Behind the Scenes at Celebration in the Oaks

from December 2021-January 2022 Issue of Inside New Orleans

Last Sip

by Leslie Cardé

The moss-covered live oak trees are all aglow on the driving tour. DRIVE IT, BIKE IT, ride the train through it, or stroll on foot amongst the festive light show in the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park and New Orleans own Botanical Garden inside City Park. Whatever you choose, you’ll be delightfully amazed at the twinkling spectacle before you, consisting of over a million lights in an array of designs and colors that are a feast for the senses.

It’s the annual Celebration in the Oaks which traditionally starts on Thanksgiving evening and runs through January 2, attracting visitors from 48 states, with the largest number of out-of-state visitors (outside the southeast region), coming from California. The event has been a staple of the holiday season since the late ‘80s, and, in spite of last year’s pandemic, 45,414 vehicles rolled through the park, totaling nearly 186,000 people that became part of the holiday festivities in 2020.

What began as a small fundraiser for The Botanical Garden inside the park has become an extravaganza, which raised over $1.4 million for the park just last year.

“The event grew from a daytime tea and cider event to something else entirely, when Paul Soniat (Director of the New Orleans City Park Botanical Gardens) brought in longtime news anchor (now retired) Angela Hill of WWLTV who came on board to promote the event,” explains Casie Duplechain, Chief Development Officer for City Park. “The celebration later expanded to a driving tour, and Entergy also became a large sponsor by providing the bucket trucks and manpower to hang exhibits throughout the ancient live oaks.”

Those live oak trees which are the stars of the show

have taken a significant hit, first with Category 3 Hurricane Zeta in October 2020, and most recently the nearly Category 5 Hurricane Ida which barreled down upon New Orleans on August 29th. The park sustained $2 million in damages, specifically impacting the tree canopy throughout the park, whose branches arch their way along the meandering driving tour. Although the oldest ancient live oak tree grove survived, 124 significant trees were lost in Ida, totaling over 43,000 cubic yards of debris, which will now be used as compost throughout the park. With 2.25 miles on the driving tour alone, it’s doubtful any participants will notice a tree shortage, but it has cost the park $1 million in recovery efforts, to date, and is why the popular fundraiser is so critical to the park’s maintenance. A staff of seven people construct all of the LED-light displays in-house throughout the year in preparation for the annual light show, and this year there is a new exhibit, The Crescent City Connection Bridge which measures 14’ H X 50’ W, making it one of the two biggest exhibits in the park, the other being the SS Annie, a 50’- long paddlewheel boat. The fan favorites are back, and include the pirate ship, aquatic animals, the horse-drawn carriage, unicorn, famous St. >>

Top: The giant poinsettia tree in The Conservatory lets everyone know the holidays are here. Above: Flamingo Island reflected in one of the many lagoons in City Park is always a fan favorite.

Louis Cathedral, Flamingo Island, Mr. Bingle, and T-Rex & friends, the dinosaurs who have lined the train route since 2019. Since the lights are taken down each year after the celebration ends in January, I wanted to know just who was responsible for the massive effort involved in putting up and taking down over a million lights?

“We have four guys we call our MacGyvers,” explains Julie LaCour, Director of Special Events/Celebration in the Oaks. “They make everything work around here. When you consider it takes eight months from concept to installation and then takedown and cleaning, this is a full-time job. These guys navigate bucket trucks and 30 to 40-foot lifts, and even do welding. To do this job takes creativity, skill and no fear of heights. It’s a labor of love for these guys.”

Many people believe that the lights are taken down each year because of the cold weather in the winter that might crack the glass in the lights, but LaCour says it’s not about the weather, it’s about the squirrels. They will eat right through the wires.

This year’s “celebration” includes a variety of activities from all-access passes to the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park with unlimited rides, an outside bar at the Botanical Gardens where you can share a holiday indulgence under the sweeping starscape, a new festive train experience with on-board entertainment, a newly added “snow” area, marshmallow roasting and hot chocolate, photo opportunities, a dancing light show in the Carousel Gardens, and so much more.

City Park is 50 percent larger than New York’s Central Park (which has 843 acres), compared with City Park’s 1,300 acres. It’s home to everything from The New Orleans Museum of Art to the Enrique Alférez Sculpture Garden, two 18-hole golf courses with a driving range, a tennis center, and the ambling 5.5 acres of rolling hills of Nola City Bark, the utmost in dog parks... and that’s just for starters. Therefore, navigating the activities amidst this sprawling greenspace may require a map, which is available on the park’s website at celebrationintheoaks.com. On the site, you will also find the different ticket combinations and prices, as well as entrance points into the park for each of the events, and all sorts of other Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

With attendees coming from 17 different countries around the world, it’s New Orleans’ time to shine, showcasing this fabulous park in the best possible light.

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