Lights fantastic

What to expect at 'Lightscape,' North Texas' new walk-thru winter wonderland

Dallas-Fort Worth’s most Instagrammable new holiday lights display is best enjoyed without clinging to a phone. “Lightscape,” which made its North Texas debut at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden on November 18, walks visitors through a winter wonderland experience unlike any other in DFW.

As the name says, the event features “lights” in “landscape,” so the natural surrounds of the garden are the stage on which the light features shine. The third star of the show is music, and the major supporting character is strategic use of … darkness.

Yes, darkness.

What makes "Lightscape" different from other modern Christmas light attractions is that it’s not a constant, over-the-top, bombastic blast of LEDs. There are high-lights and low-lights, moments of razzle dazzle and moments of quiet contemplation. Parts are whimsical, parts are worshipful.

The holiday season is not (for most people) one steady dousing of joyful Christmas spirit. In the same way, “Lightscape” evokes the many different spirits of Christmas: the wonderment, the majesty, the mysticism, the reverie, the joy, and all the merriment.

Yes, of course, snap those selfies and record those reels, but then tuck that phone away and take it all in as a total sensory experience.

Feel the chilly air hit your face as you pose in the bluebonnet field with a Texas country serenade. Sip your hot chocolate and linger on a bench, watching the reflection in the water of trees changing colors to “Silent Night” in the Japanese Garden.

And if you start to think, “This part of the path seems dull,” look up at a sky-high tree lit purple or green and, think, “I wonder why, out of all the trees, they chose that one?”

Below are five highlights of the mile-long walking path through the display, based on a sneak-peek visit. If you don’t want spoilers, skip to the bottom for some valuable “know before you go” information. (You’ll want to know about the spiked hot chocolate.)

Winter Cathedral – This is the feature in all the ads and every influencer reel. An 18-foot-tall, 110-foot-long cathedral guides guests through a long tunnel illuminated by tens of thousands of LED light globes. You might think it’s the grand finale - It’s not; there’s still much more to come. Andrea Bocelli singing “O Holy Night” adds to a true “cathedral” experience; pause and take in the light-filled spectacle when he gets to the rousing line, “Oh Night Divine.”

The Rose Garden – What makes this fun is that it’s actually in The Rose Garden. A sprawling installation of 5,000 handmade color-changing roses with life-like silk leaves fills the garden where many in Fort Worth have celebrated weddings, engagements, and celebrations of life. This whimsical botanical playground also looks a bit like a retro “Light Brite” board.

Fire Garden – Perhaps the most surprising feature of the whole event is a field of structures that fill the landscape with real fire, created from hand-poured candles, flickering in the breeze. Set to an a capella choral rendition of “Auld Lang Syne,” it feels like a candlelight worship service at a church. It’s a beautifully contemplative moment.

Bluebonnets – Merry Texmas, y’all. A field of 2,000 bluebonnets twinkle and shine and bathe the landscape in bold blue and white LED pixel lights, while a country crooner sings, “Merry Texas Christmas, You All.” An entirely different way to take iconic bluebonnet photos. (You can’t actually plop down in the field, but there are plenty of spots for shots.)

Japanese Garden – Whatever you do, don’t skip this at the end. The entire garden is transformed into a space both meditative and majestic. Trees are lit in various colors and change colors to the soft sounds of “Silent Night.” Water features that look like falling leaves in the pond “dance” to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. It’s an awe-inspiring finale to the entire experience.

