Gardens Aglow opens at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens on Saturday, Nov. 14, and the season runs through Jan. 2, 2027. For year-round residents of the Boothbay peninsula, it starts a night early and costs nothing. The rest of the season now has a different price depending on the day of the week, and the harbor's holiday calendar keeps landing on the most expensive night.
This year, the night you pick decides both what you pay and how much else is going on that evening.
Nov. 13 is the peninsula's night
The Gardens' annual Community Night is Friday, Nov. 13, from 4 to 9 p.m. The Gardens calls it a "sneak peek of this year's light show." It's free to year-round residents of Edgecomb, Southport, Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, East Boothbay, Trevett, and West Boothbay Harbor.
There are two practical details. The address you use to reserve has to match your year-round ID. Reserving isn't required, but the Gardens strongly encourages it because it speeds up your arrival.
It also helps to know the date in context. Nov. 13 comes the evening before the first public night, and that first public night is a Saturday. On the 2026 price list, Saturday is the most expensive night of the week. So the peninsula's free night sits right next to the season's highest ticket price.
Every night now has a price
New this year, the Gardens split admission into three tiers tied to the calendar. Weekdays are Family Value, Fridays and Sundays are Standard, and Saturdays are Premium. Here's the 2026 list from the Gardens Aglow ticket page:
| 2026 ticket | Weekday, Family Value | Fri. & Sun., Standard | Saturday, Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | $20 | $24 | $28 |
| Senior & veteran | $18 | $22 | $26 |
| Child, ages 3 to 17 | $10 | $14 | $18 |
Children under 3 get in free, and members save 20%. The regular season runs Thursday through Sunday plus some added dates, so a weekday ticket on a regular week is a Thursday ticket.
The gap adds up for a household. Two adults and two children pay $60 on a Thursday, $76 on a Friday or Sunday, and $92 on a Saturday. With the member discount, those become $48, $60.80, and $73.60. The same family on the same paths pays about half again as much on a Saturday as on a Thursday.
Gretchen Ostherr, the Gardens' president and CEO, explained the change in a Lincoln County News announcement: "With new pricing tiers, we hope that everyone can find a night that allows them to enjoy being together at their Maine Gardens."
Saturdays are also when the harbor fills up
The Saturday premium means more once you set the Gardens' calendar beside the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce's Boothbay Lights schedule. The Chamber notes its schedule is subject to change, but every dated community event on it so far falls on a Saturday:
- Nov. 21: Early Bird Sale and PJ Party, which the Chamber describes as "Always the Saturday before Thanksgiving!"
- Nov. 28: Santa on Boothbay Common, "Always the Saturday after Thanksgiving!"
- Dec. 5: Santa and Friends arrive in Boothbay Harbor, followed by the Lighted Boat Parade and fireworks, with a Dec. 6 rain date.
Dec. 5 is the busiest night on the whole peninsula calendar. The Boothbay Register's December listings have Santa and his entourage arriving at 3 p.m. and the boat parade starting at 6:45 p.m., with two laps of the harbor and fireworks right after. The Register's holiday guide suggests watching from Whale Park on Commercial Street or Fishermen's Memorial Park on Atlantic Avenue. At 7:30 p.m. that same night, the Celtic group Còig plays a Christmas show at the Opera House at 86 Townsend Ave. The Boothbay Railway Village's North Pole Express also starts its run that day.
Gardens Aglow is open that night as well, at Premium prices. Its last timed arrival is 7:30 p.m., so it overlaps the parade almost exactly. Nov. 21 is similar: shopping downtown that evening and a light show in the Gardens' beds, both on the priciest night of the Aglow week.
Getting there on the busy nights
On a Saturday, both the ticket rules and the shuttle hours shape the evening.
Gardens Aglow tickets are sold for a specific date and time slot. If your slot sells out, you can't buy at the gate, and anyone without a ticket is turned away. Moving a reservation to another date or time costs $2.50 per ticket. The $50 VIP upgrade gets you unlimited free exchanges, arrival any time during open hours, and access to a fire pit with s'mores. The fire pit holds 40 people and moves to one-in, one-out on busy nights. The member discount doesn't apply to the upgrade.
Parking at the Gardens is free. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, a free Chamber shuttle runs from the Boothbay Harbor Town Office/Fire Station at 11 Howard Street. It starts at 3:45 p.m., the last ride to the Gardens leaves around 7:45 p.m., and the last ride back to town leaves by 9:15 p.m. Riders need a Gardens Aglow ticket. The shuttle doesn't run Thursdays, but Thursday is also the cheapest night and has nothing else on the calendar competing for parking.
Downtown at Pier One, the Chamber's Giant Pot Buoy Tree stays up through November and December, along with a selfie contest. If you take the shuttle from Howard Street, the tree is a short walk away while you wait.
What the sneak peek will show
The 2026 theme is "Gathered in Maine." This year's new lighted scenes include a maple tapping scene, a landscape set up for mushroom foraging, and a group of seed-dispersing ants. Local artists are contributing again, including the Portland-based PORTL&, visual artist Hannah Holt, and cellist and composer Robin Lane. A café exhibition on the theme of gathering is included with admission.
The display uses more than 750,000 LED bulbs, according to the Gardens, the same figure the Press Herald reported for the 2025 season. The 2025 show, "Nature in Motion," focused on soundscapes and 3D-printed wildlife. This year's changes are in the scenes and the theme, and the bulb count is about the same.
Crowds are what the pricing tries to spread out. The Gardens reported more than 117,000 visitors in 2024, according to that same Press Herald story. Those visitors are concentrated on the weekend nights, when the harbor's own events also bring people downtown. Community Night comes before all of that, with the paths open only to the peninsula.
The rest of the holiday season, off the Gardens' calendar
The rest of the peninsula's holiday calendar is spread across other days and hours:
- Nov. 18, a Wednesday: a gingerbread-house building class at the Opera House, 3 to 4 p.m.
- Dec. 4, a Friday: Pat Colwell & The Soul Sensations' Motown Christmas at the Opera House, 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets at the box office cost $25, and regular tickets cost $30.
- Dec. 11 to 13: the Gingerbread Spectacular at the Opera House, free to attend. Doors open Dec. 11 at 5:30 p.m., according to the Opera House event page.
- Dec. 5 to 6, 12 to 13, and 19 to 20: the North Pole Express at Boothbay Railway Village, 586 Wiscasset Road/Route 27, with eight trains a day starting at 10:45 a.m. These are daytime events and don't conflict with the light show.
- Dec. 19, a Saturday: the Heather Pierson Trio plays Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas score at the Opera House, 7:30 p.m.
For food and treats, Coastal Maine Popcorn Co. at 15 Townsend Ave. stays open year-round, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. Farm 23 at 102 Ocean Point Road takes a winter break from Dec. 25, 2026, through Jan. 7, 2027, so plan holiday-week breakfasts there before Christmas. The Gardens is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Its last night of the season is Saturday, Jan. 2.
Community Night is Friday, Nov. 13, and you can reserve with your year-round address on the Community Night page.
If you're thinking about a winter on the peninsula, or a house close enough to walk to the boat parade, Paul Clark can help you figure out which parts of Boothbay suit the season you want. Start Your Maine House Hunt.
