for a 2 ½-year revitalization project. When it’s completed, it will create “the most spectacular thing Philadelphia has ever seen,” she said. In the meantime, efforts are underway to boost other exhibits.

Sutton said this year’s Christmas display – in the works for a year – would feature more lights than ever, extending farther east into areas that have not been accessible previously, such as the new Meadow Garden.  He joked that his “habit of wanting electricity and water to mingle” has resulted in more illuminated forms on the lakes.

The artistry will continue inside, where the music room will showcase the “Peacock Masquerade Ball.” In addition to an 18-foot revolving tree, the table will be set with peacock-themed dishes and linens, representing the culmination of  “everything I found with a peacock,” he said.

In the conservatory, one tree will display handcrafted birdhouses while another will feature “supersized cardinals that look like they’re flying off it,” he said. Other highlights will include fern topiaries and a gigantic tree constructed of stainless steel orbs that will be lit, he said.

For more information on Longwood’s Christmas Club or the 2015 Community Club, contact Nick D’Addezio at 610-388-5275 or ndaddezio@longwoodgardens.org.

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