The Dallas Arboretum made a bold announced this morning: Dallas, like, really loves Chihuly. The show has brought in 461,332 visitors since opening in early May with the potential to draw thousands more during the holiday season, but the show was scheduled to close on November 5, marking a tidy, six-month run here in Dallas.
That's no longer the case. Now you'll be able to see it through New Year's Eve, thanks to a two-month extension put together by the Arboretum's Board of Directors. Here's a snippet from the press release.
Dallas - The Chihuly exhibition has been extended through December 31 as a holiday gift to the City of Dallas from the Arboretum Board of Directors."The citizens of Dallas will now be able to enjoy the Chihuly exhibition throughout the holiday season because of the generous gift from the Board of Directors," Mayor Mike Rawlings said. "We thank the board for bringing this exhibition to Dallas and we applaud their efforts in extending the show to ensure it is enjoyed for two more months."
Initially set to close on November 5, the dramatic works of art by Chihuly have been seen by over 461,332 visitors since opening on May 5, with many visiting multiple times over the past 6 months prompting membership to grow by around 34% from 25,200 to over 33,874.
Not only are people visiting the exhibition they are taking Chihuly gift items related to the exhibition home with them as gift store sales have reached nearly $1.3 million. That includes purchases of over 61 Chihuly Studio Editions and 56 lithograph. Extending the exhibition will give visitors a chance to purchase Chihuly gift items for the holidays available in the Hoffman Family Gift Store.
Yeah, did you get that? Y'all bought 1.3 million dollars worth of Chihuly trinkets! And now you'll gift every member of your family with the stuff for the holidays. It's going to rain blown glass this Christmas. Chanukah's going to be eight nights of crazy colored sun lithographs. That gift shop is the new Jared's.
Here's the schedule for the rest of the year:
In November and December, enjoy special Chihuly Nights when the garden is open to the public Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. and every night from Wednesday, December 26 - Sunday, December 30 excluding November 21 and December 24. Separate admission is required for Chihuly Nights at $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 children ages 12 - 3. Member prices are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $9 children ages 12 - 3. Advanced tickets are required for all evening events and available exclusively online.
