Christmas at Kew 2019

This winter, more twinkling and fantastical than ever before, Christmas at Kew returns, inviting visitors to experience the nighttime beauty of a brand new trail, illuminated by over one million lights. The route will include some incredible showstoppers, such as the recently restored Temperate House – the largest surviving Victorian glasshouse in the world – which will form the canvas for a kaleidoscopic laser show. A must-do event in the London festive calendar, visitors can expect bursts of colour and enchanting optics as they explore Kew Gardens’ iconic landscape after dark. A roster of internationally acclaimed artists is set to adorn this newly plotted trail with a feast of art, light and music at every turn.

Myths and magic…

French creative Studio Pitaya is bringing Bifröst to Christmas at Kew, drawing inspiration from the bridge of light in Norse mythology connecting the realm of the living and the realm of gods. Set at the beginning of the trail, visitors can wander through a tunnel of 20 light arcades, the hypnotic animations bringing them through to the magical landscape beyond.

Also inspired by folklore and legend, Australian studio Mandylights returns to Christmas at Kew with Will o’ the Wisps, also known as ‘fairy fire’ by Welsh travellers, ‘aleya’ by Bengali fishermen, ‘luces del tesoro’ in Mexico and in Australia as the 'Min Min light’. The installation sees six thousand pixel mapped ‘wisp’ forms perform in different ways to reflect their diverse origins - from devilish displays of red mischief, to soft glowing orbs, to explosions of vibrant colour.

Further along the route, visitors can meander through a Fire Garden with enchanted ruby and emerald flames, as pyrotechnic artist Mike Jones brings his spellbinding work to Kew.

A tumbling waterfall and forest of vines…

The centrepiece of this year’s event, Brighton-based ITHACA will bring Waterfalls to Kew’s arboretum. With four spiralling columns of light cascading from the Treetop Walkway in the canopy above, the mesmerising 10 minute display will captivate visitors with dazzling reflections and a ‘Sea of Light’ at their feet.

In another mirroring of nature, Australian studio Mandylights brings Vines to the trail. A 30-metre-long promenade of LED vines that visitors can walk through, touch and interact with, each vine houses up to 8,000 individual colour-changing pixels, making for an otherworldly immersive experience.

Throughout the trail, Kew’s own natural splendours will feature prominently, highlighting the beauty of nature, and the importance of plants in all our lives. Trees along the route will be illuminated from different angles, allowing visitors to admire their striking winter forms. Branches will be wrapped with tiny blossom shaped lights to create a sparkling cherry tree walkway, and the Kew Horticulture team’s pea-light-festooned heritage tree will return in all its luminous glory.

The grand finale…

At the final stop, the renowned Palm House finale will await visitors with festive projections playing across a giant screen of water in the centre of the lake, and across the iconic glasshouse itself.

Extra features – Father Christmas, and a brand new food experience

Visitors can find Santa and his helpers on the Temperate House steps entertaining youngsters with ‘The Temperate House Lullaby’, and a mini fairground complete with a helter-skelter will be a perfect stop-off point for little ones. The recently opened Pavilion Bar and Grill will be open for dining, and what’s more, the Botanical restaurant will be serving a special Christmas Dinner, which visitors can pre-book when purchasing tickets.

Visitors can also celebrate Christmas at Kew with Frexinet, who will be serving Cava, Prosecco and Sparkling Rosé in their Winter Garden featuring a selfie arch and twinkling lounge area.

New for this year, street food favourite KERB will bring a delectable variety of local and independent traders to the trail, including award-winning barbeque masters Prairie Fire BBQ, and indulgent cheese toasties by Meltsmiths. Visitors can treat themselves to something sweet in the shape of churros or festive chocolate-orange brownies from La Churreria and SE Cakery, and to ensure visitors stay warm, the KERB bar will offer mulled wine and spiced rum cocktails, as well as other refreshments.

