Make Summer Shine at Flashlight Nights!
Bring a flashlight and enjoy the Desert Botanical Garden after dark with performances, cool treats, hands-on activities and creature features. Learn more at https://dbg.org
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🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 As you know, we are in the heat of the summer right now,
00:03 and far too often we just try to avoid the outdoors
00:06 because we wanna stay cool.
00:08 But what if there was a way to enjoy the outdoors
00:12 right here in Phoenix and still stay out
00:14 of these insane temperatures?
00:16 Here with me is Marisol Pelaez
00:18 from the Desert Botanical Garden.
00:20 She's here to tell us all about
00:21 their summer flashlight nights.
00:24 So first of all, it's B-Y-O-F-L.
00:27 Bring your own flashlight.
00:29 Absolutely, yes, we invite people
00:31 to bring their own flashlight
00:32 and explore the desert at night, right?
00:34 There's so much beauty that we don't get to see at night.
00:37 There are different animals that come out,
00:38 different pollinators, flowers,
00:40 I mean, cactus that flower at night.
00:42 So it's a great opportunity to just see
00:44 this other aspect of the garden.
00:46 And we also have a lot of hands-on activities
00:48 for children, for families.
00:50 So it's a great opportunity to come and enjoy.
00:52 So what age would you recommend?
00:54 I mean, can you bring a toddler?
00:56 Yes, yes, the activities are open for the whole family.
00:59 And I mean, you can come and give a stroll at night,
01:02 right, with your family.
01:03 So yeah, you can bring,
01:05 it's an activity for all families, couples.
01:07 We see a lot of couples going and enjoying the garden.
01:10 Yes, I can see that being a romantic date night.
01:13 Yes, and we also have the restaurant, Gertrude's.
01:15 So yes, you can come stroll the garden
01:17 and then go and have dinner at the restaurant.
01:20 Everyone's obsessed with Gertrude's.
01:21 That place is delicious.
01:23 Yes, the food is amazing.
01:24 So we also change our menu by season.
01:27 So yes, come and check out the new stuff we have.
01:29 You said that some things only flower at night?
01:32 Yes, we do have cactus that only bloom at night.
01:35 So we come, we invite you to come.
01:38 We also check our social media
01:39 because there you can see a lot of the flowers
01:41 that are blooming at night.
01:43 So we definitely-- And different creatures.
01:44 Creatures, yes, that come at night.
01:46 And we have stations actually for people.
01:48 We have the pathological society
01:52 that come and show different animals.
01:54 So yes, come and see it.
01:56 We have scorpions, we have owls, we have a variety of--
01:59 The scorpions are, they're not gonna, right, they're safe.
02:03 Yes, they're safe.
02:03 We have the scorpions, you know, in a--
02:05 Here in their own little Barbie dream house.
02:07 Exactly, they do. Barbie sting house.
02:09 They do, yes.
02:10 And there is like a special flashlight
02:12 so you can see them glow at night.
02:14 We have stations for telescopes.
02:17 So if you like to see the stars, we have that.
02:19 So people can come and enjoy the stars at night.
02:23 So something to do.
02:24 You stay cool 'cause it's at night.
02:26 It's beautiful, but you also learn.
02:28 You learn about flowers and cacti that bloom at night
02:31 and you learn about scorpions.
02:33 Now, can you take your flashlight
02:35 and look around the garden for scorpions?
02:37 'Cause kids love finding scorpions.
02:38 Yeah, of course, yeah.
02:39 We invite you to come and explore
02:41 and yeah, see what creatures you can find there.
02:44 We have desert tourists as well.
02:46 So yes, come and see what you can find.
02:49 There's another program, Sonoran Sipping.
02:52 Yes, Sonoran Sipping is another activity
02:54 that we have at the garden once a month.
02:57 And then you can check out some of the activities
03:00 because everything that you're going to see every month,
03:03 it's gonna be different.
03:04 So we have different performers every time.
03:07 And the website says every performer that we have in there.
03:12 So it sounds like-
03:12 But yeah, we receive you with a welcome drink
03:14 for children as well as for adults.
03:17 So yes.
03:17 Right, martini for the kid and a juice for you.
03:19 No, I put it backwards.
03:21 I reversed it.
03:22 That's great, especially because it can be hard.
03:26 Like school, for some of us, school hasn't started yet.
03:30 So we've got a few more days and the days feel so long
03:33 and it's just a great thing to do.
03:34 Yes, and right now that most people spend their day indoors.
03:39 I think that going out at night and just being outdoors,
03:42 it's a good opportunity right now to flash light.
03:45 It's not healthy to be indoors all day.
03:47 We all know by now, we live here,
03:49 we know how to hydrate and stay cool.
03:51 My dad loves the desert botanical gardens.
03:53 He's almost 80.
03:54 Do you have a lot of seniors coming out
03:56 for flashlight nights?
03:57 Yes, we do.
03:58 Like I said, we have all ages.
04:00 So you can find something that is gonna be entertaining
04:03 for all, right?
04:04 We have different foods.
04:05 We have food trucks as well, I forgot to mention.
04:07 And we have a night farmer's market in there as well,
04:10 indoor farmer's market.
04:11 Okay, so if you don't have a reservation to Gertrude's
04:14 or you don't wanna have a sit down fancy dinner,
04:17 you go to the food truck.
04:17 Exactly, exactly.
04:19 Something for everybody.
04:20 Absolutely.
04:21 Thank you so much for being here, Marisol.
04:23 I can't wait to come out and check out flashlight nights.
04:26 I'm gonna avoid the scorpions.
04:28 I'm gonna look at them in their scorpion tree house,
04:30 but not up close.
04:31 (upbeat music)
04:33 [BLANK_AUDIO]