Fairies Aglow at New England Botanic Garden is a Perfectly Magical Night Outdoors (5 stars)
Just north of Worcester, New England Botanic Garden is a favorite of mine, with its “naturalistic gardens” (meaning integrated with the forest) and large indoor spaces, and year-round they host many creative events both indoors and outdoors.
This time, Fairies Aglow was a magical evening of lights in the garden on the theme of their 2026 art installation Fairy Hollow. While most of the garden was closed off, this part of it was filled with music and lots of string lights and colored environmental lighting, letting you see the forest around you but also giving you the nighttime feeling of having the place to yourself.
The space has entirely paved pathways and is safe for strollers. A few inclines are not steep at all. As you explore it, you’ll encounter 20 “fairy houses”. These are dioramas, tiny houses not for dolls but for presumed sprites like Tinkerbell who must surely be in the trees around you. Kudos for whichever brave soul went all the way up into the trees just to hang lights that flicker like fireflies far above you.
You’ll find a ton of photo opportunities including fairy wings to stand in front of, and there’s an activity desk where you can pick up a scavenger hunt game. What a joy: the perfect setting, the perfect decoration, and so many happy families with cute kids dressed for Halloween.
The first word that comes to mind is calming. With a live harpist playing mood music, and plenty of seating for quiet contemplation, there’s a timeless feeling of everlasting nature. Stone, woods, trees, and leaves, surround you and make it impossible not to relax, even if you’ve had a rough day, week, or year. It’s serene.
Another word that comes to mind is wonder. The little fairy houses are delightful surprises that you encounter without seeing them coming. You’ll find staff in fairy costumes to welcome you, a water fountain, and it’s wholesome to the soul, like a reminder to your core that most people are good and most worries in life pass.
The outdoor experience only took 30 minutes, or longer if you sit and take it all in. But you can also explore their indoor orangerie and limonaia greenhouses were open during the event, where you’ll see strange plants from around the world, including date palms and lemon trees. Their gift shop was open, of course, and they had hot cider, hot cocoa, beer, wine, and themed cocktails and mocktails available. If they had face painting, as depicted in their photos, I didn’t notice it.
In this age of difficult political news, anything that can refresh my mind so completely is a must see. I’ll give Fairies Aglow at New England Botanic Garden a perfect 5 stars, which would have been 5 stars PLUS if it had been larger. Although this event is over, make sure to catch their Night Lights: Fantastical Forest event coming daily November 21 to January 3.