Sandra Botterell, Director of Marketing and Commercial Enterprise at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said:

“Christmas at Kew is now a firm favourite in the winter calendar, and this year we’re bringing even more excitement with a brand new route through Kew Gardens’ UNESCO world heritage landscape. Now in its seventh year, Christmas at Kew continues to delight visitors with new and talented artists, and a truly festive atmosphere. I personally cannot wait to experience the Treetop Walkway lighting up Kew’s arboretum with what promises to be a spectacular display.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

About Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world-famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding collections as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. Kew Gardens is a major international and a top London visitor attraction. Kew’s 132 hectares of landscaped gardens, and Wakehurst, Kew’s Wild Botanic Garden, attract over 2.3 million visits every year. Kew Gardens was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and celebrates its 260^th anniversary in 2019. Wakehurst is home to Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. Kew receives approximately one third of its funding from Government through the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and research councils. Further funding needed to support Kew’s vital work comes from donors, membership and commercial activity including ticket sales.

About Raymond Gubbay Limited, a division of Sony Music

Founded in 1966 by Raymond Gubbay, Raymond Gubbay Ltd, a division of Sony Music, is recognised as being at the forefront of promoting and producing popular shows, illuminated trails, classical concerts, opera, ballet and special events both in the United Kingdom and abroad. In recent years, the company has forged successful and ongoing partnerships with the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Blenheim Palace, The National Trust, The Forestry Commission, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Botanic Gardens, Chicago, USA. In addition, the company annually co-promotes Kew the Music, a diverse series of summer picnic concerts. In 1989, the company first staged Classical Spectacular®. The show has now played to an audience in excess of two million people globally. Combining great music with the latest technology and special effects has led the company on to other related productions including Space Spectacular®, John Williams Spectacular, Zimmer vs Williams and many more, working with some of the world’s most renowned orchestras including the UK’s Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia, CBSO, RSNO and the Hallé. Christmas concerts conceived by the company have become a festive tradition with performances at the Royal Festival Hall, Barbican and Cadogan Hall as well major concert halls across the country including Symphony Hall in Birmingham, The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow.

Christmas at Kew is brought to you by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and leading events promoter Raymond Gubbay Limited, a division of Sony Music. The trail is created by Culture Creative Limited.

About Culture Creative

Culture Creative is a creative project and production management company based in the North East of England. The Company works across a wide range of cultural fields including art, sport, heritage, tourism, festivals and events, developing projects from concept to delivery. Since 2013 Culture Creative has worked closely with leading entertainment promoter Raymond Gubbay Ltd. a division of Sony Music, to create My Christmas Trails – a series of illuminated trails held in various venues across the UK including Kew Gardens and Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. In 2018 the company developed its first indoor Christmas experience themed around the story of Cinderella, and this year will produce Alice in the Palace themed around the story of Alice in Wonderland for Blenheim Palace.

www.culturecreative.co.uk | FB @culturecreativeltd | Twitter @CCLCreative

About KERB

KERB is a membership organisation dedicated to the incubation and acceleration of London’s most promising street food businesses. Moving our traders steadily through our ecosystem - from inKERBator to KERB Alumni - is our expertise and focus. Through our recently opened food hall Seven Dials Market, five markets and growing private catering arm, our customers get to enjoy the ever-evolving food, served directly to them, as our traders develop their businesses from the KERB platform.

 KERB has been at the helm of the London street food scene since launching in 2012. We have improved the quality of food served on the capital’s streets, legitimised the industry through professionalising its practices, given Londoners something exuberant and independent to sink their teeth into and grown a community of entrepreneurs that are driving real change across the city’s food landscape. In September 2019 KERB opened Seven Dials Market, it’s first permanent home, bringing together an intriguing line-up of independent food businesses, all with roots in London’s streets and markets. The space celebrates and promotes the vast expression of our city’s many cultures via its glorious array of food and the talents behind it.

 Founded by Petra Barran who began talent spotting and organising traders from her choc-mobile, Choc Star, in 2009. Petra has been credited with being a major driver of the modern-day London street food industry, most recently being named as one of Time Out’s ‘50 Great Londoners’.