WinterShow 2009

Voted Cleveland's "  Best Holiday Display " in Cleveland Scene's 2009 "Best of Cleveland" issue!

Check out the TV ad promoting the holidays in University Circle!

Did you know that this year, Cleveland Botanical Garden and University Circle Inc. are teaming up to bring you a holiday experience you'll remember for years to come? Why, you and your family will encounter all kinds of heartwarming winter wonders, including:

Outdoor skating on Wade Oval!
A great big, sparkling tree!
Enchanting gingerbread houses!
Captivating window displays depicting winter scenes!
Festive holiday flowers in the Garden's Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse!
Model trains!
Gifts for everyone in the Garden Store!
Festive food, cookies, hot chocolate!

It all adds up to the stuff that holiday memories are made of — and all at a very family friendly price.

Let's start at the Garden. If you're old enough to remember the magnificent tree in the downtown lobby of Sterling Linder department store  — and even if you're not! — we just want you to know that classic bit of Cleveland holiday nostalgia was top of mind when our creative teams set out to create an iconic, dazzling tree to be the focal point of this year's show. Our fresh take on  that classic tree incorporates modern lighting and a heap of glittery, sparkling ornaments that will make you go "Wow!" You'll probably want the entire family posing treeside for next year's holiday card.

The centerpiece of the Garden's WinterShow is the dozens of enchanting gingerbread creations on display as part of our annual competition. Amateurs, professionals and even children amaze everyone year after year with the new and novel ways that architecture and scenery can be created using only "edible" building-blocks. You'll see fascinating works of gingerbread art, as well as a few surprises from some of Cleveland's most notable culinary creators.

Now, as you get further into our building, you'll encounter a series of captivating window displays, each depicting a different holiday scenes. You'll read no spoilers here, but let's just say it involves some old-fashioned craftsmanship, a series of striking plants, and a heavy sprinkling of elfin magic! 

All new for this year’s WinterShow, we’re bringing bold, festive holiday plants into the Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse! Expect to see showy groupings of a favorite holiday dazzler – the mighty amaryllis – in the Costa Rica Glasshouse, as well as smatterings of cheerful and surprising euphorbias — both poinsettias and others — in the Madagascar Glasshouse. It's our way of decking the Glasshouse halls, and all this floral inspiration is sure to help keep your season bright.  

A trip to the Garden Store is next.  The season's best gifts await you. From charming and unusual ornaments from Italy, Poland, and around the world, to stationery, books, jewelry, indulgent bath and body gifts, and fabulous accessories for the home, the Garden Store is the perfect place to shop for the gardener and everyone else on your list. You'll also want to stop and have lunch or hot chocolate and cookies in the Garden Café.

Now, are you ready to skate? We hope so! Just bundle up and trot on over to Wade Oval, where you and your family can skate to your heart's content. Back by popular demand, The Rink at Wade Oval brings “the good old days” back to University Circle with a 21st century twist: a unique polymer rink surface that requires no electricity or water to maintain, and feels almost indistinguishable from ice. In its inaugural year, The Rink enjoyed tremendous success, with more than 10,000 visitors taking advantage of the only outdoor skating rink in Cleveland. Coffee and hot chocolate will once again be available from UCI’s mobile visitor center and concession stand. Admission to The Rink is free, and skate rentals are only $3.

It all adds up to a delightful holiday outing that will put a smile on everyone's face. What are you waiting for? Start planning your holiday visit today!