"We look forward to inviting visitors to the Garden to enjoy a festive evening outdoors at Lightscape," said Harriet Resnick, the Garden's vice president of visitor experience and business development. "We're especially excited to showcase five new installations at this year's event from local artists that will be incorporated into the trail."

Following a call for artists submissions earlier in the year, the following installations by artists from Chicago were selected to debut at Lightscape:

• Constellations—A glowing crescent moon creates a reflection in the water below while a smattering of stars lie on the grass, as if fallen from the sky from artist Brandin Hurley.
• Disko Tannsi—An energizing space of mirrored figures and spheres paired with lights that bring life to the winter air from artist Brian S. Bembridge.
• Joy—A large-scale internally lit installation that reflects the expression of love, comfort, and happiness when with family and friends from artist Matthew Hoffman.
• Night Birds—A number of glowing birds fly overhead adding glimmer of light to the dark and quiet sky from artist Michael Young.
• Pride & Promise —A contemporary tree composed of hundreds of stars inspired by Chicago's flag and lit internally and externally from artist Tanner Woodford.

Returning favorites from international artists include:

• Cathedral of Light—A towering cathedral-window arch of 100,000 lights that extends along a magnificent 110-foot tunnel.
• Fire Garden—Simple, festive, gently glimmering fire-filled sculptures fragrant with frankincense that create an area of contemplation.
• Singing Trees—Festooned with more than a half-mile of LED lights, ten large trees perform as a choir in harmony and light up individually as they sing a holiday favorite.

This year's trail has also been designed with modifications to keep visitor safety in mind. New procedures include limited capacity per timeslot, a one-way trail with a separate entrance and exit, and keeping the entire event outdoors.

Lightscape, the holiday event that sold out in its debut season, is produced in partnership with Sony Music, creatively produced by Culture Creative, and promoted in partnership with Arny Granat of WAD Entertainment. Visit chicagobotanic.org/lightscape for more information and to purchase tickets. 

An image gallery is available for media download here.

About Chicago Botanic Garden
The Chicago Botanic Garden, one of the treasures of the Forest Preserves of Cook County, is a 385-acre living plant museum featuring 27 distinct gardens and four natural areas. With events, programs and activities for all ages, the Garden is open every day of the year. Admission is free; select event fees apply; parking fees apply. Located at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, IL, the Garden is smoke free. Opened to the public in 1972, the Garden is managed by the Chicago Horticultural Society, accredited by the American Association of Museums and a member of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA).

About Sony Music
Sony Music, via its wholly owned subsidiary Raymond Gubbay Ltd, is recognized as being at the forefront of promoting and producing Light Trail events in the United Kingdom. Sony Music regularly works with distinguished venues and organizations such as the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, Blenheim Palace, the National Trust, Forestry Commission and the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. For further details about Light Trails in the U.K. visit www.mychristmastrails.co.uk.

About Culture Creative
Culture Creative is a creative project and production management company based in the U.K. The Company works across a wide range of cultural fields including art, sport, heritage, tourism, festivals and events, developing projects from concept to delivery. Since 2013, Culture Creative has worked closely with leading entertainment promoter Raymond Gubbay Ltd. a division of Sony Music, to create Lightscape and Christmas themed trails in various venues worldwide. For more information, visit www.culturecreative.co.uk and follow on Facebook (@culturecreativeltd), Twitter (@CCLCreative), and Instagram (@culturecreativeltd).