On the journey this holiday season to find as many lights as I could, my friend and I came across Lumagica. Christmas lights? Not so much but an enchanted forest to bring you to a work of light and beauty? Yes.
I’m gonna be honest, we kind of chanced upon Lumagica (probably can be blamed on some social media ad, well done marketing). But, as I said, my journey was to find lights so I went where it was the brightest. Their website says “Walk through a magical forest full of marvelous animal structures, all brilliantly illuminated by over 750,000 LED lights.” That’s exactly what it was. You want to go when it’s dark and when you can stand walking around outside for a while to see it at its best.
The Harvest Moon Farm and Orchard in North Salem (about an hour and a half from Albany) hosted Lumagica this year. It’s exactly what you’d expect from an orchard in the middle of winter but what better to do than utilize your space for something else, something bright, something beautiful? We pre-ordered our tickets online but once we got there, the wifi was dodgy so be sure to screenshot the QR code just in case. They had a small parking lot and then, once we checked in, we were on our own.
They say the walk talks from 30-50 minutes based on the person. Unless you’re just taking a stroll through, you’re going to want time to take in all of the beautiful lights and take pictures so give yourself time. Also, about a quarter of the way into the walk is a rather large hill. Nothing too strenuous but enough where you should wear safe walking shoes and maybe slippery depending on the weather. Plus, then you have to go downhill which also might get crazy if it’s slippery.
It seemed as if Lumagica took us through a few different worlds. It felt like LED “Avatar,” honestly. Overall, it was really beautiful, and standing at the top of the hill about halfway through, getting to look at all of the bright lights around you was a wonderful experience. Afterward, stop by the barn for drinks (alcoholic and non) and the food truck they have parked for a snack. Sadly, Lumagica closed Jan. 8 this year but hopefully, they bring it back with new lights for 2023. Definitely worth the quick day trip with the family but note that there’s not much around the farm itself so do some research into food in the area!
