Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens

The interior of the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens will be illuminated with theatrical and interactive lighting over three weekend nights in February for an event titled “NIGHT LIGHTS at The Gardens.”  The event will have visitors walk through the gardens, encountering creative lighting displays and soundscapes.

NIGHT LIGHTS at the Garden will take place on Thursday through Saturday nights February 3-5^th, February 10-12^th, and February 17-19^th. NIGHT LIGHTS will from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults. $8 for Garden Members, Seniors and Students. $6 children 12 – 3 years old. 3 and under free.

A special “preview” night will be on Thursday, February 3, 2011. Admission will be $5.

NIGHT LIGHTS will create an atmospheric experience at the Gardens, using colors and tones inspired by the natural world. The lights will focus on the Garden’s plant life, the beautiful Lord & Burnham glass domes, and of course, the 30ft waterfall in the Tropical Rainforest house. A music soundtrack will add to the experience, with some of the lights corresponding to the sounds. 

The lighting designers are SitlerHQ, LLC and Volt Vision, Inc. who own and operate the successful eco-tourism attraction NIGHT LIGHTS at The Heron in Chautauqua County. NIGHT LIGHTS at The Heron is a one-mile walk in the woods at night through a lighted trail and is considered to be one of North America’s most unique tourism attractions.

 Please check the Gardens website for show information and updates at www.buffalogardens.com

NIGHT LIGHTS at The Heron is a one-mile walk in the woods at night on a trail ablaze in theatrical lighting creating a one-of-a-kind tourism attraction. For the entire journey, guests slowly walk the trails and soak in the changing views of the forest that are created with theatrical LED lights, much like the lighting systems seen in stage productions or architectural locations. A few areas of the trail include music. Guest eventually discover a “café” in the middle of the woods, that also includes a small rustic stage. NIGHT LIGHTS tends to have musical performances at the stage on Saturday nights.

“This year alone, we’ve seen guests from over a dozen states, and regular visitors from the Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Buffalo corridor,” said Sitler, who hails from Frewsburg and lives in Buffalo. “From that perspective, it has been very gratifying to see NIGHT LIGHTS produce a memorable experience for our region’s visitors. We hope they return to their hometowns and talk to their friends and family about what a great time they had visiting the Chautauqua region.”

In 2009, Sitler, and his wife Anna, teamed up to create NIGHT LIGHTS with Julie and Steve Rockcastle of The Heron, a 200-acre organic farm in Sherman, NY. The Heron is more popularly known as home to the successful Great Blue Heron Music Festival, a three-day music festival held for 19 years over the July 4^th holiday weekend.

NIGHT LIGHTS is certainly unique and creative.  The thought of illuminating the forest resided in Sitler’s head for over three years, before he made the financial commitment to pursue the idea. Like any enterprise, he wanted to create a product that was innovative, special, and would attract people from literally across the country.  Sitler claims that NIGHT LIGHTS has no peers in North America, with the exception of holiday light displays commonly seen in parks throughout the country.

 NIGHT LIGHTS at The Heron is located at The Heron, 2361 Wait Corners Road, Sherman, NY.

Located on a 200-acre farm called The Heron (also home of the Great Blue Heron Music Festival), NIGHT LIGHTS is open 10 consecutive weekends from late July to October 2, 2010. Adults are $10 and children 12 to 7 years old are $5.

Gretchen’s presentation will take place at the Café in the Woods, located on the NIGHT LIGHTS trail. The Café area features a stage, with picnic table seating, and a refreshment stand that serves coffee, tea and snacks.

Internationally known as a medium, lecturer and workshop leader, Gretchen Clark has been heard on radio and seen on television. Most recently Gretchen was featured in HBO’s “No One Dies In Lily Dale” (July 2010). Gretchen was also seen on “Mediums: We See Dead People” shown on the A&E Channel.

She has been interviewed by many publications, including People magazine, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. She has been seen on the Discovery Channel and NBC’s “Strange Universe”. Gretchen is a frequent lecturer around the United States and produced a DVD called “Where Do We Go From Here.”

Lazlo Hollyfeld

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Gates open at 9:00 p.m. – Performance at 9:30 p.m.

NIGHT LIGHTS at The Heron

The Heron, 2361 Waits Corner Road

Admission: $10 (includes entrance into NIGHT LIGHTS)

Camping available: $10 per person

www.heronnightlights.com

Lazlo Hollyfeld will bring their electronically-based jazz rock sounds to NIGHT LIGHTS at The Heron on Saturday, August 28, 2010 in Sherman, NY. Admission is $10. Camping will be available for $10 per person. The gates will open at 9:00 p.m. with the performance starting at 9:30 p.m. at the Café in the Woods (located on the NIGHT LIGHTS trail).      

Buffalo, NY’s Lazlo Hollyfeld…how do you attempt to describe them? You could maybe paint them as electric jazz with a rockin’ twist…but even that doesn’t really do it justice on what these guys are all about. The quartet is an all-instrumental unit, which thrust their music to the forefront of the listener’s ears. Whether it be a fast-rocking song, or an introspective slow number, each song takes you on a journey. What we do know, is that Lazlo’s music will be the perfect compliment for the lights and surrounding forest of NIGHT LIGHTS. Come see these guys…you will be impressed.

 Equally as exciting, NIGHT LIGHTS and Lazlo Hollyfeld have team up on a project for the 2010 season. It will be announced shortly.