Photo by: Lori Kunselman

Well alrighty! We’re jammin’ to some David Byrne/Fatboy Slim tonight and it is setting a wonderful vibe to be thinking about this summer. The countdown is on and we’re getting ready for the fourth season of NIGHT LIGHTS at The Heron, opening Friday, July 27th at sundown. Only 100 days until we turn on the lights! We are excited to take the energy from our blockbuster show at the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens this winter and bring it down to The Heron this summer. The NIGHT LIGHTS crew is looking forward in creating some new lighting displays that will enhance the NIGHT LIGHTS experience. We’ll be announcing our entertainment schedule very soon too! So check here often.

Photo credit: Jenna Sunderlin

Photo credit: Jenna Sunderlin

What a show! Holy cow Buffalo, you certainly embraced the magic of NIGHT LIGHTS and we could not be more thrilled.  We are flabbergasted that 7,700 plus people experienced NIGHT LIGHTS at The Gardens which was held over 12 nights at the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens. It was a special show, indeed.

In many ways, it was a typical NIGHT LIGHTS show. Colorful theatrical and interactive lighting co-starring alongside the 22,000 plants living inside the historic and architecturally significant building. The lights play off the horticulture producing numerous wonderful effects – plants constantly evolving under the color-changing lights, positive and negative spaces, shadows – all casting a splendid array of colors on the Lord & Burnham’s glass conservatories.

Photo credit: Jenna Sunderlin

Volt Vision, Inc. once again brought interactive elements to their lighting designs. Inside the Palm Dome, guests (and children of all ages) were encouraged to press buttons that produced natural sounds from a hidden speaker – which in-turn interacted with the lights. In the waterfall room, the 25-foot tall cataract turned into a rainbow, with the changing lights hitting the water droplets. A few feet away, guests would strike a djembe drum that corresponded with the lights.

Local artists and musicians were incorporated into this year’s edition of NIGHT LIGHTS at The Gardens. In the Ivy room, world-beat percussion music from Jamestown’s Gahu Drum Ensemble played as visitors walked through House #5. In another house, the cinematic music of Buffalo’s Lazlo Hollyfeld added a layer to the changing lights. House #9 became the sculpture room, with five metal sculptures placed through the horticulture. One piece, titled “Where the Maps Failed Us” by Zack Boehler was built site-specific for the NIGHT LIGHTS show. Four Jamestown-area artists, created painted images on duratrans that produced an eye-popping image that constantly changed with led lights.

Another new addition to this year’s Gardens show were performances by some excellent musicians. Not only did they perform a full-set of music in House #10 before packed crowds, the musicians “played the Dome.” The Lazlo Hollyfeld guys played a marimba that was hooked up to a microphone that ultimately changed the lights as they played. The Gahu Drum Ensemble ripped it up with some great drumming in the Palm trees as curious visitors looked on, dance and shouted their approval. And who could forget the standing ovation given to the folk duo John & Mary from a very appreciative crowd.

Photo credit: Jenna Sunderlin

A room that left quite an impression on people was House #11, also known as “The Firefly Room.” Guests were great with over 2,000 red and green “fireflies” that floated through the plant life and danced on the ceiling of the glass dome. Kids from five to eighty five years old, loved this room.

The event was a huge success in bringing people out to one of Buffalo’s most recognized landmarks and cultural treasures.  The Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens and its c collection is a community treasure and we are so humbled to have been able to partner with them on a show (again). If you enjoyed your experience at the gardens, make sure you return during the daylight hours. We look forward in doing it all over again next year.

John & Mary

Folk-rock duo John & Mary will be playing NIGHT LIGHTS at The Gardens this Friday, February 10th at 8:00 p.m. at the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens.  Admission is $10 Adults, $8 Members, Seniors and Students, $5 Kids (12 to 3 years old).  The NIGHT LIGHTS show will be open from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday night. NIGHT LIGHTS at The Gardens is where the horticulture and architecture of the historic gardens is transformed with colorful theatrical and interactive lighting.

In a collaboration that was formed in 1990, John (Lombardo) and Mary (Ramsey) have produced four albums. Lombardo is a former founding member of the alternative rock’s 10,000 Maniacs. Ramsey is the current lead singer of 10,000 Maniacs and performs throughout the year with a variety of musical projects.