This is the height of nature, theatre and art coming together to form a completely soul-stirring experience. And these “theatrical productions” change as the seasons do: spring, summer, fall, holiday, and Chinese New Year. The current show is a like a slice of Vermont life, featuring life-like geese, suspended in mid-flight, a fully operational cider mill; and pumpkins blown up to fairy-tale proportions (some as large as five feet wide and three feet tall, ranging from 600 – 800 pounds). For a desert city that’s not privy to the wonderful, transforming atmosphere of fall foliage, it is truly a sight to behold. And a tremendous undertaking. It requires 16 full-time gardeners just for maintenance because each plant must be replaced every two weeks.

The mastermind behind this masterpiece is Audra Danzak, Director of Horticulture for Bellagio. In addition to the Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, Danzak oversees all exterior and interior plant life, as well as retail orders and wedding/ special event arrangements. It’s a job that requires an orchestra of stagehands working toward one goal—the beautification of all things in and around Bellagio.

Danzak says she is inspired by the challenge of creating something surprising with each new display, and as with any good play, the goal, “is to always tell an engaging story—sometimes, making the familiar seem new again or updating a favorite tradition.”