THE popular Dreaming Trees light display is due to illuminate Howard Davis Park again this year, with the event scheduled for October.
Organisers of the annual display, which is now in its third year, said they had moved the event from February in the hope that they can “take advantage of the spectacular autumn season” and the October half-term.
The free, ticketed display, which is organised by the Infrastructure and Environment Department, was first launched in 2023, when 30,000 people visited the attraction. Roughly 35,000 attended last year.
During previous displays special evenings were held for neurodivergent people during which the number of attendees permitted was reduced and the volume of the accompanying background music was lowered.
Work is now under way to develop “an exciting new theme”, according to the organisers.
Previous displays were inspired by the work of Dr Suzanne Simard and her scientific research into how trees communicate with each other using a “Wood Wide Web”.
Bruce Labey, senior operations manager for parks and gardens and founder of the Dreaming Trees display, said: “Moving Dreaming Trees to October will help us build on the success of the past two years of illuminations and take advantage of the spectacular autumn season, to which we will be adding some extra sparkle.”
More information is due to be released about the event in the coming months. The event was held last year despite Howard Davis Park suffering “significant damage” during Storm Ciarán in 2023.
