Last season, Nights of a Thousand Candles at Brookgreen Gardens drew a record 110,000 people over 24 nights, up from about 85,000 the year before, according to GAB News. This year the event has fewer nights. The 2026–27 season runs 21 evenings, from Nov. 27, 2026, through Jan. 3, 2027, WMBF reported in July.

All three missing nights are the Wednesdays in the three weeks before Christmas. For anyone in Murrells Inlet who has used a quiet midweek evening before Christmas to see the candles, or to take visiting family, this changes the plan. Brookgreen hasn't said why it shortened the schedule, and none of the local coverage gives a reason.

Where the three missing nights went

The 2025 season opened Friday, Nov. 28, ran Wednesday through Sunday for the three weeks from Dec. 3 to Dec. 21, skipped Christmas week, and picked up again Tuesday, Dec. 30, running through Jan. 4, according to MyrtleBeach.com's 2025 guide. Here is how that lines up with this year's dates:

Opening weekend and the week after Christmas are the same size as last year. The whole cut falls on the three weeks before Christmas, which drop from five nights to four. The post-Christmas week is now the only stretch that starts before Thursday. Brookgreen's schedule lists Wednesday, Dec. 30, the season's only Wednesday, and Tuesday, Dec. 29 is also on the calendar.

The arithmetic is simple. Last season's 110,000 visitors over 24 nights averaged about 4,600 people a night. If the same number came this year, 21 nights would average about 5,200. No one has predicted this year's attendance, and Brookgreen hasn't announced a cap. Still, if demand holds, the remaining nights would have to absorb it.

Two December Saturdays were nearly sold out by August

Public tickets went on sale Aug. 3. Four weeks later, on Aug. 31, GAB News reported that the first two Saturdays in December, Dec. 5 and Dec. 12 on this year's calendar, were 95% sold. That figure was a snapshot from late August. We found no newer public count of which nights are sold out.

Brookgreen's own website is the only reliable source for availability. The Gardens' Know Before You Go page is blunt about it: "If it says a date is sold out, it is sold out." The same answer gives a small opening. Tickets "can become available from time to time with exchanges," so a sold-out Saturday in October won't necessarily be sold out in December.

Prices are the same as last season. Members pay $35 for adults and $15 for children ages 4 to 12. Nonmembers pay $40 and $20.

How the tickets actually work

The rules below come from Brookgreen's event guidance. They matter more in a shorter season.

1. Buy only from Brookgreen. Tickets are sold only on Brookgreen's website or through its ticketing partner, Leap Event Technology. Brookgreen says it can't guarantee tickets bought anywhere else.
2. There are no timed slots. Gates open at 4 p.m. and guests can arrive any time after that. The Gardens close at 9 p.m.
3. One barcode covers the whole order. A mobile order gets a single barcode for every ticket in the purchase. If your group splits between cars, each car needs the barcode, and each driver should tell the admissions attendant how many people are in that car. Otherwise the first car's scan can use up every ticket.
4. A new membership won't unlock a sold-out night. Members got an earlier buying window than nonmembers, but now both groups see the same availability. A membership bought today still gets the member discount on nights with tickets left, but it takes at least 24 hours to activate in the ticketing system.
5. The event is rain or shine. If weather turns dangerous and Brookgreen closes, it posts the news in the alert banner on its website and on its social pages. The Gardens also point out that weather here is very local, and Brookgreen can have clear skies while nearby towns get rain.

Brookgreen's only traffic advice for event nights is a short line on the event page: "Traffic is sometimes heavy. We encourage guests to carpool whenever possible!" Parking is free. Accessible parking is in the main lot, which is also where Uber, Lyft and taxis pick up and drop off. For pickups, drivers need to be inside the gates before 9 p.m.

Four to nine, by the clock

What each night looks like, timed from Brookgreen's posted hours:

• 4:00 p.m. Gates open. Food trucks start serving and stay open until 8:45. Beverage stations and the Old Kitchen stay open until 8:30. Entertainment runs until 9 p.m., with 15-minute breaks between sets.
• 6:00 p.m. The Holiday Tree Lighting takes place in the Arboretum. It happens every night of the run.
• Dinner. Austin's Harvest recommends reservations, which you can make online or by calling 843-235-6030. Campbell Catering serves Lowcountry favorites in the Leonard Pavilion with no reservation needed. GAB News reports eight food trucks are scheduled each evening.
• Until 9:00 p.m. The Keepsakes Museum Store, the Rosen Galleries and the Brown Sculpture Court stay open until closing.

Some favorite daytime spots are closed during the event: the Lowcountry Trail, the Lowcountry Zoo, the Floyd Family Farm, the Bleifeld Gallery and the Offner Center. Pets, outside food and drinks, smoking and vaping are not allowed. If you're bringing guests who expect to see the zoo animals, plan a separate daytime visit.

The candles are lit by hand. Brookgreen's event materials advertise more than 2,700 of them, along with millions of lights. GAB News reports that this year the Gardens expect to use about 3,500 real candles a night. Nearly 50 employees and volunteers each take a section, and together they light every candle in about 15 to 20 minutes. Then they watch the candles all evening and relight any that wind or rain put out. About 75 volunteers work on any given night, and more than 150 take part over the season. Setup starts in August, and taking everything down runs through the end of February.

"There is nothing quite like seeing the Gardens illuminated by thousands of candles and millions of lights," Brookgreen President and CEO Page Kiniry told WMBF.

The event has grown a long way from where it started. Brookgreen held its first one in 1999 as "A Lowcountry Luminary-Candlelight Celebration," a two-night event that drew about 1,800 people. The next year it was renamed Nights of a Thousand Candles, ran four nights and drew more than 5,600 visitors, according to GAB News. That makes this year's 21 nights the first time the schedule has gotten shorter after a period of growth.

The first season with a new front door

This is also the first Nights of a Thousand Candles since the Purdy Center opened. Brookgreen held the ribbon cutting for the new Welcome Center and Conservatory Gardens on Jan. 12, 2026, and calls the building its "new front door." Brookgreen hasn't said whether Nights ticket scanning happens inside the Center or whether the Conservatory is open during event hours. One event detail does involve the building. Guests who buy the Sparkle & Fun add-on, a glass of wine or cider with holographic glasses, pick it up on the Purdy Center's north terrace.

For a daytime visit before the crowds, the Conservatory is worth the trip on its own. Its new sculptures include Gaia by Dora Natella, CEO by Glenna Goodacre and Heron by Babette Bloch. Twelve sculptures from Paul Howard Manship's 1932 Bird Series are displayed together there for the first time. The Center also has a tropical green wall, seasonal botanical displays, a wetlands garden and the Gaia Walk. A December afternoon spent seeing the Manship birds in daylight is a good way to fill a Wednesday, now that the candles aren't lit on Wednesdays until the week after Christmas.

If family is visiting for the holidays and the conversation turns from Brookgreen's candles to what life on the South Strand is like the rest of the year, the Perry Peace team is glad to talk it through, without any pressure. Just ask, and we'll send our free market report.