Going With the Glow

Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh is anything but staid at the holidays. / Photo by Paul g. Wiegman, courtesy Phipps Conservatory.

Paths light the way around the grounds at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. Note the colorful shapes in the right background. / Photo by Paul g. Wiegman, courtesy Phipps Conservatory.

And here are those mysterious orbs up close. Not Christmas colors but weirdly amazing. / Photo by Paul g. Wiegman, courtesy Phipps Conservatory.

In case you doubted you were in wonderland, there’s this colorful walkway at Phipps Conservatory. / Photo by Paul g. Wiegman, courtesy Phipps Conservatory.

And of course there’s a tunnel of lights to lead you to the doorway at Phipps. / Photo by Paul g. Wiegman, courtesy Phipps Conservatory.

Blue Cross RiverRink is home to Philadelphia’s annual Winterfest, where there is a Lodge and a fire-pit hangout in addition to the ice skating. / Photo by Matt Stanley, courtesy Delaware River Waterfront.

Here’s one of the cabins in the Lodge that can be rented for a small party at the Blue Cross RiverRink . / Photo by Matt Stanley, courtesy Delaware River Waterfront.

The Lodge at RiverRink in Philadelphia has a lively scene–probably some visitors don’t even skate. / Photo by Matt Stanley, courtesy Delaware River Waterfront.

The MassMutual Pittsburgh Ice Rink keeps the downtown lively at night (some nights till 11pm) and lets people skate in the middle of what Batman called Gotham. / Photo courtesy Highwoods Properties.

The Glow is all over Georgetown. Here at Francis Scott Key Park, 34th and M streets NW, at the foot of Key Bridge, is “Social Sparkles,” a kinetic work that responds to the visitors who enter under the columns. By Netherlands artist Toer. / Photo by Sam Kittner, courtesy Georgetown BID.

“Entre les Rangs” (Between the Rows), by Kanva Architecture and Quartier des Spectacles Partnership of Montreal, shimmers like fields of wheat, albeit a bit more colorful. The installation is part of Georgetown Glow. / Photo by Martine Doyon, courtesy Georgetown BID.

Johnny Dukovich and Klagsbrun Studios of Washington DC created these goofy guys, “Rainbow Friends” (two out of three shown), who wave to passersby and talk among themselves at Wisconsin Avenue and Reservoir Road NW, as part of Georgetown Glow. / Photo by Sam Kittner, courtesy Georgetown BID.

Visitors to Grace Church on lower Wisconsin Avenue NW get to view Rhizome (the green lines), the Georgetown Glow installation by Tom and Lien Dekyvere of Belgium. / Photo by Sam Kittner, courtesy Georgetown BID.

This season Longwood’s theme is the Tree Reimagined, here a flying forest of Christmas trees suspended in midair in the conservatory. / Photo courtesy Longwood Gardens.

The Tree Reimagined is the theme outdoors as well at Longwood Gardens, where more than 500,000 lights festoon more than 150 trees. / Photo courtesy Longwood Gardens.

The display at the Main Fountain Garden is new this year at Longwood Gardens. / Photo courtesy Longwood Gardens.

At Longwood Gardens, the Tree Reimagined inspired a birdhouse tree. Lucky birds. / Photo courtesy Longwood Gardens.

This view of Longwood Gardens, here and on the front, seems to encapsulate the sentiment of the Christmas season: a bit of snow, a lighted tree and a cozy-looking manor house in the near distance beckoning. / Photo courtesy Longwood Gardens.

IN THIS DARK season, our phototropic impulse makes us head for the light. Happily there are luminous objects and displays to be had in seemingly every shop window and every front yard.

But some displays are more enthusiastic than others, especially when cities partner with corporations to enliven their downtown (yes, it’s commercial, and yes, they have most of our money, but it sure looks great!).

We’ve recently shared the spectacle that is Manhattan department-store windows. Here are a few other regional delights. I love them all, but the “warming cottages” in the Lodge at RiverRink Winterfest in Philadelphia look well worth the drive.

—Nancy McKeon

Philadelphia

Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest, 101 South Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia. A 25-year-old winter festival. Skating rink plus Franklin Fountain Confectionery Cabin for hot chocolate etc. and the Lodge for refreshments and cabins. Party cabins available for rent ($75 for 90 minutes, cabin accommodates 8 to 10 people; double cottages are $125 for 90 minutes, for up to 18 people.) 90-minute skating sessions are $4; $10 for skate rental. Open seven days a week through March 3, 2019. Hours of operation vary by day—Fridays and Saturdays till 1am, other days till 11pm—and by weather conditions.

Longwood Gardens (outside Philadelphia), 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. “A Longwood Christmas” means illuminated trees and the spectacularly lit Main Fountain Garden. Timed tickets required (many time slots are sold out), $16 to $30. Open 9am to 10pm through the season. Through January 6, 2019.

Pittsburgh

Holiday Magic: Let It Glow!, Phipps Conservatory, 1 Schenley Drive, Schenley Park, Pittsburgh. The Winter Flower Show is inside (2,000 poinsettias, penguin topiaries), the Winter Light Garden is outside (a tunnel of lights, luminous orbs, glittering trees). Timed tickets required, $11.95 to $17.95 (some but not all pre-Christmas slots are sold out). The Winter Light Garden is open 5 to 11pm most evenings  (Christmas Eve till 5pm, closed Christmas Day). The whole conservatory’s extended hours are 9:30am to 11pm. Phipps says the least-crowded days are Mondays and Tuesdays. Holiday Magic: Let It Glow! runs through January 6.

MassMutual Pittsburgh Ice Rink at PPG Place, PPG Place between Third and Fourth avenues, downtown Pittsburgh. Skate beneath an enormous Christmas tree in the place where Batman was filmed (and the rink is half again as big as the skating rink at Rockefeller Center in New York). Skating sessions cost $9 to $10, with $4 skate rental. Open seven days a week through early March. Hours vary but generally skating goes from late morning until 10pm.

Washington, DC

The Georgetown Glow, light installations around the Georgetown neighborhood (map). georgetownglowdc.com. A 5-year-old outdoor show, this year by 16 artists producing 10 light-art installations. Through January 6, 2019, 5 to 10pm nightly. Free.