HomeHoliday Lights 2026

Holiday Lights in the Gardens 2026

The Florida Botanical Gardens Foundation invites you to attend its annual winter fundraiser, beginning November 27, 2026 and ending January 3, 2027.
The Gardens will sparkle with over 1 million, twinkling, LED lights every evening from 5:30-9:30. Lighted figures, many holiday trees including our grand tree in the Wedding Garden, a laser projection show, live entertainment and loads of photo ops will wow guests of all ages.

The event takes place in the Florida Botanical Gardens and the adjacent Majeed Discovery Garden.

HoIiday Lights in the Gardens is brought to you by the Foundation. Your generous donation helps pay for the many costs associated with running an event of this size and quality. Without your support this cherished family tradition would not be possible year after year. The Foundation's mission is to help maintain the plant collections in this natural oasis and bring amazing events like this one to the Gardens.

We suggest a minimum donation of $10 per adult and teen (children 12 and under are free). Arrive before 5:30 pm to enter without donating.

The Foundation is a not for profit 501(c)3. You may help the Foundation meet its expenses via Donate or use PayPal.

You may donate at the gate via CashApp, ApplePay, Google Wallet, Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal or cash.

General Information

Parking:

Majeed Discovery Garden
12520 Ulmerton Road, Largo FL, 33774

Florida Botanical Gardens
12211 Walsingham Road, Largo, FL 33778

Dates and Hours
Friday, November 27, 2026-Sunday, January 3, 2027.
5:30 pm - 9:30 pm nightly

Well behaved pets on a 6 foot leash are welcome! Come enjoy our light display as you stroll along our many ADA compliant walkways. We do not offer wheelchairs or scooters for rent on site.

The Holiday Lights Story

We are proud to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Florida Botanical Gardens.

Anyone who has ever visited the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo knows it is one of Pinellas County’s year-round treasures. Each year from the day after Thanksgiving until the new year, the Gardens puts on a show, “Holiday Lights in the Gardens”, that pleases young and old alike.

Since 2000, with the official opening ceremony for the Gardens, as many as 60,000 guests annually stroll through the 100-acre garden lit with more than 1 million LED bulbs adorning buildings, walls, plants, and trees. The display includes nature-themed lighted displays. There has been a holiday light display every year except the year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pinellas County Starts The Holiday Lights in 2000

Pinellas County opened the Florida Botanical Gardens in 2000. The County funded a team of horticulturists and staff members headed by Pinellas County Extension Director Dr. Judy Yates. Lighting the gardens was the brainchild of one of Yates’ horticulturalists, Vernon Bryant, who formerly worked at the Chicago Botanical Gardens.

Bryant managed the light display in those first years, when the show was hosted by Pinellas County government. For the first 8 years, various Pinellas County departments assisted with the installation and maintenance of the display. It was considered a gift to the community. However, during the 2008 Economic Crisis, the county cut funding to the Gardens. There simply wasn’t enough money or staff to put on the annual show. That’s when the Florida Botanical Gardens Foundation took over and Bryant subsequently became the Executive Director. This volunteer organization has managed the annual Holiday Lights display since then.

The Florida Botanical Gardens Foundation Manages Holiday Lights

The Foundation began asking visitors for donations to support this effort, and the public responded with generosity. The Foundation used these funds over the years to repaint outdoor structures, such as the walls and columns, replace wooden trellises with aluminum ones, and purchase new plants, a constant need. It also uses the proceeds to fund Garden programming, maintenance, and enhancements.

Major projects funded include the Vinery and boardwalk through part of the natural wetlands. The largest project advanced by the Foundation was the creation of the Majeed Discovery Garden in 2024. This special children’s garden was the first significant addition to the Garden since it opened.

The Foundation's Volunteer "Elves" Make It Happen

Holiday Lights in the Garden is so special because each year, the entire event is spearheaded by a group of dedicated volunteers. They are volunteer "Elves" without whom the event wouldn't happen. This is a year-round activity, and each year they work to add something new as well as repair existing lights and displays. Some of each year’s donation proceeds go to improve future Holiday Lights in the Garden events. The Foundation uses professional electricians to install the lights, originally with Decorating Elves and now with Xmas Lights Install. The design, plan, and implementation are managed by Vernon Bryant’s company, Bryant Productions.

There is more to see and do than just the lights, with volunteer entertainers performing most nights. Entertainment in the past, typically included a range of performers, including dancers, jugglers, and musicians. Music ranged from school bands to local choral groups to musicians playing Christmas carols, jazz, bluegrass, and folk, plus DJ’s and more. There have been special activities such as holiday doggie parades, wreath-decorating contests, auctions, New Year's celebrations, and visits by Santa Claus.

Concessions, Gifts and Annual Gift and Plant Sale

Our partnership with St. Pete Concessions provides a variety of food and beverages for sale every night, including funnel cakes, ice cream, coffee, and hot chocolate. The Botanical Bounty Gift Shop, operated by the Foundation, is open nightly. It is stocked with holiday gift items and nature-themed holiday decor. “The Gift and Plant Sale”, started by the Foundation in 2009, provides garden patrons with an additional opportunity to support the gardens while purchasing unique plants and gifts for family and friends from local nurseries and unique crafters and small businesses..

A video of past Holiday Lights can be viewed on You Tube Holiday Lights.

About Vernon Bryant

Vernon was the first Executive Director of the Florida Botanical Gardens Foundation and is now the Director of Holiday Lights in the Gardens. Before joining the Foundation, he was the Executive Director of the YMCA of the Suncoast.

He is a Pinellas County Volunteer at Richard O. Jacobson Technical High School. Vernon is a past president and a director of the Indian Rocks Rotary Club. He also finds time to serve as Vice Chair of the Trustees of HCA Largo Hospital.

Last year, he was a state finalist for Outstanding Volunteer of the Year. Along with counselling students at Jacobson Technical High School, he managed a schoolwide Rise Against Hunger event, working with students to package more than 20,000 meals for families in need. He is also organizing an event to provide 50 student-built bunk beds for children in the community.

Vernon has a Master's Degree in Environmental Horticulture from Iowa State University. His early work years included managing the Chicago Botanical Gardens, where he became involved in their holiday lights program. Moving to Florida, he started with Pinellas County UF/IFAS as an Urban Horticulture Agent and later as a Horticulture Manager. While working for Dr. Judy Yates, Vernon piqued her interest in starting the Holiday Lights in the Gardens.

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