For as long as I’ve lived here we have made it a tradition to go down to The Strip on Christmas Eve. For some reason and I don’t have a clue… but will find out for you, but most hotels don’t have a Christmas theme going on. The Bellagio in one of them that does and it never fails to amaze me. This year I was able to get down to the Bellagio on one of the days that they were setting up for their Christmas Display and I have to tell you it was really cool to see all the “framework” that is under all the flower work and staging.
It takes practically 4-5 days with full crews working day and night to get the displays up and running the way they are supposed to. I was able to catch one of the three Polar Bears before he was adorned with flowers. The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens features The Strip’s largest indoor holiday tree, moss-embellished reindeers, a life-size “Real” chocolate house, and is on display through January 5. This year as most years Polar Bears are present. This year a family of polar bears are playing on an icy pond. The Momma Bear is crafted from 24,000 snow white carnations, and seems to be watching protectively as her two cubs play in front of all the visitors. Center stage among the Polar Bear Family, vibraphone and marimba performers fill the Conservatory with the sounds of the season atop a snow-covered stage from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. nightly.
In an effort to build awareness about the cherished and endangered polar bear, Bellagio has partnered with Coca-Cola to promote the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) during this year’s exhibit. Coca-Cola is involved in the ongoing sustainability initiative to generate money for WWF with the goal of creating a safe haven for polar bears. With the help of generous donors, more than $3.1 million has been donated to WWF. What great product placement… all the Polar Bears are wearing Coco-Cola scarfs. It couldn’t have been done better.
What I thought was pretty awesome, was the life-sized chocolate house made to scale… created by Bellagio’s pastry team and made of 1,600 pounds of chocolate. Brand new this year, was a walk-through snow globe guarded by four grand toy soldiers. Also new, are six life-size chocolate-colored reindeers embellished in live moss as they haul an antique sleigh bursting with gifts.
If you are out here before January 5th do yourself a favor and make it down to The Bellagio. It’s definitely worth it.
