Lights, Action!

One can only hope that this will be the beginning of a beautiful relationship: The Museum of Outdoor Arts and Hudson Gardens are teaming up this season to host Hudson Holiday, an outdoor holiday lighting extravaganza that runs the gamut from traditional to, well, downright artsy. And with MOA wizard-in-residence Lonnie Hanzon, a guy with plenty of experience in melding the antithetical, pulling all the strings behind the sparkling installation, that’s not so far-fetched a concept: From a flock of sheep reflecting algorithm projections designed by software artist Scott Draves to an over-the-top winter garden railroad encrusted with 10,000 Austrian crystals (“It looks like Liberace commissioned it,” Hanzon notes jovially), the Hudson Gardens winter makeover — complete with dazzling LED tree lights, a Noah’s Ark-worthy menagerie of white animals in the Oval Garden, giant declarations of “Love” and “Peace” lit up in the forest, a crystal gazebo on Frost Island, animated features, “Jingle Bells” mash-ups and the wildly decorated Hudson Residence — is sure to satisfy both requirements. Throw in a few of the small pleasures (horse-drawn carriage rides and hot chocolate stops, for instance), and you’ve got all the makings of a holiday outing to remember.

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More About

• Hudson Holiday
• Lonnie Hanzon
• Museum of Outdoor Arts
• Littleton
• Scott Draves

Hudson Holiday begins tonight from 5 to 9 p.m. and continues at the same time on selected evenings through January 3; the gardens are at 6115 South Santa Fe Drive in Littleton. Admission is $6 to $8 (children ages 3 and under are admitted for free); purchase tickets no late than 8:30 p.m. each night. Go to www.hudsonholiday.com or call 303-797-8565, ext. 321, for dates and details.
Nov. 21-22; Nov. 27-29; Dec. 4-6; Dec. 11-13; Dec. 18-23; Dec. 26-31; Jan. 1-3, 2009