Winter light shows happening at Old Westbury Garden, Eisenhower Park and more

Melissa Famiglietti can’t wait to go back to Old Westbury Garden’s Shimmering Solstice light show.

“We’ve done a couple of the local light shows and I liked the aspect of walking through it as opposed to driving through it,” says Famiglietti, 43, a stay-at-home mom from Port Washington, who describes it as an "immersive experience."

"There was music playing, the lights were moving, there were things to interact with,” she says. This year, the Famigliettis will kick off the holiday season with a visit to the garden’s light show, along with her parents and her brother’s family. 

This year’s Shimmering Solstice will include everything from last year and more, notes Maura Brush, director of horticulture for Old Westbury Gardens.

“It’s a fairly large-scale installation right at the west pond as soon as people enter the trail,” Brush says. “Whereas last year, you sort of walked a bit before you hit any of the real big, eye-catching installations.”

Here are the details on the event's return, plus more winter lantern and holiday light shows. 

Shimmering Solstice

Among the thematically colored displays is an expansion of the 10-feet-tall dandelion lights along the upper terrace of the walled garden. Also new are floating lotus lights on the lotus pond, mimicking the real flowers you’d see during the growing season. 

This year, there’s music throughout the trail, not just during the finale, and a new interactive children’s section.

“There’s a hug-a-tree where the tree will light,” Brush says. “There’s a pathway [people] can walk on and as they walk, it will light up.”

For the 10-minute finale, which is timed to music and projected onto the Westbury House, they’ve added new music and more scenes.

"For me, it’s so wonderful that when the garden would normally be sleeping, it just comes alive during the winter with these lights. It just adds a whole new season to the garden," says Brush.

WHEN | WHERE Nov. 25 through Jan. 1, Old Westbury Gardens, 71 Old Westbury Rd., Old Westbury

COST Adults: $34.95, seniors: $26.95; children 2-13: $19.95. Purchase tickets online at oldwestburygardens.org; 516-333-0048.

LuminoCity Festival 

The LuminoCity Festival comes to Eisenhower Park for the first time this year.

Spread over 17 acres, the festival features eight custom installations of art, light and color. This year’s theme, Pure Magic, invites you to walk through Wildlife Safari, Dinosaur Adventures, Magic Kingdom, Alice’s Enchantment, Winter Wonderland and HolidayLAND displays.

“We were approached by them and it looked like it was a very exciting program that they had and that it would bring a very first-class show to Nassau County and get everybody in the holiday spirit,” says Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman.

If the festival proves successful, they’ll bring it back.

“We want to build on that success and make it bigger and better each year going forward,” says Blakeman, adding, “We enjoy hosting these things because we think it helps the economy and it gives people good wholesome fun for their families.” 

WHEN | WHERE 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays to Sundays through Jan. 8. Eisenhower Park, 1899 Park Blvd., East Meadow.

COST Adults: $32, plus tax and credit card fees, children 3 to 12: $12, 2 and under are free. Lumi’s VIP Ticket: $68, plus taxes and fees, includes Fast Pass entry. Advance ticket purchase preferred at luminocityfestival.com.

Suffolk Winter Lantern Festival

Weekends at the Smithtown Historical Society offer a festive Suffolk Winter Lantern Festival, which started with an illuminated farm theme, but has since grown to include flamingos, flowers, dinosaurs and a fanciful carriage with unicorns, spread throughout the 22-acre property.

“This is the first time we’re hosting it,” says Priya Kapoor, executive director of the society. “The lights are magical. They look like you’re in a wonderland.”

The festival helps support the historical society and its campus of seven historical homes, including the circa 1740 Epenetus Smith Tavern, farm animals and educational programs. 

WHEN | WHERE 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays to Sundays through Jan. 8. Smithtown Historical Society, 239 E. Main St., Smithtown.

COST Adults: $22, children: $12; Tickets are sold at the door or online at smithtownhistorical.org; 631-265-6768.

Nassau Drive-Thru Adventure

Though the “Outer Space”-themed light show at the Nassau County Museum is a drive-thru, it's very detailed, says Charles Riley, spokesman for the museum.

“This is a real artisan Chinese lantern festival,” says Riley, noting that artisans from Sichuan have built the lantern show, which takes about 30 to 40 minutes to complete the one-mile circuit that runs around the property.

This is the second year the festival has been held at the museum, Riley says.

As you drive, you'll listen to a soundtrack on your phone that’s synchronized to the show.

Spread through 50 acres, the show features 2,000 lanterns, 1 million LED lights and includes a 20-foot high lantern, dragons, sea creatures, spaceships and space travelers, cats, squirrels and a tall arch gateway that leads to a tunnel of light and waterfall.

WHEN | WHERE 5 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Sunday and 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday; open daily from Dec. 22 through Jan. 1 and back to Thursday-Sunday schedule until Jan. 8. Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Drive, Roslyn.

COST $50 per car, plus $5 service fee, purchase through winterlanternfestival.com; 516-484-9338.