Good to know:

"Lightscape" runs November 18-January 8 at Fort Worth Botanic Garden; information and tickets are here.
No shows on: November 21-22 & 24, November 28-30, December 5-6, December 12-13, December 25, and January 2-3.
The entire event is outdoors and uncovered, and about a mile long. It’s an all-walking experience so wear comfy shoes and dress appropriately for the elements.
The average tour time from start to finish is 1.5 hours, although there is no time limit.
Concessions (charcuterie cones, turkey legs, veggie burgers, hot and cold beverages) are sold at stands throughout the event. Various kinds of spiked hot chocolate and apple cider are available for adults; they’re $12 apiece.
There are a few gravel spots and dark pathways, especially walking to and from the parking lot. If you’re not sure-footed, you might keep your phone flashlight handy.
Strollers and wheelchairs were able to navigate the entire event.
Tickets (timed every 15 minutes) run $28-$30 for adults, $18-$20 for children (ages 3-12), and free for infants (0-2 years old). FWBG members receive $5 off of each ticket.
Prices do not include parking, which runs $15-$20, according to the website. A $60 VIP ticket package includes parking.

Photo by Michael Merry

Reflections of trees changing colors to "Silent Night" in the Japanese Garden.

families event-planner holidays

Movie Review

Film sequel Avatar: Fire and Ash is a technical and visual feast

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Oona Chaplin in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

For a series whose first two films made over $5 billion combined worldwide, Avatar has a curious lack of widespread cultural impact. The films seem to exist in a sort of vacuum, popping up for their run in theaters and then almost as quickly disappearing from the larger movie landscape. The third of five planned movies, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally being released three years after its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The new film finds the main duo, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his native Na’vi wife, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), still living with the water-loving Metkayina clan led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). While Jake and Neytiri still play a big part, the focus shifts significantly to their two surviving children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), as well as two they’ve essentially adopted, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).

Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who lives on in a fabricated Na’vi body, is still looking for revenge on Jake, and he finds help in the form of the Mangkwan Clan (aka the Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Quaritch’s access to human weapons and the Mangkwan’s desire for more power on the moon known as Pandora make them a nice match, and they team up to try to dominate the other tribes.

Aside from the story, the main point of making the films for writer/director James Cameron is showing off his considerable technical filmmaking prowess, and that is on full display right from the start. The characters zoom around both the air and sea on various creatures with which they’ve bonded, providing Cameron and his team with plenty of opportunities to put the audience right there with them. Cameron’s preferred viewing method of 3D makes the experience even more immersive, even if the high frame rate he uses makes some scenes look too realistic for their own good.

The story, as it has been in the first two films, is a mixed bag. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver start off well, having Jake, Neytiri, and their kids continue mourning the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) in the previous film. The struggle for power provides an interesting setup, but Cameron and his team seem to drag out the conflict for much too long. This is the longest Avatar film yet, and you really start to feel it in the back half as the filmmakers add on a bunch of unnecessary elements.

Worse than the elongated story, though, is the hackneyed dialogue that Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver have come up with. Almost every main character is forced to spout lines that diminish the importance of the events around them. The writers seemingly couldn’t resist trying to throw in jokes despite them clashing with the tone of the scenes in which they’re said. Combined with the somewhat goofy nature of the Na’vi themselves (not to mention talking whales), the eye-rolling words detract from any excitement or emotion the story builds up.

A pre-movie behind-the-scenes short film shows how the actors act out every scene in performance capture suits, lending an authenticity to their performances. Still, some performers are better than others, with Saldaña, Worthington, and Lang standing out. It’s more than a little weird having Weaver play a 14-year-old girl, but it works relatively well. Those who actually get to show their real faces are collectively fine, but none of them elevate the film overall.

There are undoubtedly some Avatar superfans for which Fire and Ash will move the larger story forward in significant ways. For anyone else, though, the film is a demonstration of both the good and bad sides of Cameron. As he’s proven for 40 years, his visuals are (almost) beyond reproach, but the lack of a story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater keeps the film from being truly memorable.

---

Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19.

movies film

Lights fantastic

What to expect at 'Lightscape,' North Texas' new walk-thru winter wonderland

Longtime Dallas restaurant Sevy's Grill to close after nearly 30 years

Tom Thumb debuts 2 new supermarkets in the Dallas area

3 global retailers to make Texas debut in Dallas' Knox St. development

Movie Review

Film sequel Avatar: Fire and Ash is a technical and visual feast