An event that is touted as one of the most wonderful family traditions in the Grand Strand is upon us next weekend and through the end of the season. It's Brookgreen Gardens' Night of a Thousand Candles.
Brookgreen Gardens is beautiful, filled with amazing statues, flowers, plants, a boat ride and even animals. It's definitely a "must do" for visitors to our area and families who live here. The Night of a Thousand Candles event is dazzling but...and this is a big one...not for families with small children.
Last year we coordinated a few families worth of friends and took our infant, toddler and preschool-aged children for, what we thought, would be a night filled with "ooohs" and "ahhhhs". Instead, we all found it quite stressful!
The gardens are lit only by candles. And while there may, quite literally, but 1000 of them, it's still dark! If I was there with my husband only I would have considered it romantically lit. I would have enjoyed slowly strolling hand-in-hand with him. I may have even considered bringing a blanket and a bottle of wine. But since I was with my kids, I found the whole thing panicky dark. I felt the need to hold on to hands, full-time. I got nervous when I got minorly separated from my family. I was freaking out about my girls walking any where other than in the middle of the paths because on either side there were open flames.
As could be expected, the event was PACKED. So add very dim lighting and open flames to mobs of people and you've got a far-less-than-enjoyable evening.
Make no mistake. The Night of a Thousand Candles is gorgeous. It's so lovely. It's just not a family event...especially if your children are less than about 10 years old. If you want to enjoy it, get a babysitter. :-) I highly recommend Frank's Outback for dinner prior to your visit. The food is exquisite! It's one of the few truly fine dining experiences in the Grand Strand.
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