Christmas Carollers And Choirs To Perform At Missouri Botanical Gardens

By Julie Bierach

St. Louis, MO - Tap into the holiday spirit at the Missouri Botanical Garden on Dec. 13 and 14. The sounds and scents of the season will tickle your senses as carolers and choirs perform traditional songs. The familiar Christmas fragrances of gingerbread houses, roasting chestnuts and evergreen trees will fill the air at “Christmas Carols in the Garden,” held from 1 to 5 p.m. each day.

Listen as carolers and choirs perform time-honored sacred and secular music inside the Ridgway Visitor Center and Kemper Center for Home Gardening. The Caroling Party, The Gateway Singers, Gateway Brass Ensemble, The Statesmen Singers, and harpist Terri Langerak will perform on Saturday, Dec.13. Entertainers on Sunday, Dec. 14 include St. Margaret’s Youth Choir, St. Louis Harmony Chorus, Rosati-Kain Voices, SIU-Edwardsville Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Glad Tidings, and Terri Langerak.

Santa Claus will also make his yearly descent from the North Pole to listen to children’s Christmas wishes. Climb aboard his sleigh inside the Spink Pavilion, where fresh cider, warm cocoa and cookies are available for purchase. In the Kemper Center, a 15-foot balsam fir tree is resplendent with gourds decorated with natural materials. At Tower Grove House, the country home of Garden founder Henry Shaw, rooms are adorned in Victorian holiday style.

A dozen gingerbread houses created by members of the St. Louis Metropolitan Sugar Art Guild will be on display in the upper level of the Ridgway Visitor Center. Unique wreaths custom-designed by 13 of the area’s floral designers deck the walls and are available for purchase through silent bidding. In the lower level, the popular “Gardenland Express” holiday flower and train show brings holiday cheer of yesteryear. Watch as eight G-scale model trains traverse a mountainous landscape through detailed winter scenes in miniature. Colorful poinsettias and flowering plants highlight the seasonal display. The Garden Gate Shop will be brimming with a wide assortment of tree ornaments, holiday cards, gifts and seasonal merchandise.

Fresh roasted chestnuts will be available for purchase outside on Spoehrer Plaza. An old-fashioned “hurdy-gurdy man” will be playing seasonal tunes on his portable organ throughout the Garden. Pick up a bag and climb aboard the tram, which will offer complimentary shuttle service to and from the Kemper Center and Spink Pavilion throughout the event.
“Christmas Carols in the Garden” is included with regular Garden admission ($8 adults; St. Louis City and County residents, $4) or membership. Children ages 12 and under are free.

For general Garden information, visit www.mobot.org or call the recorded line at (314) 577-9400 or toll-free 1-800-642-8842.

The Missouri Botanical Garden’s mission is “to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment, in order to preserve and enrich life.” Today, 149 years after opening, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for science, conservation, education and horticultural display.

The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in St. Louis, just south of I-44 at Vandeventer-Kingshighway (exit #287B). Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Dec. 25. Grounds open at 7 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday. Admission is $8; free children ages 12 and under and Garden members. St. Louis City and County residents are $4 and free every Wednesday and Saturday until noon (exception: special admission rate events). Park for free on site and two blocks west at the Shaw-Vandeventer intersection. (Note: the Garden’s main vehicle entrance at 4344 Shaw Blvd. will be under construction from Oct. 2008 through Mar. 2009 for improvements. Follow signs to temporary parking lot entrances around the corners at 2019 Tower Grove Ave. and 1940 Alfred Ave.) The Garden is easily accessible by taking the MetroLink commuter rail line to the Central West End station and picking up a Metro bus (www.metrostlouis.org). For general information, log on to www.mobot.org or call the 24-hour recording at (314) 577-9400 or 1-800-642-8842. For membership information, call (314) 577-5118 during weekday business hours. For volunteer opportunities, call (314)-577-5187 or visit www.mobot.org/volunteer. The Missouri Botanical Garden is a tobacco-free environment.

(Note: A section of the I-64/U.S. 40 highway is under construction through 2009. Before traveling, check www.thenewi64.org for updates or visit www.GetAroundStL.com for other helpful information.)