marvelous memphis: starry nights at shelby farms park.

Last weekend I took my parents to see the Starry Nights exhibit at Shelby Farms Park, and I thought I would share our visit with you today.

[memphis love as you drive into starry nights]

Starry Nights is a super cool lights exhibit that Shelby Farms puts on every holiday season, and cars line up to drive through and ooh and aah at all the lights. There are traditional lights as well as Memphis-themed ones, and in the middle you can park and visit Mistletoe Village, where you can get hot chocolate and have your photo taken with Santa.

[driving through the solar system] 

[st jude love]

[i see you, grizz]

Last year I participated in the Starry Nights 4k, a walk / run through the lights after Christmas, but this was the first time I've ever driven through it, and it was fantastic. As Christmas draws closer, the line of cars will be halfway down Walnut Grove, but there was no line at all when we went, on the Saturday night before Thanksgiving, and we could go through at our own pace.

[i don't know why, but this one kept cracking me up]

[bb king's]

My father was admittedly skeptical when I made the suggestion, but after my mother and I convinced him to join us, I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it more than we did. If he hadn't been in his pajamas - and my mother and me in our slippers - he probably would have wandered around the Village for a while as well, but I think the lights were enough to keep him entertained. I don't think either of my parents realized just how big the exhibit is until we kept driving for 2 miles of lights.

[because you can't have christmas without a train]

[this one was really cool to see as you approached it. should have done it as a hyperlapse. damn hindsight]

My favourite part of last year's run was running through all the stars, because it felt like an enchanted forest, and that was definitely true again this year. At the risk of sounding horribly cheesy, it was pretty magical.

[my favourite part]

[i want to have this in my yard year-round. that's a thing, right?]

It's on every night through December 23rd, so hop in your car and go check it out. Take advantage of having the largest urban park in the country in your own backyard.
xx