Twenty acres of greenhouses in Milner served as Lawrence Jansen’s playground when he was growing up. Now, the CEO of Darvonda Nurseries has converted two acres of greenhouse space into a giant playground of sorts, and has invited thousands to come and explore.
Darvonda, which operated Milner Village Garden Centre on 216th Street, has opened up about two acres of their greenhouses – starting today – for a new event called Harvest Glow.
Overwhelming reaction to last year’s Christmas Glow light show and festival inside the Milner nursery prompted its creators to expand on the concept this year, including the addition of this new fall show.
There was some initial thought about hosting an Easter event, but fall seemed more suited to the nursery’s production schedule, said Jansen.
So, he and his Darvonda team went to work back in spring designing, buying, planning, and building for Harvest Glow. And this week, they’ve been working almost round the clock putting the finishing touches on the event – in anticipation of Thursday’s launch.
A team of about 50 part-time staff have been hired to work the event and everyone is now bracing for what is expected to be a deluge of guests, literally thousands forecast to attend between now and Halloween.
Families can easily spend two hours or more enjoying all the activities and displays found inside the greenhouses, he said.
With still a few last minute tweaks being applied to the site, Harvest Glow will ultimately feature a two-acre indoor pumpkin patch, a mini corn maze, numerous animated light sculptures, harvest-themed decorations, farm stables complete with pony rides (by donation to charity), a train (offering rides to kids of all ages), a mini golf pitch and putt, a glow swing, a pirate ship play park castle, a harvest market with some 25 local artisans, farms, and boutiques, a site-wide liquor licence, food trucks, and a myriad of other autumn-themed displays and activities, Jansen said.
“Everything we’ve designed this year has families and community at the heart of it,” he said.
Speaking to that, there’s no need for families to get wet and muddy when searching for that perfect pumpkin, Jansen added, noting that Heppells Potato Farms in Cloverdale is bringing in at least 25,000 pumpkins (more if needed), that were grown specifically for this year’s new Harvest Glow. And for the $5 fee for the pumpkin, families are even encouraged to carve them on site, leave the mess behind and possibly even enter into a carving contest.
The Jansens introduced Christmas Glow last year, and saw more than 100,000 visitors in just over a month of being opened.
That event, which had a fundraising component, saw $25,000 donated to local charities including a portion to Langley Hospice and the Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation.
With Harvest Glow, Jansen said there will be a charity component. This time, with an event targeted more at younger families, they’ve opted to partner with the four Lower Mainland charities: Langley School District Foundation, Surrey Cares Community Foundation, Breakfast Club of Canada, and Compassion. A portion of all ticket sales will be donated to the organizations.
The new fall show runs Thursdays, Fridays, (4 to 9 p.m.) and Saturdays (1 to 9 p.m.) until Oct. 20, at which time the event goes daily until Oct. 31 (except the Sunday).
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Christmas expands, too
For this year’s Christmas event, they’ve not only changed out all the light sculptures and expanded the light tunnel in the Christmas event, but they’re adding more lights and holiday festivities in Langley.
Admittedly, while Jansen expected Glow to be popular, he never expected the “incredible” reception their event garnered in 2017.
It went so well, that they’re not only doing it again, but they’re expanding the concept to Edmonton, Alta. and Barrie, Ont. where they’re partnering with fellow greenhouse operators to host similar shows.
If those go well, too, Glow could expand further for 2019, possibly into Winnipeg and Saskatoon – where having a family-fun venue out of the elements is even more critical, Jansen said.
This year, Edmonton will have all the lights and decorations used last year in Langley, and the Langley show will be 100 per cent new, he emphasized, explaining that the plan would be to move the displays around and always ensure returning guests had a new and different experience.
Christmas Glow in Milner this year, for instance, will have an Around the World theme, taking visitors on a country to country tour as they follow Santa on his annual journey.
Taking up even more greenhouse space for the Christmas event (about 4,000 square metres), that event will run Nov. 22 to Jan. 19.
