#1943 garden after dark

Tonight I had the opportunity to volunteer at Red Butte Garden's annual Garden After Dark event. This year's theme is Adventures in Wonderland. I was enchanted by the way the garden has been decorated and the activities they have for the kids (and adults).

This is the final weekend for the event. They only do it six days, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It started last week, so Friday and Saturday are the last chances to go this year. SLC friends, if you have a chance, you should go. The hours are 6 - 9. Most people with little kids come early, but if you can get there around 7:30, the crowds aren't as big and you might have more fun. Plus it's dark by then and the place looks spectacular. There are luminarias lighting the paths. The path down the rabbit hole through the woods is super cute and includes fog and bubbles. The Cheshire Cat path is adorable. As you walk along, the Cheshire Cat keeps popping up for just a moment. There are cool activities like the Mad Hatter's Tea Party with games, making book marks from cherry wood, and decorating shrinky dink mushrooms.

I was in the shrinky dink mushroom area. People got to color in a little shrinky dink mushroom and make it into a necklace. You can take the little mushroom home and bake it and it shrinks to half it's size. I have never heard of such a thing, but I colored a mushroom and wore it all night. Maybe I'll bake it and let you know how it turns out! The kids loved it and the parents thought it was fun, too. There were lots of parents coloring mushrooms at my table.

I'll be back at the Garden on Saturday night, the final night of this year's Garden After Dark. I don't know what my assignment will be. My role is "filler" so I'll probably do whatever they need, like if someone doesn't show up or I'll wander around and give breaks to the other volunteers. Whatever. It's a really fun event and I feel lucky to get to help out.