Sonoran Sparkle: Celebrate the season in the garden

Revisit the excitement of the holiday season this year at Holiday Nights at Tohono Chul.

Every weekend from 6 to 9 p.m. between Saturday, Dec. 6, and Sunday, Dec. 21, the desert gardens will light up, inviting guests to wander the mile-long path through the grounds.

At least Jamie Maslyn Larsonm, Tohono Chul president and CEO, hopes that’s how guests will feel.

“One of the great things about the holiday season is how it brings us back to childhood — the excitement of opening gifts, indulging in cookies and sweets, and being surrounded by sparkling, joyful decorations,” she said. “Tohono Chul’s Holiday Nights re-creates that feeling throughout our gardens. We love seeing guests of all ages become childlike again, experiencing the magic of the season with friends and family.”

It’s not just pretty lights either. Add to that craft vendors, musicians, children’s activities, Tohono Chul’s shops and even the guy in red, all designed to ensure a magical experience. To keep everyone safe there is security and to keep things clean, custodial services personnel.

What seems effortless, though, has taken a year of planning to execute, according to Sylvia  Verbais, Tohono Chul’s public programs manager. 

“We start planning (the next year’s) Holiday Nights as soon as this year’s is over,” she said.

Holiday Nights requires a lot of coordination and thought, because without that it can easily devolve into a logistical nightmare.

It begins with a debriefing.

“All the department managers will meet and everybody will give their input, their observations so that we can start the planning,” Verbais said. 

They look at profit and if there was one. They review where the musicians, vendors and food trucks were placed. 

Dates are chosen for the next Holiday Nights and then Verbais gets started booking musicians because they sometimes get snapped up and nothing is more frustrating to her than a popular musician turning her down.  

“I think the worst for me is wanting somebody really badly and I might have waited a week too long (to book them),” she said. 

Plans for that year’s Holiday Nights go on the backburner during the spring and part of the summer, then get picked up again in July. Because this is the month when things get placed and slots are assigned, it’s time to work with facilities.

“They play a big role, too,” Verbais said. “All the lights go on the trees. Jack Dash, who’s our gardens and facilities manager, creates a timeline for getting all the lights up, fixing any electrical problems, that kind of thing. We also decorate the park in various other ways with hoists and lifts so he has to coordinate all of that.”

Then there’s security and custodial issues to be resolved.

“I would say I spend at least eight hours a week if not more going down my list and securing folks,” Verbais said.

Verbais and the gardens’ entire staff see the fruit of their hard work when they see people enjoying themselves at Holiday Nights.

“To me, the best, best, best is guests show up, they’re laughing, they’re with family and friends and they’re having a great time,” she said. “To see that, that is the payoff for me, that now there’s laughter, community, joy and then as they’re walking out I hear, ‘Oh, I’m so glad we came.’” 

Connection with community, friends and family is important to the staff at Tohono Chul and every year they decorate for the holidays with that in mind. 

“We really want people to come and make memories with their friends and families,” Hailey Cheek, marketing and communications manager, said. “We just have this more raw community element in this beautiful garden setting and there are entertainers all around the garden. That to me is what differentiates Holiday Nights from other events that happen this time of year.”

Holiday Nights isn’t all that’s happening at Tohono Chul.

Get a jump on holiday gift shopping at the SACA Ceramics Show and Sale, set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, and Saturday, Dec. 15. 

There’s still time to get tickets for Terruño, Flavors of the Desert, planned for 4 to 7 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 16. This culinary adventure pairs wines and spirits with the creations of some of the best chefs Tucson has to offer. Guests will have the opportunity to dine to live music amid the beauty of the Sonoran Desert. Cost for this 21 and older event is $160 for a VIP ticket and $125 for general admission. Get tickets here: tohonochul.org/terruno/#tickets

Who doesn’t love looking (and possibly buying) jewels and gems? Support artisans and jewelry-makers from all over southern Arizona at Jewels at the Chul, a one-day only event, planned for 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28. Admission is free.

End the work week on a high note at Tohono Chul UNPLUGGED, featuring live music and eats from 5 to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29 at the Garden Bistro. Admission to the gardens is free.

If a leisurely stroll accompanied by live music through beautiful desert landscapes sound pleasant then Sundays in the Garden might be just the vibe for you. From 1:30 to 3 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 16, 23 and 30 in the Performance Garden. The concert is brought to the garden in collaboration with the Tucson Guitar Society. It’s free with garden admission.

Nearly everyday there is an activity for guests of all ages and interests being offered at Tohono Chul. For example, bird walks, a reptile ramble, nature journaling and a birds of prey program. Check the calendar for the latest. tohonochul.org/events/month. 

Holiday Nights

WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays beginning Saturday, Dec. 6

WHERE: Tohono Chul, 7366 N. Paseo del Norte

COST: member admission/$20, general admission/$25, child admission (4 to12 years of age)/$10 and children 4 and younger/free
INFO: tohonochul.org/holiday-nights/

Tohono Chul

WHEN: Grounds: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

La Fuente Shop, Desert Corner Nursery, La Galeria Shop and the galleries are all open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Garden Bistro is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The Children’s Museum of Oro Valley at Tohono Chul is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

WHERE: 7366 N. Paseo del Norte

COST: members/free, seniors 62 and older and military/$15, general admission/$20, youth 4 to 17/$10 and children 4 and younger/free

INFO: tohonochul.org