Morton Arboretum's 'Illumination' sets new attendance record
The Morton Arboretum's "Illumination" has ended the season with a new attendance record for the theatrical holiday lights display.
Long known for its peak fall color, the tree museum in Lisle cemented its status as a holiday favorite that draws crowds out of winter hibernation and into forests animated with projections, music and special effects.
Illumination brought more than 200,000 visitors to the arboretum from its opening in late November to the finale Sunday. That tally beats the record set the previous year, when the audience reached 183,000, despite the new addition of Lightscape, a like-minded display that debuted in 2019 at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
The relatively mild weather helped attendance, but arboretum leaders attribute the popularity of Illumination to families who make it a holiday tradition.
"The warm weather has helped but what we found is that word-of-mouth has contributed to the consistently growing attendance over the years, that returning guests tend to come in larger groups and bring their friends because they really want to share the Illumination experience with others," said Tari Marshall, head of public relations and social media at the Arboretum. "Every year we have had increasing attendance, and this year is no different."
The arboretum flipped the switch on Illumination seven years ago, and it now ranks as one of the largest and more unconventional of the region's light shows.
"Illumination is unique among the light shows in the Chicago area and even nationwide because the focus is on trees and nature, and they're really the stars of the show," Marshall said.
Illumination eschews twinkle lights in favor of projections that paint trees in kaleidoscopic color, an approach clearly influenced by the music industry background of Illumination designer John Featherstone, who once created the onstage light and sound spectacle for Van Halen and Duran Duran tours.
"What I always want to do is have every experience throughout 'Illumination' make it feel like you have a dialogue with nature," Featherstone said in the lead-up to Illumination. "It's not just that you're a passing spectator, and it's not that the trees are a passive part of the experience."
Put another way, you'd hardly find an inflatable Santa at Illumination. What you will find are elegant chandeliers and disco balls brightening bare trees along a one-mile walk.
That path took a slightly different route in 2019, making the display feel more spaced out.
"It was a little bit of a wider path, and it took a little different direction, which was very intentional to provide a better visitor experience," Marshall said.
The arboretum didn't have to cancel any nights due to frigid cold, but did delay entry on one evening because of winds. Illumination also had 20 sold-out nights.
"We find that our visitors know to dress for the weather, and they seem to enjoy the exhibitions as much they enjoy stopping for hot chocolate," Marshall said. "They can stop at fire pits to get warm. We don't find that there are any fewer visitors because of the weather."