The outdoor Chihuly glass at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park comes down after Sunday, November 1. The Gardens' Chihuly year keeps going after that. The indoor exhibition, CHIHULY: Radiant Forms, has been extended through January 10. January 10 is also the last night of ENLIGHTEN and the last day of the University of Michigan Health–West: Christmas & Holiday Traditions exhibition.
That means one property at 1000 East Beltline Ave. NE has a single season running from May into the new year. November is the quietest stretch in the middle of it. For anyone in Grand Rapids Township who thinks of the Gardens as the local garden, the useful question is what each part of that season includes and when to go.
The Outdoor Glass Has One Weekend Left
The outdoor show opened May 2. MLive described it as the largest and most expansive Chihuly exhibition in Meijer Gardens' history, spread across 12 outdoor locations. WKTV Journal counted 12 monumental sculptures across the campus. The Gardens' autumn page labels it "Ending Soon on November 1."
The last outdoor weekend lands on the end of the Gardens' first Autumn Weekends program, which is new this year:
- Hallowee-Ones runs Saturday, October 31, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Parades leave from The American Horse in the DeVos Van Andel Piazza at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and storytime takes place in the Lena Meijer Children's Garden Labyrinth.
- The Harvest Beer Garden & Live Music is in the Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Family fun at Michigan's Farm Garden offers the Harvest Relay and the Little Farmers Produce Stand, plus a weekend food truck and a carved-pumpkin display in The Barn.
Visitors who want one more look at the outdoor glass with fall color behind it have only this weekend left.
The Indoor Show Closes the Same Night as the Lights
CHIHULY: Radiant Forms is the smaller half of the exhibition. The Gardens describes it as a more intimate look at 40 years of Chihuly's work, original drawings included. The Gardens also holds three Chihuly works in its permanent collection, WKTV Journal reported.
Because the indoor show was extended, it now runs alongside both holiday events. All three close together:
| Date | What changes |
|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Last Hallowee-Ones morning |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Outdoor Chihuly exhibition closes |
| Nov. 2–22 | Regular daytime hours, Radiant Forms open indoors |
| Mon., Nov. 23 | ENLIGHTEN opens for its third season |
| Tue., Nov. 24 | Christmas & Holiday Traditions opens, tree lighting 6–8 p.m. |
| Tue., Dec. 1, 8, 15 | Christmas & Holiday Traditions cultural programming |
| Sun., Jan. 10 | ENLIGHTEN, Holiday Traditions, and Radiant Forms all close |
The Gardens' own marketing calls January the end of the run. Its ENLIGHTEN Winter Dinner Package, offered January 2, 3, and 6 through 10, is promoted as "one of your last opportunities to experience CHIHULY: Radiant Forms before the exhibition closes."
Three Quiet Weeks in November
From November 2 through 22, the Gardens has no outdoor exhibition and no holiday event yet. Radiant Forms stays open in the indoor galleries during regular operating hours. It requires a timed ticket bought on top of general admission, and the time slots are limited.
The Gardens' 2026 calendar, as published by the West Michigan Tourist Association, lists baseline hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, with exceptions for special events. That calendar was published in January, so check the Gardens' site before you plan a Tuesday evening around it.
The add-on works the same way after ENLIGHTEN opens. A lights ticket doesn't include Radiant Forms. In the November weeks, the add-on pairs with general admission and a daytime walk through the Sculpture Park, which an ENLIGHTEN ticket does not cover.
What an ENLIGHTEN Ticket Covers
ENLIGHTEN uses timed entry. The first entry is 5:30 p.m., the last is 8:30 p.m., and the grounds close at 10 p.m. Standard prices on the event page:
- Adult, $32
- Senior or student, $24
- Child ages 3–13, $16
- Ages 2 and under, free
Value Nights take 10% off admission. In November they are the 23rd, 29th, and 30th, so opening night is one of them. December's are the 6th, 7th, 9th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 27th, 28th, and 29th. January's are the 3rd and the 6th through the 10th, so the last five nights of the season are all discounted. Members get an extra 10% off every ENLIGHTEN ticket. Households with a SNAP EBT card can get 50% off timed tickets by showing the card and a photo ID at the ticket desk. That discount is available in person only.
At the end of the illuminated route, the trail leads into the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory and then into Christmas & Holiday Traditions, with the Railway Garden and more than 40 cultural displays. That exhibition is included with an ENLIGHTEN ticket. Radiant Forms costs extra. The $100 Winter Dinner Package in the Loeschner–Peterson Events Room includes ENLIGHTEN and a private viewing of Radiant Forms, and members get 10% off.
ENLIGHTEN tickets also don't include entry to the Sculpture Park before the event starts. If you'd like to see the sculptures in daylight and then stay for the lights, that takes two admissions.
What's New for the Third Season
The first two seasons drew attention well beyond Kent County. MLive reported that ENLIGHTEN sold 80,000 tickets in its 2024 debut and that 39% of first-year visitors came from outside the county. For the second season, MLive noted more restrooms and food and drink options, plus HYBYCOZO's "Glacial Light" installation, which was expanded and moved to the amphitheater. In December 2025, USA TODAY 10Best ranked ENLIGHTEN No. 3 among botanical garden holiday light shows.
For 2026, the Gardens' preview in a FOX 17 sponsored segment described a one-mile walking path past sculptures by Henry Moore and Auguste Rodin. It announced three additions: new lighting and music at the Scarlatti Sculpture Midpoint, a hot chocolate bar in the children's garden, and a new grand finale inside the tropical conservatory.
The hot chocolate bar sits in a garden that is still being rebuilt. The Lena Meijer Children's Garden is partially closed through summer 2027. MLive reported in July that the renovation's later phases would begin this fall, with a goal of reopening every area by the end of summer 2027. The first phase has already opened Tom Otterness's bronze Big Girl Playground, which MLive measured at 17 feet, and Mary's Ice Cream Parlor, which serves Hudsonville Creamery ice cream. Visitors this winter will see both the finished pieces and the work still underway.
Getting There Along the East Beltline
Driving to the Gardens this season may take extra time. As of mid-October, the Kent County Road Commission's project list showed work on East Beltline from 28th Street to Cascade Road beginning October 16, with left lanes closed in both directions and no completion date set. North of that, MDOT has scheduled preliminary work this fall to replace the East Beltline bridge over I-96. Full construction runs April through November 2027, and the project adds a nonmotorized path.
With timed entry, a slow drive can cost you your window. For a December Value Night, plan the trip around the lane closures as well as the clock. The same corridor is also changing at Knapp's Corner, which we covered in our look at Celebration Village's last open lot. For more on the area, see the Grand Rapids Township neighborhood page.
If you're getting to know Grand Rapids Township through places like Meijer Gardens and want to talk about how its streets and corridors fit your plans, Linda S Pell is glad to share what she knows of the East Beltline area over coffee or a call. Let's Connect.
