As caretaker to the Botanical Cactus Garden at the Ethel M Chocolate factory in Henderson, Steve Bowdoin knows it is a matter of when, not if, he will get pricked by needle – especially as he prepares the garden for the annual holiday light display.
No matter how careful Bowdoin and his three-man team are, wrapping lights around cactuses is hazardous.
And none of that really bothers Bowdoin. He enjoys what he does.
The joy he brings to the thousands of people who visit the garden each holiday season compensates for the pain inflicted by the cactuses.
“It’s fun and crazy all at the same time,” he said.
Bowdoin said his work kind of makes him a goodwill ambassador for the garden.
“I talk to 200-300 people a day,” he said.
It takes 960 man hours and nearly 175 pairs of gloves for Bowdoin and his crew to hang more than half a million lights – 503,000 to be precise – that transform the Botanical Cactus Gardens into a colorful holiday wonderland.
This year, Bowdoin added 3,000 bulbs to the display, all of which are LED so they will appear brighter and use less energy.
In addition, he has several new figurines and five inflatable displays, including Green, who joins Yellow and Red, the popular MM’s characters.
“No matter how hard I try to seclude them in the cactus, people go up and hug them,” Bowdoin said.
A less dangerous opportunity to hug the characters would be to visit on Fridays and Saturdays when life-size MM’s roam the gardens and interact with guests, he added.
Bowdoin said the figurines and inflatables give the gardens some holiday atmosphere during the daylight hours for those who cannot visit at night when the lights are on. He hopes, however, that it will entice visitors to return after the sun sets.
Among the new figurines this year are several LED-lighted pelicans.
“They were cool so we will try them out. If you are from Florida, they will fit right in,” he said with a mischievous grin and lamenting the fact that he could not find any lighted, wire-frame penguins.
Work on the holiday light display begins in September when Bowdoin begins inventory and testing each bulb on his 100 palettes of lights and decorations.
“No matter how yard we try, there’s always one string, one strand, that doesn’t work,” he said.
The actually hanging of the lights begins in early October.
Bowdoin has the process so narrowed down that he can tell you exactly how many man hours it will take to complete the job and how his team is progressing at any time throughout the weeks the lights are being installed.
For example, on Friday, 10 days before the annual lighting, he still had 82 hours of work remaining and was six hours behind. And that was after making up two hours from the day before.
By tomorrow, all they will have left to complete is to bury all the cords and tidy up the gardens.
In reality, Bowdoin said it takes about six months of work to prepare the lights, hang them, unhang them and plan what will go where.
Bowdoin and his team begin installing the holiday lights on the ground cover and work their way up to the canopies of the trees.
One of the last areas to be completed is the gazebo where Santa makes his home for the duration of the holiday season. Bowdoin said he makes the special display different each year and it’s always a great surprise to garden visitors, as well as factory workers.
Taking the lights down is “not as stressful as putting them up,” he said.
Although it typically takes four to six weeks to take all the lights down, Bowdoin said they are not on as strict of a schedule to complete the task.
“If some trees lag behind, it is not as critical,” he said.
He said he also uses the time as an opportunity to prune the plants, especially the trees.
By February, all is quiet at the garden and Bowdoin and one other person maintain the grounds.
“It’s when the quail and lizards come back,” he said, imagining what they must think about the holiday spectacle and multitude of visitors.
The 19th annual Cactus Lighting event will take place Tuesday from 5- 8 p.m. at the three-acre garden adjacent to the chocolate factory. The countdown to the lighting will take place at about 6 p.m.
Those wishing to attend the cactus lighting event can receive a family four-pack of tickets by bringing a new, unwrapped toy to the chocolate factory no later than noon Tuesday. Tickets are limited and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Toys collected at the factory will be donated in the annual KLUC-FM toy drive for distribution to needy children this holiday season.
The evening’s festivities will be hosted by comedian George Wallace, with entertainment by Zowie Bowie and Michael Grimm, a winner of “America’s Got Talent.” Additionally, there will be performances by local choirs, face painting, balloon artists, prize drawings and chocolate samples.
Pictures with Santa are free, but a professional photographer will be on hand offering images for $10 each.
Also, Ethel M will be selling hot chocolate and water for $1 each, with all proceeds benefiting Smile Train, an international charity that provides cleft palate surgery to those in need.
New this year, all guests at the lighting event will receive special 3-D glasses. With glasses, the attraction will come to life with special 3-D effects; they can be purchased for $2 throughout the season.
Santa Claus returns to the gardens Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 5 to 9 p.m. Also on weekends is entertainment by local choirs.
For those who would like to visit the gardens when it is a little less crowded, Bowdoin said Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are best.
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