Luminaria returns to University of Alberta Botanic Garden

File photo of the University of Alberta Botanic Garden's Luminaria event. (CTV News Edmonton)

The University of Alberta Botanic Garden is bringing back a longtime winter favourite event: Luminaria.

"After a one-year hiatus and input from many repeat patrons, we’ve learned what you love most about this event, and we’re bringing it back to the fundamentals," the botanic garden announced on Tuesday in an email newsletter to subscribers and on its website.

"In a return to Luminaria’s simple, natural roots, we’re unplugging (most) of the electric lights and celebrating the elemental – candlelight, starlight and firelight – during the darkest nights of the year."

The garden will sell only 8,100 tickets to the event in its Japanese Garden this year, less than a third of the number it sold in previous years.

The event will also only run for three weekends in December: 13-15th, 20-22nd, and 27-29th.

Ticket sales opened Tuesday.

The 2022 Luminaria event was marketed as the "final Luminaria" in anticipation of the garden beginning to introduce other winter programming.