Zilker Garden turns surreal after dark with fantastical neon art
Last Friday my husband and I decked ourselves out in floral clothing and headed to Zilker Botanical Garden to attend The Surreal Garden, an interactive neon-art event. I have to say, it was even more fun than I’d imagined. Fantastical neon light sculptures filled the gardens (mainly the prehistoric garden, rose garden, and winding ramp to the visitor center), creating a Vegas-y glow amid the palms, cypresses, and ponds.
Dance music played throughout the garden, and costumed attendees roamed the grounds to enjoy the art, dance in neon-lit cages, relax on neon benches, or pedal an interactive neon octopus — yes, really. Many of the neon artworks, created by Austin’s Ion Art, are customized to the garden’s permanent features, like the red cowboy boots “worn” by the bronze dinosaur in the prehistoric garden (pictured above). They are all delightful to experience. If you love art and gardens and people-watching, you should go.
The Surreal Garden occurs after hours, from 6 to 10 pm. We arrived around 7 pm and had no problem finding free parking along Stratford Drive, although ride sharing is officially encouraged. Here’s David under a double snake arch at the entrance to the prehistoric garden.
A neon rendition of Diana the Huntress? By the way, all the artwork is for sale, with price lists at the garden’s entrance. Can you imagine finding a spot for something like this in your home or garden? In the right context, I think it could be pretty fabulous — and certainly a talking point.
Two-dimensional glowing Easter Island heads were some of David’s favorites.
This glam mirrored jellyfish woman wowed us.
She’s keeping one Picassoesque eye on her admirers.
The dinosaur is ready to go boot scootin’ in his neon red cowboy boots.
An orangutan perches atop the waterfall in the prehistoric garden — a popular spot for a selfie.
Later, after dark, the colors grow more pronounced.
A spouting whale with fishbone teardrop
An evolving anglerfish?
Another look at the cowboy dinosaur
A neon snake slithers down a tree.
A shade pavilion has been transformed by a neon sign and light tubes into The Jungle Lounge.
A glowing Mayan head amid cycads
Aliens are landing in the palms, as a fog machine adds mystique.
Greetings
A limestone cliff created a perfect opportunity for neon petroglyphs. Here’s one of several along the cliff wall.
Glowing tiki columns echo the straight trunk of a bald cypress, alongside another Easter Island head.
People-watching at an event like this is as fun as experiencing the art. This happy foursome was rocking a mix of surreal, botanical, and steampunk costumes.
On the Rose Garden lawn, we found the party in full swing, with glowing meteors dipping and swaying above, music pulsing through the air, and neon light washing everything with color.
An arm-waving octopus who has snagged the moon is powered by anyone willing to hop on a stationary bicycle. Others can then walk between the octopus’s moving arms to ham up being attacked.
We found a bar under a neon sign for the Aloha Room.
All around the garden are places to sit — or dangle — and people-watch.
Neon jellyfish hang from trees…
…creating an under-the-sea vibe.
Sharks fit right in.
As does a giant fishhook.
On the sea, there be pirates.
After circling the koi pond, we followed a directional sign to find the sea monster. The Real World was lit up, but we weren’t ready to leave yet.
A winking lion-baboon greeted us along the way.
Neon benches were popular with selfie-takers.
And for glamour shots of bottles of booze, apparently.
A wide view of the jellyfish area
A scorpion with a flickering tail on neon rocks
A pair of flamingos foraging in the ferns
How about a snailadillo? This is a creative alternative to the other Texas creature mashup, the jackalope.
Blue-eyed Susan flower
The glowing scene along the path
The Butler Window offers an overlook of the party lawn.
And hey, we found the sea monster! It’s a toothy anglerfish…
…and like Marlin and Dory we moved in for a closer look.
If you survive the teeth, you can walk through the monster’s body — a tunnel of angular lights.
Near the exit, a hammerhead lurks.
The younger set was cage-dancing to the music.
Heading up the hill we found pacing tigers…
…a prosaic housefly rendered beautiful in neon light…
…a tiki mask…
…and a prancing monkey with an umbrella.
In a pond by the visitor center, a serpentine whale’s tail stands tall.
The Surreal sign at the visitor center
In the gift shop I saw both of my books for sale. Thanks for carrying them, ZBG!
What a fun costume, with her glowing antlers and flower crown
Near the food trucks a jaguar lounges in a tree.
Here the prices for Ion Art’s artworks are displayed.
The bigger pieces are expensive, naturally, but the smaller ones aren’t crazy for original art.
Blue-Eyed Susan and Snailadillo are calling my name. Which would you choose?
A Salvador Dali costume, complete with pet ocelot Babou, is very much on-theme.
Botanical costumes are good too!
A long-legged elephant caught my eye, as did the costumed group beside it.
The woman in the magnificent headdress kindly posed for me.
Salvador the Elephant did too.
Check out the curled-paper owl mask this woman made.
And this couple. She’s wearing a floral, light-up hat. He’s a fly caught in a Venus flytrap!
At last it was time to return to the real world. We passed a yellow sub-sardine on the way out, with flickering tail and bubbling bubbles. Check it out, and a few other short videos of the event, in my Instagram stories today.
The Surreal Garden runs for three more nights, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 6 to 10 pm. Tickets are $50. Surreal or botanical-themed costumes are encouraged. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy.
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Digging Deeper
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All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
While I din’t generally care much for light shows in botanic gardens, I have to say this is an exception. I loved much of it, from the dinosaur wearing Texas-style boots to the jellyfish woman to the aliens. It looks like everyone was having a great time.
It was a fun event with happy people. It’s so great to be able to go to events like this again after the past two years.
What a great job of ‘keeping Austin Weird’. Thanks for taking us along. The costumes were almost as much fun as the art. I’m feeling the urge to make a bejeweled headdress like the white one in your photos!
I loved all the costumes. And that headdress was pretty awesome.
All I have to say is, this is fabulous! Thanks for this!
Glad you enjoyed, Peter!
The art looks fabulous and the event seems like it was a real tonic after the last two years! I love outdoor lighting, but I’ve recently been learning more about how to use it responsibly. As we add outdoor lights to our gardens and yards and public spaces, we need to remember to turn it off when we go inside, make sure it lights down and not up to the sky, and use warmer temperature lights. Not only will many of these efforts save energy, collectively they will also protect bird migrations and protect the circadian rhythms and reproduction of insects in the food chain and other wildlife. These kinds of measures will also help preserve the most beautiful outdoor light of all—the view of the stars. (The International Dark-Sky Association has more information about the benefits and methods of preserving our dark sky heritage, for anyone interested.) I love that Zilker set a good example by ending the event at 10 p.m. and making the display for a short duration.
Good point about keeping lights off during bird-migration season. And yes, the Zilker event would not be affected by that.
[…] humor, and neon art, the Surreal Garden event at Zilker Botanical Garden is for you. And for me! I attended last year’s inaugural event and happily returned this […]