Strand Notebook | Brookgreen preps for holiday cheer

Most any day is a good day to go to Brookgreen Gardens, which TripAdvisor named one of the top 10 gardens in the United States. Brookgreen, a favorite place for many locals and visitors to enjoy art, nature, history and more, is located beside U.S. 17 at 1931 Brookgreen Gardens Drive, Murrells Inlet.

The Brookgreen Gardens website has a lot of information about the current and future exhibits, programs and activities that are offered for adults and children.

From November 27 through January 3, Brookgreen is presenting Holiday Memories: Trains, Trees and Trinkets. According to information provided by Brookgreen, the holiday exhibit builds on the gardens’ previous displays of Lionel and American Flyer electric model trains, period Christmas trees and other nostalgia from holiday decorations of the 20th century. Featured in the exhibit are paintings of scenes of children, Christmas and toy trains by Angela Trotta Thomas, the only artist ever to be licensed by toy train manufacturer Lionel Trains Inc./Lionel LLC.

Her Rockwell-like paintings have earned her the title of “The Train Lady” and have been exhibited in the Smithsonian and Everhart museums, the Sardoni Gallery in Kings College, and have toured Japan as part of an American art exhibit.

For those who remember, those memories of Christmases from the 1930s to the 60s will be evoked by the authentic lights and ornaments decorating period Christmas trees.

Lighted churches, houses, shops and villages that are collectible treasures from Dept. 56, Lemax, Summit, Kurt Adler and other companies will provide a decorative border around the room.

For children, a new “Thomas the Train and Friends” display is featured in front of the gallery, and for adults, the “Front Street Georgetown” outdoor train display has expanded to include the historic town clock and other structures.

Representing the “Trinket” in the title will be a Tiffany-inspired store window featuring beautiful costume jewelry on loan from the collection of Sherri Duncan.

Next year is going to be another exciting one at Brookgreen Gardens, which is preparing to host 12 larger than life Lego Brick sculpture installations in its Native Wildlife Zoo from April 8 to September 5. Created by renowned artist and children’s author Sean Kenney, “Nature Connects” is an award winning exhibit that is currently touring the country. Made with almost 400,000 Lego Bricks, the sculptures bring nature to life with a six-foot-tall hummingbird hovering over a trumpet flower, a deer family made from 48,000 bricks, a giant tortoise, a seven-foot-long dragonfly and more.

“Nature Connects is a perfect fit for us,” said Bob Jewell, president and CEO. “It combines nature with art in a playful and creative way and its placement in the Native Wildlife Zoo will bring more awareness of that aspect of our mission.”

For more information, visit www.brookgreen.org or call 235-6000.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 5:11 AM with the headline "Strand Notebook | Brookgreen preps for holiday cheer."