| 2011 GALAXY OF LIGHTS HAS NEW ENTRANCE |
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MEDIA RELEASE
2011 GALAXY OF LIGHTS HAS NEW ENTRANCE AT U.S. SPACE & ROCKET CENTER EXIT 15
November 1, 2011
HUNTSVILLE, Ala - For the 16th year, Galaxy of Lights will light up the skies of the Tennessee Valley with lighted holiday displays. And this year, there’s a new starting point! The entrance for Galaxy of Lights has moved about a quarter mile west from the Garden’s main entrance off of Bob Wallace Avenue to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s Exit 15 off of I-565. The attached map shows the new route. This will be the entrance for both Galaxy walking and driving nights.
The reason for the new route is two-fold. First and foremost, it helps with traffic on Bob Wallace Avenue. During the busiest of Galaxy nights, traffic can be backed up for hours on Bob Wallace, causing traffic issues at both the Jordan Lane intersection to the east, all the way to the I-565 entrance and exit ramps to the west. With Galaxy’s continued growth, increased traffic has required additional manpower from Huntsville Police Department to ensure safe ingress and egress from the Garden. Secondly, the Garden has simply run out of room for Galaxy displays. The Galaxy of Lights trail started at a half-mile upon its inception in 1995 and reached maximum capacity at over a mile-and-a-half as of 2010. The new connector road provides almost an additional mile of road in which to expand in future years.
The new connector road, constructed by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center back in 2010, offers a viable solution for both challenges. The road begins at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s Aviation Challenge (SPACE CAMP’S sister camp where kids learn the basics about becoming a fighter pilot) and ends at the Huntsville Botanical Garden’s Grisham Pavilion.
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center will be offering an additional holiday experience from Thanksgiving forward (Galaxy driving nights only) for those who are interested in stopping before they drive over to Galaxy. Visitors are welcome to park at Aviation Challenge to check out Santa’s Rocket Sleigh Pit Stop where Santa’s propulsion crew is adding rocket engines to his sleigh. Visitors can see live reindeer, get their picture taken and see the lit aircraft at Aviation Challenge all FREE of charge. Hot chocolate and cookies are also available for purchase.
From Santa’s Rocket Sleigh Pit Stop, visitors can follow the connector road to enjoy the 16th Annual Galaxy of Lights. As always, there will be brand new displays like the ballerina, the soldier and his puppy and more, as well as old favorites – like the icicle forest, the dinosaurs and the nursery rhymes. And it’s laid out differently every year so it’s never the same show two years in a row. To learn more about the year-long making of Galaxy of Lights, go to www.hsvbg.org/behindthemagic.
For additional information: Huntsville Botanical Garden, Nicole Hogan, 256-830-4447 ext. 290 (o), 256-426-6435 (c)
1. Take exit 15 toward the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (Old Madison Pike) 2. Take a left at the Marriott (Tranquility Base) 3. Simply follow the Garden’s Galaxy signage through the U. S. Space & Rocket Center’s Aviation Challenge area to the connector road that leads to the Huntsville Botanical Garden.
Public Walk-Through Nights |
