Wellfield Botanic Gardens’ Winter Wonderland enters final days after a successful season

ELKHART, Ind. -- As the holiday season winds down, families still have a few chances to experience one of Elkhart’s most popular seasonal attractions before it goes dark for the year.

Wellfield Botanic Gardens’ annual Winter Wonderland display is entering its final days after months of preparation and weeks of steady community turnout.

Since Thanksgiving weekend, the gardens have been illuminated by 1.8 million lights, drawing thousands of visitors to walk the decorated paths. According to Executive Director of Robert & Penny Weed Kurt Dreisilker, the scale of the display requires extensive planning.

“It takes a long time to set up 1.8 million lights. We start weeks, months, in advance. Actually we started in the middle of September this year. And we run right up through November,” Dreisilker said. “We were founded by the community, so when we host an event like this we actually give back to the community through events like this. So it's really meaningful to have the community come out.”

Organizers say attendance has reached the thousands so far this season, with interest remaining strong as the display approaches its closing weekend.

“When we have snow, the lights are just fantastic,” Dreisilker said. “For the last couple of nights, we have this year the weather forecast looks like a little bit more snow coming, which makes the lights turn out even better.”

Winter Wonderland’s final nights are Monday and Tuesday, followed by Friday and Saturday, giving visitors one last opportunity to stroll through the illuminated gardens from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.